Monthly premiums for some of the most popular Medicare prescription drug plans in Florida are jumping by at least 20 percent for 2009.Seniors can now start comparing Medicare prescription drug plan choices for 2009 on the Medicare web site: www.medicare.gov. Seniors will be able to sign up for new drug plans starting Nov. 15. Open enrollment in the drug plans ends Dec. 31.

For 2009, Florida seniors will be able to choose from 57 prescription drug plans, compared to 58 plans this year. Monthly premiums for 2009 plans start at $16.70 compared to $12.10 this year. The most expensive premium for 2009 is $111.30 compared to $97.50 this year. Several plans have also increased their annual deductible for 2009.

The data on the Medicare Part-D prescription drug plans for 2009 has now been loaded into the computers and senior citizens can begin exploring their options for the new year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has been relentless in warning seniors that the cost of their current plan may increase significantly in 2009 and it is important they explore all the options, including other drug plans or Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that beneficiaries, their caregivers, and family members can begin to review 2009 Medicare prescription drug plan and health plan information online through the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder and Medicare Options Compare at www.medicare.gov.

McCain’s top advisers this week said that as president, McCain would cut $1.3 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid. McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin told the Wall Street Journal, McCain would pay for the high costs of his health care proposal by taking a hatchet to health care coverage for the elderly, people with disabilities and lower-income families. A Center for American Progress study finds that McCain’s plan would force big cuts in benefits or eligibility for these vulnerable populations.

McCain’s call for radical cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will undermine their vital role in our health care system, putting affordable health care out of reach for millions of seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income families, and driving up the cost of health insurance for everyone else.

And why does the McCain campaign support undermining this pillar of retirement security? To pay for a “tax credit” in McCain’s health care plan that amounts to a subsidy for big insurance companies. (Maybe McCain thinks the $2 billion in tax cuts he would give the insurance companies isn’t enough.)