“The Medicare doughnut hole is the federal provision that older Americans love to hate. And that is not expected to change next year, when the ‘doughnut hole’ — the nickname for a big financial gap in each person’s Medicare prescription drug coverage — gets slightly larger. If the past is a guide, many people will struggle to secure a full year’s supply of the drugs they need. But despite the arrangement’s unpopularity with older consumers, some experts see a positive public policy trend when they peer into the doughnut hole. Because it potentially forces a Medicare enrollee to pay more than $3,000 from his or her own pocket during the gap period, the hole is helping curb growth in the nation’s drug spending by pushing people toward low-cost generic drugs.” (11/24/07)