Medicare Drug Bill by the Numbers

Estimated cost of the Medicare drug bill over 10 years: $400 billion

Estimated increase in drug industry profits: $139 billion

Additional payments from government to insurance industry to participate in Medicare: $14.2 billion

Members of the United States Senate: 100

Members of the House of Representatives: 435

Washington lobbyists who work for the drug industry: 675

Political contributions from the drug industry to Republicans (2002): $21.7 million (74 percent of total)

Political contributions from the drug industry to Democrats (2002): $7.6 million (26 percent of total)

Average elderly American's drug costs in 2002: $2,400

Portion of his drug costs covered by the new Medicare drug benefit: 45 percent

Average markup on United States drug prices relative to Canadian drug prices: 45 percent

Average profit margin of Fortune 500 firms (2002): 3.1 percent

Average profit margin of the top 10 drug companies (2002): 17 percent

Increase in elderly Americans' Social Security checks (2002): 2.6 percent

Average price increase in the 50 prescription drugs elderly Americans used most (2002): 6 percent

Retirees with health insurance before Medicare was signed into law: 50 percent

Retirees with health insurance today: 96 percent

Medicare administrative costs: 2 percent

Average administrative costs of H.M.O.'s: 15 percent

Compensation package, including stock options, for the chief executive of one Medicare H.M.O. in 2002: $529 million

Number of elderly Americans dropped by an H.M.O. (1999 to 2003): 2.4 million

Political contributions from the insurance industry to Republicans (2002): $25.9 million (69 percent of total)

Political contributions from the insurance industry to Democrats (2002): $11.7 million (31 percent of total)

Number of months after President Bush signed the Medicare bill that H.M.O.'s will receive more money from the government to participate in Medicare: 3

Number of months after President Bush signed the bill that elderly Americans will receive a drug benefit: 25