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At The New York Times the high costs of prescription drugs are recognized as another burden that could eventually drive Medicare into the ground. As benefits shrink and deductibles grow more expensive, will everyone soon be relying on Medicare supplemental health insurance to get by?

The article mentions that the prices of prescription drugs most heavily used by the elderly have risen more than 24% since 2006. This means that while older Americans struggle to make ends meet, and Medicare is buried under drug costs, pharmaceutical companies are still raking in the profits.

Nowadays, those older Americans who don't have Medicare supplemental health insurance have to worry about what will happen if they get sick - or sicker - and have more medical debt to pay. Already the standard Medicare enrollee pays 25% to 33% of "specialty" (meaning new and important) prescription drugs.

And after they meet their $5,726 cap on out-of-pocket spending? That's where the struggling Medicare takes over.

As the article makes clear, this doesn't bode well for Medicare. And soon, as the economy continues to struggle and more baby boomers come to rely on it for their health care, everyone will need Medicare supplemental health insurance just to cover the basics.