| Medicare Drug Plan Exceeds Projections |
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Medicare, a health insurance program administered by the United States Government, covering people who are 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria, released information on Thursday that more than 30 million recipients of Medicare insurance policy are now receiving prescription drug coverage, exceeding projections of 28 million to 30 million enrollees in the first year of the program.
With the enrollment of more 1.7 million seniors who have enlisted themselves for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit in the past month, officials claimed that they have surpassed goal for the year, as 25 days are left before the enrollment deadline.
The demand for the extension of the May 15 deadline from some lawmakers, who anticipated the demand to give people more time to study the plan alternatives, rejected by the officials saying that would only lead to fewer enrollees.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said, "It will require congressional action, I do not have regulatory authority that would permit that."
Debating on the matter Leavitt further said, "I will tell you that we need a deadline," he added, "We need a deadline because people will put it off unless they have one." However, if a person does not enroll by the May 15 deadline, there will be a 1 % per month penalty based on the average cost of the premium until one enrolls.
The Agency confirmed that 8.1 million people with Medicare are now enrolled in stand-alone prescription drug plans, an increase of 1.7 million in the last four weeks and the other who left over were signed up automatically because of participation in existing programs such as Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage.
The HHS Secretary said if enrollment rates keep going on the same pace, they may be able to enroll 90 % of the estimated 43 million eligible seniors by May 15. Estimating that some seniors are redeeming $500 to $700 a month in drug expenses, Leavitt said, "Seniors are seeing the benefits of the [Medicare] Part D plan." Medicare Part D is a prescription drug benefit for people with Medicare (United States) in the USA.
On the other hand the critics say most of the 30 million were automatically enrolled from existing programs, noting that only 8.1 million have voluntarily signed up for the stand-alone plan. They debated that seniors must choose among dozens of plans that differ in premiums, drug coverage and cost-sharing. They also exhorted that the deadline should be extended and late enrollment penalties should be waived as the complexity of the program has discouraged seniors from participating.
However, Leavitt urged those seniors who haven’t signed up to get their prescriptions together, have their Medicare card available, and call 800-Medicare or go to www.medicare.gov.
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