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Senior Citizen News Article
Deadline looms for seniors to get $600 drug credit
Few have enrolled so far, and low-income benefits will decrease as year goes on
A $600 credit toward prescription drugs is still available for low-income seniors and the disabled covered by Medicare, but few have taken advantage of it and the deadline to enroll is only days away.
The credit was heralded by Congress as a way to bring immediate relief to millions of low-income seniors nationwide who struggle to afford their medications. The benefit is part of the 2003 Medicare reform bill, which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare.
But so far only 1.8 million people out of 7 million eligible nationwide have signed up for the $600 credit.
"This is a very difficult population to reach," said Peter Ashkenaz, spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers the Medicare program.
The agency has enlisted senior centers, churches, AARP and the federal Administration on Aging to get the word out. Publicity efforts appear to be working. Over the past several weeks, between 20,000 and 25,000 eligible Medicare beneficiaries have signed up for the free credit, Ashkenaz said.
But many more seniors could lose out if they don't act quickly. To qualify for the credit, Medicare beneficiaries must have an individual income of less than $12,919 a year; married couples must have an annual household income of less than $17,320. Assets are not counted in determining eligibility.
Medicare enrollees who have drug coverage through Medi-Cal, the state's health insurance program for the poor, don't qualify for the credit.
After March 31, the credit drops by $150 per quarter through the end of the year.
The Access to Benefits Coalition, a national consortium that educates low-income seniors on prescription drug benefits, estimates that seniors can save even more when they sign up for the credit because at the same time they are enrolled in a Medicare-approved drug discount plan.
"Before the end of March, people who qualify will save a minimum of $600, and the average beneficiary should save more than $1,650," said Laura Trejo, general manager for the Los Angeles Department on Aging.
To get the free prescription drug money, beneficiaries must sign up for one of the dozens of drug discount cards offered through Medicare since June.
Although the $20 to $30 card sign-up fee is waived for low-income seniors, merely choosing a card can be an obstacle. And surveys indicate that the vast majority of low-income seniors don't think the new Medicare drug benefit can help them save money.
Some 66 percent of seniors with incomes below $33,000 said they don't have enough information about changes to Medicare to understand how it would help them, compared with 30 percent who said they have enough information, according to a 2004 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
More than half of low-income seniors said they were confused by the new law, according to the survey.
The drug credit and the discount card program will expire on Jan. 1, when a permanent prescription drug benefit for seniors kicks in.
For more information on the $600 credit, call (800) MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov. To speak to a health benefits counselor for free, call (800) 434-0222.
Source: AP
Senior Citizen Aticles | Medicare Drug Credit
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