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Seniors, watch for drug-benefit letter
More than 135,000 low-income senior citizens in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will receive letters from now through August urging them to sign up right away for a federal program that will save them hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of dollars a year on prescription drugs.
Starting next year, Medicare - the federal health system for the elderly and disabled - will launch a prescription drug coverage program. Called Medicare "Part D," the plan represents the biggest change in the Medicare system since it was launched in the 1960s.
Starting in November, all seniors will be invited to enroll in one of the new, privately-run drug coverage plans. But before then, millions of low-income people are being urged to apply for "extra help," or subsidies that will sharply reduce out-of-pocket expenses that come with the new program.
Nearly 850,000 notices are going out in Ohio. Locally, more than 60,000 letters are going out in Hamilton County. Nearly 30,000 are going out in Butler and Warren counties. More than 22,000 are going out to people in Clermont, Adams, Brown and Highland counties. More than 21,000 are going to Northern Kentucky.
The letters are being sent according to the last few digits in Social Security numbers. Mailings began in May and will continue through August, said Social Security Administration spokeswoman Sue Denny.
Many seniors and consumer groups remain skeptical about how much help the new drug coverage plan will be for better-off seniors, or those who already have drug coverage.
For well-off seniors, the new benefit will cost about $37 a month. There also will be co-payments, a deductible, and a "doughnut hole" that will provide no coverage for drug spending between $2,250 and $5,100 a year.
Whether such coverage adds up to much help in an era of soaring medication costs remains an issue of hot debate between senior citizen groups and the Bush administration.
In many cases, consumer advocates say seniors will be better off sticking with drug benefits they already have, be they supplemental Medicare plans bought out-of-pocket, or coverage through employer pension plans (assuming the company maintains such benefits).
But for the many seniors who have no drug coverage and struggle to make ends meet, the new program is clearly worth signing up for, says Dave Scharfenberger, director of the Working in Neighborhoods Senior Action Coalition.
"There are definitely some real benefits for lower-income seniors. They'll be able to get medicines with minimal co-payments and many won't have to pay a monthly premium," Scharfenberger said.
And there won't be a "doughnut hole" to try to figure out.
The new program will replace the bewildering array of temporary Medicare drug discount cards that have recently flooded the market. In Ohio, seniors could have chosen from more than 40 such discount cards. Many never bothered.
The new Medicare drug program will still require seniors to choose from several different plans, so it will be crucial for them to pick a plan that actually covers the drugs they need, Scharfenberger said.
"There's still some confusion about how all this is going to work. But in the long run, it's good to replace those discount cards," he said.
The exact number of Part D plans hasn't been set - it depends on how many plan providers enter the market. But it probably won't be 40, Scharfenberger predicts.
Government officials note that receiving a letter does not automatically mean a person will qualify for extra help.
A key factor in getting a letter has been the size of a person's Social Security check.
Many teachers and state employees get very small federal Social Security checks because their retirement pay comes from other government pension systems. Many such people will get notices but won't actually qualify for Medicare's low-income drug benefits.
Also, millions of people nationwide who already get drug benefits through Medicaid and other special programs will automatically qualify for the Medicare subsidies. They do not need to apply for extra help.
Those benefits will be largely replaced by the new Medicare drug program.
That means such people will be asked to pick a Part D plan in November.
If they don't pick one, the government will automatically enroll them in one.
E-mail tbonfield@enquirer.com
Source: Enquirer
Senior Citizen Aticles | Drug Benefit Program
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