GOVERNMENTMillions to get Medicare drug card for immediate useMedicare officials and doctors hope automatic enrollment in the discount card program will get the attention of low-income seniors.By David Glendinning, amednews staff. Oct. 11, 2004. Washington -- Federal officials are automatically signing up nearly 2 million low-income beneficiaries in the Medicare prescription drug discount program in a move to jump-start enrollment. The effort specifically targets people who receive help from Medicaid to pay their Medicare premiums. Roughly 1.8 million beneficiaries will receive one of 19 randomly assigned drug cards in the mail this month for immediate use at pharmacies. The recipients, who also are set to receive a $600 federal credit on the cards in 2004, are required to make a single phone call confirming their eligibility to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services before the subsidy is activated. CMS launched the discount card program in June with the hope of enrolling nearly 5 million of the roughly 7 million low-income seniors eligible both for this year's subsidy and another $600 in 2005. With a little more than a year to go in the program, the agency has signed up just more than 1 million out of this group. Critics of the drug card initiative contend that the enrollment system is arduous and confusing to many seniors, leading to a lackluster debut. Medicare officials counter that the effort's opponents are interfering with education and outreach by scaring beneficiaries away from the cards. Time is the main factor prompting the latest CMS move. Eligible beneficiaries who enroll by the end of December will be able to carry over this year's subsidy into 2005, but those who do not will lose out on the money. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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The doctors are in the house
The AMA's House of Delegates is holding its Interim Meeting Nov. 7-10 in Houston, addressing issues such as health system reform and physician payment. Meeting coverage - Slideshow Feature articlesHealth reform review The Massachusetts experience Litigation stress Being sued is personal as well as professional Comprehensive coverage
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