Donut Hole Drug Rebates are in Mail to Senior
Citizens; Scammers Making Run at Them, Too
Seniors don't need to give personal info to anyone,
checks being mailed automatically to eligible Medicare recipients
June 11, 2010 - The Obama administration began
mailing $250 checks Thursday to seniors who hit the Medicare
prescription drug doughnut hole - a notorious gap in coverage - as part
of the health reform program. But, already, scammers are trying to use the
rebates as a way to get personal information from senior citizens.
The Illinois Attorney General is warning that
scammers are trying to trick Medicare-eligible seniors into revealing
personal information in order to get a rebate check,
The Associated Press reports.
"The first $250 rebate checks are
being mailed this week to seniors in Medicare's drug coverage gap, known
as the 'doughnut hole.'" The checks are being sent out automatically, so
any request for information is a con (6/10).
"Federal officials say they're already hearing
reports that scam artists have called seniors and other Medicare
beneficiaries, telling them they need to provide personal information to
get the checks — including Medicare, Social Security or bank account
numbers," the Chicago
Sun-Times reports.
"Not true. Seniors don't need to provide any
personal information. The checks are being mailed automatically to
eligible Medicare recipients" (Thomas and Knowles, 6/10).
Politico: "No sooner than the administration dropped the first batch
of $250 Medicare rebate checks in the mail, they have already run into
their first snafu: a state government demanding that some seniors turn
over the money." Vermont says some seniors aren't entitled to the payout
because a state drug program already covers their out-of-pocket costs (Kliff,
6/10).
Round-up of other Media Reports
"The tax-free, one-time rebate is the first
tangible benefit of the new health-care law and the initial step toward
phasing out the coverage gap for Medicare recipients with Part D drug
coverage and who do not qualify for additional assistance," reports
The Columbus Dispatch. (Candisky, 6/11).
The Bridgeport
Connecticut Post adds, "Doughnut hole" is the term used for a gap in
prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D. In most cases, the
plan covers 75 percent of drug costs, up to $2,830. Once seniors hit
that limit, they must pay all their own costs until total spending
reaches $6,440 in a year. In Connecticut alone, about 47,700 seniors
fall into that gap" (Cuba, 6/10).
The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune: "More checks will go out monthly as
additional beneficiaries hit the $3,610 gap -- a total of about 4
million beneficiaries this year, including an estimated 64,000 in
Minnesota. … There is no doughnut hole for low-income people, whose
prescription drugs are virtually free. They will not receive the $250
checks" (Wolfe, 6/10).
Reuters: Democrats are relaunching efforts to promote the overhaul
to coincide with sending the checks. "Democrats released a 60-second
television ad highlighting Republican vows to repeal the healthcare
reform bill, which promises to be a flashpoint in the November election
battle for control of Congress" (6/10).
The Hill: Also, as Medicare sends out the rebate checks, "Democratic
leadership staff delivered to the media boxes of 'GOP Donut Holes' meant
to suggest that the benefit would disappear if Republicans were in
charge of Congress" (O'Brien, 6/10).
The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal: The money won't go far
towards helping people cover doughnut hole expenses, though. "The $250
will erase only about one-fourteenth of" of the $3,610 window. "'It's
not enough,' said Bill Wiley of Louisville, 66," who has an income of
only $1,600 a month and spends $450 a month on drugs (Howington, 6/9).
The (Montpellier, Vt.) Times Argus: Though federal lawmakers from
Vermont said 9,000 people in the state would benefit from the checks,
state officials countered that "roughly 2,800 Vermont seniors who
already are covered under the state's own VPharm prescription program
will not be eligible for the checks" (Sherman, 6/10).
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Seniors in donut hold to start receiving $250 rebate
checks this week