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Medicare Rights Group Concerned About Drug Benefit Agreement
Oct. 23, 2003 - Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights
Center, made the following statement yesterday regarding the
conference committees tentative agreement on the Medicare low-income
prescription drug benefit:
Conference committee members charged
with reconciling the House and Senate Medicare reform bills have
tentatively agreed to a low-income prescription drug benefit.
The proposed asset test included in the agreement, however, is
guaranteed to create bureaucratic obstacles that will deny coverage to
the oldest and sickest men and women on Medicare. Asset tests screen
out people unable to navigate complex application processes. Asset
tests do little to screen out people with such substantial wealth that
they do not require low-income assistance.
The easier the access to enrollment in the Medicare prescription drug
assistance program, the more eligible individuals will enroll and
benefit from it.
Congress can help ensure enrollment of all eligible vulnerable older
and disabled men and women by:
> federalizing enrollment in these programs through the Social
Security Administration;
> eliminating the asset tests; and
> automatically enrolling individuals
enrolled in Medicaid or the Medicare Savings Programs in the Medicare
prescription drug benefit.
Under the terms of the tentative agreement, individuals with incomes
under 135 percent of the federal poverty level (the level at which
individuals qualify for Medicaid or a Medicare Savings program) and
limited assets will get Medicare prescription drug coverage for all of
their medication needs without having to pay a deductible or premium
and with only low copayments.
People with incomes between 135 percent and 150 percent of the federal
poverty level, who do not qualify for Medicaid or a Medicare Savings
Program, with assets under $10,000, will also qualify for much needed
assistance with the Medicare prescription drug premium, deductible,
coinsurance and cost-sharing.
Although the proposed low-income benefit could provide substantial
relief to many, significant numbers of persons who qualify for the
benefit will never enroll if they must sign up for the programs
through their Medicaid offices. Evidence shows that over 40 percent
of eligible individuals are not enrolled in Medicaid and the Medicare
Savings Programs because of complex enrollment procedures, including
the onus they place on individuals to demonstrate they meet asset
limits.
We urge Congress to modernize and streamline access to these
low-income assistance programs.
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