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President Helps Kickoff “Medicare Covers America”
Rally
Government steps up efforts to enroll seniors who
need help with drug costs
June 17, 2005 – President George W. Bush joined
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and CMS Administrator
Dr. Mark McClellan yesterday for the “Medicare Covers America” kickoff
rally at the Hubert Humphrey Federal Building in Washington, D.C. The
rally launched a new stage in the national effort to get comprehensive
drug coverage to the more than 42 million people with Medicare who need
help paying for their prescription drugs.
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Key Dates - Medicare Enrollment |
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May 2005
• Social Security Administration (SSA) began
mailing and accepting applications for those who may qualify for
the low-income subsidy. Beneficiaries will start learning in
July whether they qualify for this extra help.
September 2005
• Medigap (supplemental) insurance companies
send notices to policyholders with drug coverage informing them
of their options.
• Employers/unions who provide prescription
drug coverage to their retirees will directly notify them about
their prescription drug coverage choices.
October 2005
• Comparative information about Medicare
prescription drug plans will be available at
www.medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE or through state
health insurance assistance programs and other local
organizations.
• Medicare Advantage plans notify plan
enrollees about enhanced drug plan coverage options.
• People with Medicare and Medicaid will get
information about how they will be automatically enrolled in a
plan if they do not choose one on their own.
November 2005
• Enrollment for Medicare prescription drug
plans begins November 15.
January 2006
• Medicare prescription drug coverage begins
January 1 for those who enrolled in a plan by December 31, 2005.
For the complete Fact Sheet on the new
Medicare Program -
Click Here |
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Medicare is partnering with many state and local
organizations, as well as patient advocacy groups, to launch a national
grassroots education campaign to give people with Medicare information
and advice about Medicare’s new drug coverage before it takes effect on
January 1, 2006.
This help is available to everyone with Medicare,
no matter how they pay for their drugs today, and extra help is
available for those with limited resources. This new coverage includes
brand-name and generic drugs and is available through both neighborhood
and mail-order pharmacies.
Detailed information from Medicare will be
available in October 2005. For more information on who can get extra
help with prescription drug costs and how to apply, call the Social
Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213, or visit
www.socialsecurity.gov on the web. TTY users should call
1-800-325-0778.
A live web cast of the Press Conference can be
viewed at:
http://videocast.nih.gov (This video requires Real player, which is
free here (Real
Player)
For outreach resource materials and partner
information, please visit our website “Partner Center” at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/partnerships/
Help is also available at these sites:
Help For Those With Limited Income and Resources (CMS)
Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Costs (SSA)
On Wednesday, the Administration on Aging (AoA) and
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on a
national conference call to Aging and SHIP community providers an
enhanced partnership to learn more about the new benefits provided under
the Medicare Modernization and Improvement Act of 2003.
“We are strengthening our partnership at a critical
time,” said the AoA announcement. “These coming months will be the most
important in the history of Medicare. The most important, in terms of
turning Medicare from a program that helps pay the bills when
beneficiaries get sick and have complications from their chronic
illnesses, into a program that is their partner in helping them take
advantage of the best prevention-oriented treatments that modern
medicine has to offer, but until now Medicare has not covered.”
That includes screening tests, and programs to help
people with chronic diseases and frailty get better continuity of care
and, of course, prescription drugs. These are the most important months
in the history of Medicare, in terms of giving seniors real help with
the costs of prescription drugs.
Through the AoA and CMS partnership, the Aging
Services Network will “play an integral role in reaching many people
with Medicare to help them lower their medical costs, improve their
financial security, and stay healthier as a result of the new Medicare
coverage,” said the AoA spokesperson.
Remarks of the Assistant Secretary for Aging (PDF)
Remarks of CMS Administrator, Dr. McClellan (PDF)
Donna Harvey’s Remarks (PDF)
Judith Crawford’s Remarks (PDF)
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