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Medicare Drug Program News
Medicare Drug Program Enrollment Hits 39 Million,
Still Open for Advantage Plans
Only 6% reported switching plans during the open
enrollment period
January 31, 2007 – There are now 39 million
Americans enrolled in the Medicare prescription drug program, which is
an increase of 1.4 million since June of 2006, according to an
announcement yesterday by Mike Leavitt, Secretary of Health & Human
Services. Most, but not all, are senior citizens.
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Related Stories |
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Veterans are Satisfied with Prescription Drug
Program that Provides Better Prices
New group seeking ideas on improving vet health
care in the future
January 17, 2007 – While Democrats were touting the Department of
Veterans Affairs prescription drug program as a model for negotiating
better prices on drugs, the Republicans were saying this is possible
because the drug program for vets is so limited and will not serve the
needs of seniors. Veteran groups, however, say America's veterans are
happy with their program.
Read
more...
Opinion Pieces Examine Medicare Prescription Drug
Negotiation Bill
Everyone sees the problem but has a different idea on
fixing it
January
16, 2007 - Several newspapers recently published editorials and opinion
pieces that discussed the bill passed last week by the House that would
require the
HHS secretary to negotiate
directly with pharmaceutical companies on prices for medications under
the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Summaries of some appear below.
Read more...
House Passes Bill to Mandate HHS Negotiations on
Medicare Drug Prices
January 12, 2007 - The House of Representative
early this afternoon passed HR 4, which mandates the Secretary of Health
& Human Services negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for better
prices for senior citizens in the Medicare drug program.
Read more...
Negotiating Medicare Drug Prices Hits Obstacles: CBO
Sees No Savings, GOP Senators to Filibuster
Most news is bad news for
proponents of bargaining for drugs
January 11, 2007 – With debate beginning today and a vote expected
tomorrow on the Democratic proposal (HR 4) to have the Secretary of
Health & Human services negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for
better prices on drugs marketed through the Medicare drug program, a
splash of cold water on the idea came in a letter from the Congressional
Budget Office saying the drug prices would not be lowered by the
legislation. (See CBO letter below news report.)
Read
more...
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“Over 90 percent of all people eligible for the
Medicare prescription drug benefit are receiving the prescription drug
coverage they need and are leading healthier, better lives. It’s not
surprising that five separate surveys show that more than 75 percent of
beneficiaries are satisfied with the program,” Leavitt said.
The second enrollment period in the one-year-old
program ended on December 31. The 45-day open enrollment period was the
“second successful open enrollment period for Part D,” the announcement
said.
Late enrollment open to low-income without
penalty
Beneficiaries eligible for the low-income subsidy
and those aging into the Medicare program can enroll without penalty in
2007.
About 88.5 percent of all beneficiaries who
enrolled in a prescription drug plan for 2007 chose a plan that offers
coverage other than the standard benefit, such as no deductible or
coverage in the “donut hole.”
Most beneficiaries who enrolled in Medicare
Advantage plans are also getting more comprehensive drug coverage than
the standard plan.
Medicare Advantage enrollment still open
Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has
increased by over 900,000, bringing the total number of beneficiaries
enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans to 8.3 million. Open enrollment
for Medicare Advantage continues through March 31, 2007.
The second enrollment period was preceded by a
multi-faceted outreach campaign nationally and locally to encourage
beneficiaries to compare their 2006 plans with 2007 plan options in
order to make a confident decision in health and drug coverage plan
selection. This effort included 12,700 events coordinated with 40,000
partners in hundreds of cities across the nation.
“These strong efforts to get beneficiaries to
prepare and compare paid off,” said Leslie V. Norwalk, Acting
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“Our tracking surveys conducted this month indicate
that 85 percent of seniors were aware of the open-enrollment period and
over 50 percent reviewed their current coverage.
Among the 600 seniors surveyed, 34 percent reported
comparing plans, and over half of these seniors evaluated premium,
deductible or copays, and coverage—that is, their comparisons appeared
to be thorough.”
Only 6% changed plans
The survey further noted that while only 6 percent
reported switching plans during the open enrollment period, 2 out of 3
switchers reported reviewing their coverage and comparing plans, and 4
out of 5 switchers were satisfied with the process.
Overall, about 2.4 million (10 percent) of Part D
enrollees changed plans, including those who selected some coverage in
the gap. Of those who changed, 1.1 million were beneficiaries receiving
the low-income subsidy (LIS) who were moved so they would not have to
pay increased premiums.
About 7 percent of all non-LIS beneficiaries
enrolled in Part D changed plans. Overall, during the 45-day
open-enrollment period, there were about 900,000 enrollments, including
350,000 that were done online.
January service starts smoothly
In addition to strong participation during the
enrollment periods, the implementation of the Part D program, with
hundreds of thousands of newly-enrolled beneficiaries going to
pharmacies for the first time, went smoothly in January 2007. Even
before the new year began, CMS officials worked with pharmacies and drug
plans to closely monitor the program as it entered its second year.
“After one month, we continue to see operations run
smoothly. Whether it’s pharmacists at the drug store or beneficiaries
filling their prescriptions, very few of the problems people encountered
at the program’s implementation have been experienced this year,” said
Norwalk. “And we remain vigilant, working to locate and solve any
problems that do arise.”
Additional efforts to reach low-income
CMS continues to make additional efforts to
encourage enrollment among the hard-to-reach low income subsidy eligible
population.
“Earlier this month, we waived the 2007 late
enrollment penalty for low-income beneficiaries who are traditionally
harder to reach. We have also been paying close attention to the
approximately 632,000 beneficiaries who lost their low-income
eligibility status. So far, 35 percent have regained their deemed status
or have applied and qualified for the low-income subsidy,” said Norwalk.
About 10 million low-income beneficiaries are
getting comprehensive drug coverage for little or no cost, including 9.1
million who are enrolled in Medicare Part D.
Beneficiaries saving $1,200 a year
In addition to beneficiary participation, the
program has also excelled in beneficiary savings and reduced cost to
taxpayers, the announcement says.
Beneficiaries are saving an average of $1,200 a
year, with the estimated premiums for 2007 expected to average $22 a
month, down from an average of $23 a month in 2006 and 42 percent lower
than originally estimated.
Moreover, CMS actuaries recently estimated that
payments to Part D plans are projected to be $113 billion lower over the
next ten years. Importantly, of the $113 billion reduction in cost, $96
billion is a direct result of competition and significantly lower Part D
plan bids.
“Despite this solid record, we will continue to
improve the program by working with community partners to find, fix, and
eliminate any problems as well as to reach out to low income
beneficiaries who will save the most with Part D coverage,” concluded
Norwalk.
Nearly 24 million beneficiaries are enrolled in
Part D (PDP or MA-PD); 7 million retirees are enrolled in employer or
union-sponsored retiree drug coverage that receives the Retiree Drug
Subsidy (RDS); 3 million are in Federal retiree programs such as TRICARE
and Federal Employees Health Benefits Plans (FEHBP); and 5 million are
receiving drug coverage from alternative sources, including 2 million
who have coverage through the Veterans’ Administration.
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