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HHS Secretary Urges Seniors to Act
Discount Cards Effective Today But Few Seniors Have
Signed Up
June 1, 2004 The Medicare drug discount cards
became effective today but the numbers of eligible persons signing up
for the government approved cards is lagging expectations.
Through May, approximately 2.87 million Medicare
beneficiaries have enrolled for drug cards. These enrollment figures
include beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans that were
automatically enrolled in the Medicare card available through their
health plan, plus hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries who have
enrolled in non-exclusive drug cards. They do not include hundreds of
thousands of additional enrollments currently in process for Medicare
cards with low-income assistance. Many applications are in the process
of income eligibility verification now, and many more are in the process
of "auto-enrollment" through at least seven state pharmaceutical
assistance plans.
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today urged people
with Medicare to take advantage of real savings on their prescription
medicines by signing up for Medicare-approved drug discount cards. The
cards offer savings of 10 to 25 percent or more for beneficiaries who do
not have good drug coverage now, and low-income beneficiaries also
qualify for discounts and a $1,200 credit over the next 18 months to
help pay for prescriptions, according to Thompson.
Medicare officials had urged seniors and persons
with disabilities to use the month of May to compare cards and allow
competition to drive down prices. Now is time for seniors to pick a
card, enroll and begin saving, Secretary Thompson said.
"May was a time for window shopping. Now it is time
to sign up and begin saving real money on the price of your
prescriptions," Secretary Thompson said. "For the first time, Medicare
is helping seniors save money on their prescription medicines. Take
advantage of the savings and get a discount card."
Secretary Thompson said interest in the cards is
high as calls to the 1-800-Medicare number and hits to the Medicare.gov
Web site have hit record levels. Throughout May, the Medicare hotline
received about 3.8 million calls and the price compare Web site received
approximately 14 million hits.
The personal assistance available from the 1-800
MEDICARE helpline and the
www.medicare.gov price comparison tools available from both
resources helps people with Medicare and those who help them select the
card that best meets their needs.
"Today, Medicare is taking an important step
forward to provide overdue help with drug costs for Medicare
beneficiaries," said CMS Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D.
"Real discounts are now available to beneficiaries struggling with drug
costs, and substantial additional financial help is available to
low-income beneficiaries. Seniors and people with disabilities who
signed up early are starting to use their cards today to get real
savings on the prescription drugs.
Secretary Thompson said signing up for the card
just makes sense for Medicare beneficiaries. Seniors are currently the
only group of Americans that often pay full price for its drugs. Through
the Medicare-approved drug discount card program, the purchasing power
of seniors is finally being pooled to provide savings on prescriptions,
he said.
"Seniors can't afford to leave this money on the
table," Secretary Thompson said. "The only risk is in doing nothing and
continuing to pay full prices for your drugs."
Analysis by CMS shows that Medicare beneficiaries
can expect discounts of up to 18 percent off the average retail prices
for name brand drugs and discounts of between 30 and 60 percent on
generic drugs. Mail order and Internet discounts through the cards offer
savings of up to 24 percent from comparable services.
"Beneficiaries without good coverage who contact us
generally find that the savings on the cards pay for themselves in the
first month or two," said Dr. McClellan. "If you don't have good
coverage, regardless of your income, it's worth contacting us at
1-800-MEDICARE to find out how you can get the most out of the drug card
program."
On top of the discounts, low-income beneficiaries
can qualify for a $600 credit this year to help pay for their
prescription medicines and another $600 in 2005. Any money from the
credit not spent this year will carry over into 2005. For millions of
low-income beneficiaries, these savings translate to 30 to 70 percent or
more reductions in their drug costs.
All people with Medicare who do not receive
prescription drug coverage through Medicaid are eligible for a
Medicare-approved drug discount card. Medicare beneficiaries whose
incomes are below 135 percent of the federal poverty limit ($12,569 for
singles and $16,862 for married couples) and do not have other certain
types of prescription drug coverage are eligible for the $600 credit.
HHS is building upon its already ambitious
education efforts with new partnerships to enroll beneficiaries for
cards, particularly those who qualify for the additional assistance.
Last week, HHS announced a collaborative effort
with the Access to Benefits Coalition to target lower-income
beneficiaries. ABC is a coalition of private sector organizations that
serve seniors and persons with disabilities. Additionally, HHS is
funding community-based organizations to enroll lower-income
beneficiaries in the program.
"We're going to be aggressive in making sure that
seniors and persons with disabilities take advantage of this opportunity
to save on their medicines," Secretary Thompson said. |
