Secretary Leavitt can and should
eliminate the Part D enrollment deadline, consumer group reports
New York, NY – With
14 million Americans with Medicare still without prescription drug
coverage, the Medicare Rights Center is calling on Health and Human
Services Secretary Michael Leavitt to extend the Medicare Part D
enrollment period past the May 15 deadline until December 31,
2006.
The Medicare
Modernization Act of 2003 gives the Secretary the authority to
extend the Medicare drug benefit enrollment deadline, by calling for
a “special enrollment period,” explains a new policy brief by the
national consumer service organization.
“The Secretary must
not turn his back on the millions of Americans who need drug
coverage,” said Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights
Center. “People continue to be paralyzed by the array of confusing
private drug plan choices and anxious that they will be locked into
a plan that does not meet their needs.”
Extending the
Medicare drug benefit enrollment deadline, would also automatically
give people enrolled in Medicare private drug plans the right to
switch plans when plans change their formularies, by eliminating or
restricting covered drugs, or when a new illness, diagnosis, or
prescription makes the current plan inappropriate.
Currently, people
enrolled in a private drug plan are locked into that plan from May
15 until the end of the year, regardless of whether the plan changes
its formulary or if their health condition requires medications not
covered by the plan.
“The enrollment
deadline might be useful for private insurers that want to maximize
profits but it’s harmful to older and disabled Americans who want to
make an informed decision about which plan best meets their needs,”
said Mr. Hayes.
The Secretary does
not have the authority to eliminate the premium penalty, according
to the Medicare Rights Center’s analysis, but it found that if the
Secretary calls for a special enrollment period, it would eliminate
the penalty for those who enroll in a Medicare private drug plan
with 63 days from May 15 and reduce it for those who enroll after
the 63 days.
Secretary Leavitt
has already authorized a special enrollment period for low-income
people with Medicare who qualify for “extra help,” which allows them
to enroll in a drug plan after May 15, a move praised by Mr. Hayes.
The Part D Enrollment Deadline Can and Should be Lifted is available on the Medicare Rights Center’s website.