Consumers
fear a Medicare Drug Card
debacle,
Medicare Rights Center reports
New York, NY – Consumers report that confusion and apprehension are
the predominate emotions about the new Medicare Part D drug benefit
that begins January 1, 2006, according to a new report released by
the Medicare Rights Center, a national consumer service group.
The report provides a unique insight into the experiences of people
with Medicare, capturing the six major issues facing Medicare
consumers as identified by a broad group of older and disabled
Americans.
Members of the
Medicare Rights Center’s Consumer Action Board, a select group of 52
people with Medicare from 34 states who are community leaders in
health care and disability issues, report a growing sense of
uncertainty regarding their future health coverage. They also think
that little is being done to prepare them for the enormous changes
to the Medicare program.
The Consumer Action Board (CAB) members’ top concern is how the new
Medicare drug benefit will work. “Just about everyone I’ve spoken
to about Medicare is confused and will not know what to do in 2006,”
says CAB member Betty Sicher, a retired nurse and member of the
Rockland County Health Care Coalition in New York. Despite her
active involvement in health care, she admits: “I can be included in
that group.”
In Consumer Action Board Regional Report, CAB members speak
from personal experience and offer pragmatic solutions to problems
with Medicare. CAB members address a wide range of issues
including:
· Medicare
drug benefit;
·
Medicare-approved discount cards;
·
Transitioning people with Medicaid drug coverage to Medicare drug
coverage;
·
Eliminating the 24-month waiting period for people with
disabilities;
· Mental
health parity;
· Wheelchair
coverage requirements; and
· Medicare
private plan “lock-in” rule.
“This report provides policy makers a unique opportunity to see the
Medicare program from the consumer point of view instead of just
looking at the numbers,” said Robert M. Hayes, president of the
Medicare Rights Center. “The voice of the older adults and people
with disabilities gets lost too often. This report documents the
valuable opinions of these Americans in their own words.”