Deadline Dec. 31 for seniors to enroll in Medicare Rx Coverage

As the open enrollment deadline for Medicare Rx Coverage nears, hundreds of residents may be eligible to get extra help paying for prescription through the Low-Income Subsidy program.

The deadline is Dec. 31, and the Medicare Rx Access Network of Louisiana urged Medicare beneficiaries to avoid last minute decisions about their 2007 Medicare prescription coverage. Seniors wishing to change Medicare prescription drug plans or sign up with a plan for the first time must do so in the next few days.

Beneficiaries who are satisfied with their existing Part D plan don’t have to do anything, according to officials.

However, the Network recommends that seniors re-evaluate their current coverage to make sure it continues to meet their prescription drug needs.

“No matter what one’s health status, Medicare prescription drug coverage provides beneficiaries with peace of mind now n and in the future,” said Cheron Brylski, Medicare Rx Access Network state director.

However, some 300 Tri-parish residents n 84 in Lafourche Parish, 141 in Terrebonne and 67 in St. Mary n may still be able to get extra help paying for Medicare’s Part D prescription drug coverage, even if the subsidy they received in 2006 is not automatically renewed, according to the Louisiana Medicare Rx Access Network.

This extra help is not automatic, but it is available by application through Medicare’s Low-Income Subsidy, which offers various levels of assistance for different income and resource levels.

Those residents automatically received a generous subsidy this year for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage because they qualified either for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the federal income-supplement program; Medicaid, the federal/state healthcare program for low-income seniors and people with disabilities; or the Medicare Savings Program, which helps low-income Medicare beneficiaries pay for Medicare Part A and/or Part B plan(s). The residents may no longer qualify for these programs and, as a result, have lost the automatic Part D subsidy for a number of reasons, including increased income or no longer being disabled, according to the Network.

These residents are among 4,500 Louisianans in the same situation. Medicare recently notified all of those affected via mail, Network officials said.

“I urge those affected in Louisiana to re-apply for Medicare’s Low-Income Subsidy for 2007. They may qualify for one of the other levels of assistance,” noted Alan Heumann, Louisiana senior health insurance information director.

When considering different plans, the Network suggested that people know their “three C’s:” Coverage, cost and convenience. In 2007, beneficiaries in most states have about 15 choices of plans that fully or partially fill the coverage gab, up from an average of six plans this year. Next year, the gap will kick in when a patient’s total drug cost (including the plan’s cost and the beneficiary’s cost, but not the premium cost) reaches $2,400.

“The vast majority of Medicare beneficiaries don’t spend enough on prescription drugs to reach the gap,” Brylski noted. “So know your annual drug costs when considering a plan, and if you are having trouble making a decision, contact one of our many state resources for help.”

Help is available with the Low-Income Subsidy application form and answering the three C’s at the local Social Security office or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE or 1-800-772-1213.