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Medicare
PartD Archive
This
information is placed here fro reference – it is out of date
and NOT being maintained.
Important
News for Medicare and Medicare/Medi-Cal
recipients:
VenturaPositive.org is
working with the Ventura County Department of Public Health to
help you understand the major changes in your coverage for
medications.
Beginning January 1st, these
changes will go into effect. BUT, YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE DECISIONS
AND TAKE ACTION before that date to continue your medication
coverage.
For the next three months, we will be presenting
special reports and events to help you understand your choices and
to meet the requirements for coverage.
Be
sure to open and read all mail from Medicare and
Medi-Cal!
Steps
taken to assure poor get prescriptions
Times
Argus www.timesargus.com
Article
published Dec 2, 2005
WASHINGTON — Two weeks after being
sued, the government said Thursday it put in place more safeguards
to ensure that poor older people can fill their drug prescriptions
on Jan. 1.
In recent weeks, the government automatically
has enrolled about 6 million people in private plans that will
offer a new drug benefit under Medicare. The people in this
category are called dual eligibles because they qualify for both
Medicare and Medicaid
Even if the government misses
enrolling just 1 percent of them, that means about 60,000 people
potentially would have no prescription drug coverage come the new
year.
To address that, federal officials said the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services has contracted with two
companies. When a customer enters a store, pharmacists will check
with one contractor — Z-Tech Corp. of Rockville, Md. — to
determine the customer's eligibility for drug coverage
The
pharmacists can bill a second contractor, Wellpoint Inc. of
Indianapolis, which will enlist the customer in one of its drug
plans.
"They'll be able to leave the pharmacy with
their prescription in hand, even if there is not immediate
evidence of what plan they're in," said the agency's
administrator, Mark McClellan.
McClellan's announcement
came after eight advocacy groups sued to continue existing drug
coverage for the dual-eligibles until those beneficiaries are
enrolled in a plan that meets all their prescription needs.
About
one-quarter of the dual eligibles live in nursing homes. About 40
percent of them have dementia or other impairments.
McClellan
said the announcement was unrelated to the suit.
Deanne
Beebe, a spokesman for one of the plaintiffs, the Medicare Rights
Center, said the groups would continue with the suit until they
are assured that every dual-eligible person "who leaves the
pharmacy leaves with the prescriptions they came to fill."
CMS
spokesman Gary Karr said Wellpoint was chosen because it has a
pharmacy network in all 50 states. Its contract does not have a
specific value because it will depend on how many beneficiaries
are placed into their drug plan. Z-Tech's contract is valued at
about $1.6 million.
New
Medicare Handbook Has an Error
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ooops. The government's official handbook
for explaining Medicare to beneficiaries contains an error
pertaining to the new prescription drug benefit that kicks in Jan.
1. The 35 million handbooks are being shipped in waves. Some
beneficiaries may have them as soon as this weekend.
Gary
Karr, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, said the agency erred when listing the prescription drug
plans available with no monthly premium for low-income
beneficiaries.
The booklets listed all of the plans available
for those with limited assets and income as having no monthly
premium. But only about 40 percent of the plans actually qualify
for no premium.
Karr said the agency will work with groups to
help people get the correct information. It will also instruct
companies not approved to offer zero premiums on what they can
tell potential enrollees.
"It must tell them our plan
can't give you a free premium, but there are other plans which
can," Karr said.
The extra subsidy is available for those
whose income does not exceed $14,355 for an individual or $19,245
for a couple. Karr said the mistake was because of inadequate
proofreading.
Scam
Alert
From The San Francisco Chronicle Scam alert:
The new Medicare drug benefit doesn't take effect until Jan. 1,
but companies can start marketing their respective offerings to
consumers beginning this month.
This is a golden opportunity
for scammers to prey on seniors already confused by the program's
bewildering complexities.
"Whenever you have confusion
like this in the marketplace, it opens up opportunities for
fraud," said Gail Shearer, director of health policy analysis
at Consumers Union. "People will really have to make sure
they're dealing with reputable entities."
The experts
offer the following advice:
-- Never give your personal info,
such as a Social Security or bank account number, to
telemarketers.
-- Remember that enrollment in the new program
doesn't begin until Nov. 15; no payment should be made before
then.
-- Never pay cash.
-- You can check to see that a
plan is approved by Medicare by calling (800) 633-4227. (Press 0
to get past the agency's lengthy prerecorded message.)
"There's
always a possibility that people will use this as an opportunity
to try to defraud beneficiaries," said Jeff Flick, regional
administrator for Medicare.
"The bottom line for
consumers is that they should only give personal information to
people that they trust," he said.
David Lazarus' column
appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Send tips or feedback to
dlazarus@sfchronicle.com.
 Part
D Questions & Answers
Report
from Part D Teleconference
Part
D Fact Sheet with Resource Links
Part
D Fact Sheet Download (PDF)
Medi-Cal
SOC Clients on ADAP Statistics
Questions about Part
D? Email us partd@VenturaPositive.org
. We'll find the answers and post them to the Q&A Page.
We
also will be presenting additional educational events and are
working to arrange one-on-one assistance to help you make
decisions and fill out forms.
WATCH
THIS SPACE FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION!
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