Bridging the GapAsclepios Since its enactment in 2003, nearly every aspect of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit has been the subject of fierce partisan disagreement-with one exception. The Extra Help program, which covers the "doughnut hole," or gap in Part D coverage, and reduces co-payments for lower income people with Medicare, has near universal support. Unfortunately, the Extra Help program has not lived up to its promise. Less than half of those eligible for the program are currently enrolled. There are three main reasons for this failure:
Legislation introduced today by Representative Lloyd Doggett, Democrat of Texas, addresses all three problems. First, the bill substantially raises the amount of savings and other financial assets that people with Medicare can have and still qualify for Extra Help. The asset test penalizes people with Medicare who have scrimped and saved during their working years in order to have a modicum of security when they can no longer work. Nearly half of the Extra Help applicants denied by Social Security in 2006 were rejected solely because their assets were above very low limits-just $11,500 for an individual and $23,000 for a couple. The Prescription Coverage Now Act of 2007 would increase those limits four-fold, allowing individuals with low incomes-less than $15,315 a year for a single person-to qualify for Extra Help if they have a modest nest egg to cover years of retirement or disability. Second, the bill eliminates a number of questions in the application that have proved very difficult for applicants to answer and have unfairly excluded individuals who need the benefit. For example, people struggling to afford their medications will no longer be asked to calculate the cash value of their life insurance policies or estimate the monetary value of "in-kind support"-help with groceries or utilities or a place to live they receive from their children or other relatives. Third, the bill requires the government to implement strategies to maximize enrollment in the program. Income and asset data already in the possession of the government will be used to automatically screen every person with Medicare to see if they qualify. As people become eligible for Medicare they will be able to opt in to the program by checking a box when they enroll in Part D and completing a one-page form. The Prescription Coverage Now Act of 2007 has the potential to help millions
of people with Medicare afford the medicines they need to stay alive and
healthy. It bridges the partisan divide on Part D while helping older adults
and people with disabilities of modest means get through the Part D coverage
gap. This legislation deserves the support of every member of Congress.
Please write your congressional representative and urge him or her to
cosponsor the Prescription Coverage Now Act of 2007. * * * * Fast Relief: Part D Monitoring Project The Medicare Rights Center (MRC) needs to hear about all the problems with
the Medicare Part D benefit, whether they happen to you or someone in your
community. With this information, we will be armed with the needed evidence
to push for a Medicare-administered drug benefit. Submit your story at |