Jeffords And Leahy Push For Fixes
To Medicare Drug Benefit Plans
. . . Senators Say Seniors,
Pharmacists And State Coffers
Need Urgent Relief Under Problem-Plagued Program
(FRIDAY, Jan. 20)
-- Less than three weeks into the new Medicare prescription drug
plan, seniors and pharmacists already need relief from the
problem-fraught program, say Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Jim
Jeffords (I-Vt.). Poor planning for the program’s rollout has led
to seniors being overcharged for prescriptions and, in many cases,
being turned away from pharmacies without their needed medications.
Governors and
legislatures in 26 states, including Vermont, have stepped up to
cover the cost of drugs for seniors who are being denied coverage or
overcharged for their medications. More than 30,000 seniors in
Vermont are being covered by the state at a cost of roughly $245,000
a day. Leahy and Jeffords Friday joined other senators in
introducing a bill to compensate states for their interim efforts to
patch the problems in the flawed federal program.
Leahy, Jeffords
and 17 other senators also introduced legislation to offer seniors,
pharmacists and counselors assistance in navigating through the
flawed program. The Requiring Emergency Pharmaceutical Access for
Individual Relief, or REPAIR Act, would help ensure that seniors who
have been incorrectly charged premiums or deductibles are
compensated. The bill would reduce Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) help line wait times and require that CMS
deploy staff to work with State Health Insurance Assistance Program
offices across the country that are helping to enroll seniors in
plans. The bill would also require that prescription drug plans
cover a 30 day supply of transitional medicine, even if the drug is
not ordinarily covered by the plan.
“Vermont’s
seniors are paying the price for the Administration’s failure to
properly implement this program. That’s unfair, and it’s leading to
chaos,” said Leahy. “With more than two years to prepare for this
start date, it is inexcusable that seniors have been forced to go
without medications or have been dramatically overcharged for their
prescriptions. This legislation would make sure that seniors and
pharmacists are held harmless from the mistakes made by the federal
government in switching beneficiaries to this new prescription drug
plan.”
“I applaud the
state of Vermont for stepping up when the federal government fell
woefully short in administering the new Medicare drug plan,” said
Jeffords. “The people most affected by this problem – our seniors,
disabled and low-income citizens – can’t afford to have their lives
disrupted by bureaucratic bungling. No one should have to wait even
one day for their medication. ”
As enrollment for
the program began in November, Leahy pressed to add additional
protections for seniors as they made their drug plan choices. That
bill has been brought to the Senate floor in a test vote, and Leahy
and other cosponsors of the bill say they will keep trying until it
passes.
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