Susan Kohler - November 09, 2005
Missoula/Ravalli County Area Agency on Aging
Medicare Part D
KUFM NOVMBER 9, 2005
MEDICARE PART D
Good evening, I’m Susan Kohler, executive director for Missoula/Ravalli County Area Agency on aging. Tonight I would like to talk about Medicare Part D, the new prescription drug benefit set to go into effect on January 1st 2006.
First, let me give you, those who are 65 years of age and/or are on Medicare some basic information on the new plan. Signing up for a Medicare Part D plan begins November 15th and goes through May 15th of 2006. During this time you can review your plan options and make a decision on what plan may best serve your prescription needs. If you are confused like many other seniors, call your local area agency on aging office as they will be able to provide you free, objective guidance on how to determine what plan may best suit your needs. The toll free number to the Area Agency closest to you is 1-800-551-3191. Many area agencies will provide one on one assistance either over the phone, at their location or at one of the Aging Networks designated sites such as a senior center, or a county council on Aging. The best part of using these well trained individuals is that they have no financial interest in helping you select a provider. They are trained to help you make an educated choice. Once again, contact your area agency on aging office at 1-800-551-3191 to get free assistance in helping you wade through the many options for Medicare Part D. The Medicare Part D benefit is optional however if you should choose to wait to sign up for this benefit after the end of the open enrollment period of May 15th than you may be assessed a monthly penalty on your premiums.
Now the rest of the story. Helping seniors cope with the high cost of prescriptions through a drug benefit program has been needed for a long time. However, it is a wonder to me why Congress decided to privatize this benefit to meet this need. As a result, it is a complicated and confusing benefit to not only seniors but to those who are being trained to help seniors. Many elderly are being bombarded with advertisements by Medicare approved plans soliciting their business. Most of these providers offer seniors help in making a decision on Medicare Part D, however they lack objectivity in offering this assistance. There are some reports that seniors have called these providers to get answers to questions about Part D but the provider can only answer questions about their plan and not about the whole program. This has created an added concern about fraud. Unscrupulous people have been calling elders asking for their social security number as part of ploy to provide help with Medicare Part D. This information is not necessary for signing up with a provider so please do not give this information out over the phone. Seniors should turn to their trusted aging services or to the Medicare Web site to help them get educated on this new benefit. Montana’s 10 Area Agencies on Aging oversees much of the Aging Services Network and is looking forward to helping seniors decipher the complexities of this new Medicare Benefit. That is why we are here. Sadly both Congress and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services forgot how important our role is and gave little money to the Aging Network to handle the deluge of calls asking for assistance in understanding Part D. In Missoula, we received 200 calls in October on this topic alone. Sign ups don’t even start until November 15th. We have recruited and trained volunteers and other non profits and governmental agencies that serve seniors to assist in meeting the demand. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid has provided plenty of funding to a multitude of organizations to develop training materials or “tool kits” on this benefit. However, few dollars have been allocated to the Aging Network to actually provide this education to seniors. In Montana there are 150,000 eligible seniors and person with disabilities for this plan.
Aside from the sheer numbers of people who may want to ask for help, it is further complicated by the complexities of the new benefit. What makes it so complicated is the fact that there are so many choices for the consumer to choose from. In Montana there are 17 providers and 47 plans for seniors to choose from. Monthly premiums range from under two dollars to over $90 depending on the plan you choose. The plans range from what is referred to as “standard” to what is referred to as “enhanced” plans.
I have to wonder why this privatization part of Medicare has been so popular with insurance companies. From my understanding popularity means someone is making money on this deal. As a hole, Medicare should be a positive example of a government controlled health care system that could be modeled to benefit all citizens. In the case of Medicare Part D the government does not even have the right to negotiate with the drug companies on price controls. So now we a have a privatized plan that does not necessarily deal with the escalating cost of drugs and is so confusing to the consumer that it stands a chance of being under utilized, improperly utilized and just plain too difficult. I hope I am wrong but if I am not, I hope this is the last effort by Congress to privatize any more of Medicare.
Thanks for listening.
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