MEDICARE 4

Authored by BlueAngel on
Tuesday, July 26, 2005

THIS ADDITION TO THE MEDICARE 4 ACT WILL BE THE STAR OF OUR NEXT MEETING OF THE SAN ANTONIO POLIO SURVIVORS ASSOCIATION AUGUST 9, 2005 AT WARM SPRINGS REAHABILITATION FOUNDATION, INC. HOSPITAL RESOURCE CENTER FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES; 5101 MEDICAL DRIVE; SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 7822 ; TIME: 1 -- 3 pm

Contacts:
Michael Beard -- 210.490.3190 or Michael78247@yahoo.com
Ruth Moon -- 210 523.6216 or Moonfamily3@sbcglobal.net
Ethel E. Taylor -- 210.696.1710 or blueangel7131@sbcglobal.net

SAPSA will have 2 speakers that are closely allied with the desemination of the information of Medicare 4 which is becoming effective nation-wide in January 2006..

MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DISCOUNT CARDS OFF TO A TEPID START

Authored by BlueAngel on
Saturday, June 05, 2004

The following article was gleaned from the AARP Magazine web site's NEWS section (www.aarpthemagazine.org). Thought that the audience for this blog would be interested in some of the different views expressed. It will be interesting to see how well the discount cards do take off in the future. It will also be interesting to see how the drug companies come forth with their own plans.

Tepid Start for Drug Card ; About a Half-MILLION on Medicare Opt for Plan in First Month

Rocky Mountain News - June 2, 2004

Of 41 million people on Medicare, about half a million voluntarily signed up for the new Medicare prescription drug card in its first month, the Bush administration said Tuesday.

The cards took effect Tuesday. About 2.87 million seniors and disabled people have the cards, including about 2.3 million who were automatically enrolled through their Medicare health maintenance organizations, officials said.

"We are hoping that a lot of folks that were window shopping during the month of May will now sign up in the month of June," said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson.

He added that "hundreds of thousands" more are in the process of signing up.

His estimates don't include low-income seniors in seven states who are automatically being enrolled through state low-income drug assistance programs. Colorado doesn't have such a program, and the government doesn't have the other states' numbers yet.

The prescription drug card program is an interim step toward a Medicare drug benefit for seniors that will start in 2006.

Until the Medicare drug-benefit program is up and running, disabled patients and those who are 65 or older can sign up for cards that entitle them to discounts of at least 10 percent on brand- name medicines at local pharmacies or through the mail.

There are 40 nationally accepted cards, and another 33 accepted in specific regions of the country.

Once enrolled, the card sponsors can change their discount structure or drop coverage, but enrollees cannot change cards until the end of the year.

The San Francisco-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights says this is unfair, because companies could bait-and-switch customers.

Thompson waved aside that criticism, saying that drug card companies want to keep customers, not alienate them.

"For those companies that want to stay in this, you want to be one of the survivors," he said. "You want to give the best service possible - the most drugs, at the cheapest price possible."

In the past, the Bush administration has said that 7.3 million of the estimated 41 million Medicare beneficiaries would sign up this year for cards.

In a news conference Tuesday, Thompson declined to reiterate that claim, and refused to define the program's success through the number of people signed up.

"We think it's successful right now," he said. "We've got 2.8 million Americans signed up who didn't have this opportunity yesterday."

In May, the government fielded 3.8 million inquiries from seniors and sent out several million customized information packs.

Still, seniors were taking their time deciding.

They're weighing the card against other forms of assistance they have cobbled together over years without a prescription drug benefit.

Those options include state patient assistance programs, drug companies, and mail order, Internet and Canadian pharmacies that offer drugs at half the price.

Applications are coming in more slowly than some card vendors had hoped, given the marketing and media blitz surrounding the program.

"We had expected, maybe the word is prepared, for more of a rush earlier last month when the word was getting out," said Carol Hively, a spokeswoman for Walgreen Co., which says it has processed "tens of thousands" of applications.

"It was more of a trickle of interest in our stores," she said.

AARP, a lobby for older Americans, said that while it had received thousands of inquiries, only 3,600 people have applied for its Medicare drug-discount card and just 975 were approved as of Tuesday.

Las Vegas-based Sierra Health and Life Insurance Co. offers the cards in five states, including Colorado, and has signed up 673 people.

(C) 2004 Rocky Mountain News. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

MEDICARE MEDICINE DISCOUNT CARD "SCAM" ALERT

Authored by BlueAngel on
Monday, May 31, 2004

The following information is placed here for your information concerning a very personal/financial topic that affects all of us on limited incomes.

Fact Sheet
For Immediate Release: Contact:
Thursday, April 22, 2004 CMS Office of Public Affairs
202-690-6145

For questions about Medicare please call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES WARNED ABOUT DRUG CARD SCAMS

Overview: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services approved 48 general drug discount cards, including 27 available nationally to all eligible Medicare beneficiaries beginning June 1. With the new cards, Medicare beneficiaries will receive discounts on prescription drugs, and low-income beneficiaries may receive an additional $600 credit to help pay for their prescription medicines in both 2004 and 2005.

The competition between organizations offering cards -- as well as the public display of the prices the cards offer for prescription medicines – is expected to help drive down prices so that seniors get the best savings on their medicines. HHS is offering several tools to help seniors compare and choose the cards providing the best savings when they become available.

But with the announcement of the drug card program, a number of potential drug card scams have arisen in various parts of the U.S. The Department’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of Inspector General are warning Medicare beneficiaries and their family members to be cautious when being approached to buy a drug discount card.

Beneficiaries should NEVER share personal information such as their bank account number, social security number or health insurance card number (or Medicare number) with any individual who calls or comes to the door claiming to sell ANY Medicare related product. If fraud is suspected, the beneficiary should call 1-800-MEDICARE, the OIG Fraud Hotline at 1-800-447-8477 or a local law enforcement agency (such as the police). Medicare-approved drug discount card program

All card programs approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)will bear the Medicare Rx seal.

Marketing for the Medicare-approved drug discount card program will begin in early May and enrollment in these card programs will begin in May 2004. Card sponsors will advertise their cards on television, radio, newspapers and direct mail. Approved card sponsors will not conduct any cold-calls, therefore, no individual should receive a call from a card sponsor unless they have requested further information from an ad or direct mail piece.

Potential Scams and what to do about them

Although the Medicare-Approved Prescription Drug Discount Card program has not yet been implemented, some Medicare beneficiaries across the country (Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia) have already received calls as well as in-person solicitations from individuals/companies posing as Medicare officials attempting to gain personal information from beneficiaries with the intent to scam the beneficiaries.

Beneficiaries who are contacted by these false card companies should always remember:

The Medicare-approved discount cards are not currently available. The names of the card sponsors were announced March 25th and the companies will begin to market their cards through commercial advertising and direct mail beginning in April.

A beneficiary should NEVER share personal information such as their bank account number, social security number or health insurance card number (or Medicare number) with any individual who calls or comes to the door claiming to sell ANY Medicare related product.

Medicare is committed to providing information on the approved drug discount cards to help beneficiaries make the selection best fitting their needs. Starting April 29, beneficiaries will be able to compare prices of drugs offered by the drug card programs at www.medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

Helping to fight fake cards

In response to these concerns, CMS is:

Coordinating information with customer service representatives at 1-800-MEDICARE, the call centers at the Medicare contractors and the State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs).

Making referrals to the HHS Office of the Inspector General where there is specific enough information to indicate potential fraud.

Continuing to explore methods to limit the scope of these scams and developing a process to work with appropriate law enforcement agencies to end these scams.

Working closely with the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of the Inspector General as well as other agencies that have dealt with issues of prescription drug fraud.

# # #

www1 Privacy & Security | Accessibility | FOIA | Help | Email Updates | CMS Careers
Health and Human Services | Medicare.gov | FirstGov
Equal Employment Opportunity Data Posted Pursuant to the No Fear Act

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore MD 21244-1850
CMS Telephone Numbers