Leslie Norwalk, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said unequivocally that extending the Medicare prescription drug program deadline is “legally not permissible.” The deadline for enrolling in the program is May 15.
Under exceptional circumstances, however, CMS allows additional time without penalty. From a Kaiser Network report:
Under a new policy announced this month, CMS will allow “ongoing” enrollment in the Medicare prescription drug benefit for beneficiaries who qualify for a low-income subsidy. Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for the subsidy and missed the May 15 deadline would have had to wait until January 2007 to enroll in the prescription drug benefit without the new policy, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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CMS estimates that 8.2 million Medicare beneficiaries qualify for the subsidy…However, only 4.7 million Medicare beneficiaries had applied for the subsidy as of March 31, and only about 1.6 million of those have qualified (Wall Street Journal, 4/14).
The report also links to opinions and reactions. As if the looming deadline isn’t controversial enough, there’s more not-so-good news. In 2007, Medicare prescription drug deductibles, coverage limits, and out-of-pocket expenses will rise by almost 7 percent.
Additional source: Medical News Today