 |
| Wilson Welcomes Seniors to Prescription Plan |
January 25, 2006 |
| |
69 Percent of NM Seniors Now Have Coverage, and GrowingM
Albuquerque, NM — Congresswoman Heather Wilson today hailed news that nearly 70 percent of New Mexico seniors now have prescription drug coverage and said she will keep working to smooth the transition and help remaining seniors as they make this important decision.
“As long as one senior doesn’t know help is available or is having trouble accessing the help they should be getting, then we have work to do,” Wilson said. “Seven of ten seniors in New Mexico now have coverage, but we will stay focused on fixing problems so that every senior has access and can make an informed choice. It’s encouraging to see measurable progress in the growing ranks of seniors that have prescription help.”
“We are encountering fewer problems each week, and finding we can solve more of them while the customer is at the counter,” said Robert Ghattas, chief pharmacist at Duran’s Central Pharmacy near Albuquerque’s Old Town. “The program unquestionably helps many seniors, and it’s good to see that Congresswoman Wilson is listening to concerns.”
This week, Wilson visited seniors and pharmacists at Albuquerque pharmacies to keep close tabs on the implementation of the new Medicare prescription program for seniors.
She has expressed concerns about the transition to the President and to Medicare officials, and is actively monitoring the effort.
“It is helpful to hear directly from seniors and pharmacists about their experiences,” Wilson said. “It’s a new program, so we have to be active in recognizing problems and fixing them immediately.”
Wilson wrote to President Bush last week urging action to make sure all seniors, particularly low-income or disabled seniors, get full access to their prescriptions. Wilson also spoke to the Medicare Administrator, Dr. Mark McClellan, and reinforced her concerns. Medicare is taking action, including requiring a first-time fill of any prescription, reimbursing pharmacies for prescriptions for dual-eligible seniors when no plan has been identified, boosting the call center’s capacity, directing drug plans to also increase their call capacity when pharmacists call, and speeding up enrollment information that pharmacists access.
“As we discover problems, we’ll get directly involved to make sure people get their medicine,” Wilson said. “We need to keep reaching out to seniors that don’t know about this benefit.”
“Some of the problems we saw in the first week or two seem to be getting better but we want to keep our fingers on the pulse,” she continued.
So far, more than 15,000 New Mexico seniors have enrolled in a stand-alone prescription drug plan (as of Jan. 13), and more than 44,500 had enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan that provides prescription drug coverage and other benefits not covered by traditional Medicare. In all, 164,000 seniors in New Mexico now have drug coverage, either through a Medicare prescription drug plan or a former employer.
Please call Rep. Wilson’s office for help at (505) 346-6781. Seniors can call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to talk to a Medicare representative, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048. For seniors not yet signed up, forms are available all around the country, including 30,000 pharmacies.
May 15, 2006, is the last day to sign up without incurring a small penalty, and the final opportunity to change plans before 2007.
June 30, 2006, is the last day to sign up for a Medicare Advantage Plan.
- END - |
|
|
|