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| Wilson Watching Out for NM Seniors through New Prescription Plan’s Early Stretch |
January 23, 2006 |
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Visits Abq. Pharmacies to Get Direct Feedback from Seniors and Pharmacists
Albuquerque, NM — Congresswoman Heather Wilson visited seniors and pharmacists at two Albuquerque pharmacies today to keep close tabs on the implementation of the new Medicare prescription program for seniors.
“I’ve expressed my concerns about the transition to the President and to Medicare officials, and I’ll actively monitor this new program. 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 for 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. “More seniors have prescription drug coverage today than ever before. That’s progress, but we need to keep reaching out to seniors that don’t know about this benefit.”
“There’s no question many seniors are saving money on prescriptions, but many have concerns and I appreciate having Congresswoman Wilson’s commitment to improving this new system,” said Ken Corazza, Chief Pharmacist at The Medicine Chest #2 Pharmacy, one of two pharmacies Wilson visited today. “It was great having Congresswoman Wilson here to find out firsthand how the program is working for both seniors and pharmacists.”
“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,” Wilson said.
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.
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