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Thursday, June 2, 2011

Pierluisi, Menendez and Schumer Ask Secretary Sebelius and Commissioner Astrue to Facilitate Process for Puerto Rico Residents to Enroll in Medicare Part B

WASHINGTON, DC—Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi today urged the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, and the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Michael Astrue, to explore administrative measures to streamline the process by which residents of Puerto Rico may enroll in Medicare Part B, and to reduce or eliminate the penalty for late enrollment for beneficiaries on the Island.

The request was made in a letter also signed by Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-New York), and responds to the report recently issued by The President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status, which expressly recognized the need to resolve this problem.

“[A]s The President’s Task Force expressly recognized, there are administrative steps that can be taken immediately—without the need for legislation—to mitigate this problem. We would like to work with you to identify and implement those specific actions that will be most fair and beneficial to the people of Puerto Rico, who pay the same Medicare taxes as their fellow citizens in the states,” reads the letter.

The federal legislators urged Sebelius and Astrue to exercise their authority to streamline the enrollment process, and particularly to re-examine the requirement that Medicare beneficiaries personally visit a Social Security office before being permitted to enroll in Part B, a mandatory step that Pierluisi and the two Senators called “excessive and counterproductive.”

In addition, the legislators urged Sebelius and Astrue to implement a plan to better educate seniors about the benefits and costs of Plan B, especially the severe lifetime penalty that is imposed for late enrollment. “It is clear that too many seniors in Puerto Rico know nothing of this penalty until they are forced to pay it,” the letter states.

Currently, only the benefits provided by Medicare Part A—which provides patients with access to inpatient hospital services—are automatically provided to seniors and disabled persons in Puerto Rico. Benefits under Part B, which gives access to doctors’ services and outpatient hospital care, are not automatically provided on the Island, unlike in the states and other territories. The recipient has only seven months to enroll or is forced to pay a severe lifetime penalty.

“The evidence clearly demonstrates that the combination of the opt-in rule, the burdensome administrative requirements and the severe penalties for late enrollment has harmed seniors in Puerto Rico. As The President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status recognized in its recently-issued report, Puerto Rico has the lowest Part B participation rate in the country—78%, compared to a national average of 94%. Seniors without Part B have limited access to doctors’ services and outpatient hospital care,” explained the congressmen.

“Moreover, we understand that a disproportionate number of Island beneficiaries who do ultimately enroll in Part B are paying the lifetime penalty because they signed up after the [Initial Enrollment Period], since many seniors do not realize they lack Part B coverage until they get sick,” they added.

In March, Pierluisi introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that seeks to extend the time period to apply for benefits for outpatient services and reduce the penalties for late registration. In Puerto Rico, there are more than 600,000 Medicare beneficiaries.

“I greatly appreciate the support I am receiving from these two great Senators in the battle for the rights of our elderly. I know how important it is that our senior citizens receive the benefits they deserve under the Medicare program, and I will not give up until I succeed,” said Pierluisi.