New Medicare Drug Law Puts Lowest-Income Elderly at Risk, Says Report
Posted on: Saturday, 6 August 2005, 03:01 CDT
A key provision of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act will cause serious-and perhaps irreparable- harm to many of the lowest-income elderly and people with disabilities, according to a special report issued July 6 by the national consumer health organization Families USA. Those most at risk of losing essential healthcare services are the 6.4 million low- income individuals who receive both Medicare and Medicaid, also known as "dual eligibles."
On Jan. 1, 2006, when the MMA prescription drug benefit is implemented, dual eligibles will begin receiving drug coverage through the Medicare drug benefit rather than through Medicaid. To help finance the new drug benefit, states are required to pay the federal government most of the savings they would realize from no longer having to provide drugs to dual eligibles in their Medicaid programs. This provision is called the "clawback" payment because the federal government is seen as "clawing back" the savings that would otherwise have accrued to the states.
Three states-Florida, Mississippi, and Missouri-have already announced plans to reduce or eliminate Medicaid coverage for some or all elderly enrollees and people with disabilities, and at least one other state, North Carolina, is considering similar cuts.
To access the report, Trouble Brewing? New Medicare Drug Law Puts Low-Income People at Risk, go to www.familiesusa.org and click on the name of the report.
Copyright Healthcare Financial Management Association Aug 2005
Source: Healthcare Financial Management
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