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More Than 25 Million Medicare Beneficiaries Now Have Prescription Drug Coverage

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 February 2006, 15:00 CST

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of Medicare beneficiaries receiving prescription drug coverage continues to grow with more than 25 million Medicare beneficiaries now covered, well on track toward the goal of 28 to 30 million enrollees in the first year. This number reflects more than 5.3 million beneficiaries who have signed up individually for prescription drug coverage in the last three months, including 1.5 million who signed up in the last 30 days. Most of the new enrollees in stand-alone drug plans chose plans offering other than the "standard" drug benefit. Many beneficiaries chose coverage with low or no deductible, fixed copays for most prescriptions instead of coinsurance, or coverage in the coverage gap or "donut hole."

More than 500,000 new beneficiaries have enrolled in the Medicare Advantage health plans since drug coverage enrollment began on Nov. 15, 2005 (415,823 since mid-January). Though many Medicare Advantage plans had some drug coverage before 2006, the coverage is now generally much more extensive and does not include caps on coverage that were common before the drug benefit. As with other benefits, drug coverage is often more generous than the basic Medicare drug benefit, and drug premiums are significantly lower. Some Medicare Advantage plans are even offering prescription coverage for no additional premium.

"The promise of the new Medicare law is being realized for more than 25 million Medicare beneficiaries who are getting help paying for the medicines they need," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. "We are encouraged by the millions of people who are enrolling each month, even as we continue to reach out to those who have not yet signed up but can benefit from the new program."

Secretary Leavitt noted that those with coverage include not only those new stand-alone prescription drug plans, but also those in Medicare Advantage plans made stronger by the new Medicare law, as well as retirees who are in employer- or union-sponsored plans that are for the first time getting support from Medicare to keep their coverage more secure.

"We've seen enrollment continue at a steady pace, faster than what we saw before the late December surge," said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator (CMS) Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. "Any beneficiary who has questions about what the drug coverage means for them can call 1-800-MEDICARE anytime with little or no waiting, or go to medicare.gov, or get face-to-face help from one of our many partner organizations and events around the country."

CMS continues to urge Medicare beneficiaries to sign up for drug coverage early in the month before they want coverage, or at least 2 to 3 weeks before they plan to use their coverage. "Signing up before the 15th makes it more likely that you will get your prescriptions filled quickly the first time you use your coverage," Dr. McClellan said. "We want everyone to get the most out of their coverage starting the first time they go to the drug store." The enrollment period continues through May 15, 2006.

The overall drug benefit enrollment figures as of Feb. 13 are: * Stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans: about 4.9 million (1.3 million since Jan. 13) * Medicare/Medicaid: 6.2 million (including 560,000 in Medicare Advantage plans). * Medicare Advantage: 4.7 million plus 560,000 in Medicare/Medicaid. * Retiree coverage: About 6.4 million retirees are enrolled in the Medicare retiree subsidy. As previously stated, another 1 million retirees are in employer coverage that incorporates or supplements Medicare's coverage. Another estimated 500,000 retirees are continuing in coverage that is as good as Medicare's. * TRICARE/ FEHB retirees: 3.1 million.

For more information, see the Secretary's Progress Report II on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit at http://www.hhs.gov/secretaryspage.html. To enroll, visit http://www.medicare.gov/.

Below are state-by-state enrollment figures. A state enrollment chart is below.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

State Enrollment in Medicare Prescription Drug Plans Nov. 15, 2005 - Feb. 11, 2006 Medicare Medicare- Estimated Advantage Medicaid Medicare Federal Total Stand-Alone with (Automati Retiree Retirees with Prescription Prescrip- -cally Drug (Tricare, Drug State Drug Plan tion Drugs* Enrolled) Subsidy FEHB) Coverage Alabama 108,069 76,997 82,691 108,729 82,811 459,297 Alaska 3,591 100 11,360 9,884 7,594 32,529 Arizona 61,674 247,184 50,785 104,079 80,959 544,681 Arkansas 86,896 5,603 60,331 49,857 40,959 243,646 California 234,958 1,221,574 876,932 423,665 324,328 3,081,457 Colorado 45,795 129,866 41,124 72,096 64,227 353,108 Connecticut 63,744 30,867 66,719 106,319 19,211 286,860 Delaware 30,525 523 9,476 30,240 10,623 81,387 District Of Columbia 4,225 4,912 15,123 3,037 23,748 51,045 Florida 306,350 606,777 331,988 432,588 277,463 1,955,166 Georgia 194,091 38,687 137,167 110,089 103,402 583,436 Hawaii 4,086 47,170 23,219 32,816 28,874 136,165 Idaho 27,829 13,331 18,047 18,626 17,281 95,114 Illinois 297,641 72,037 248,624 320,748 60,791 999,841 Indiana 149,246 9,120 94,945 182,015 35,003 470,329 Iowa 72,238 14,953 54,813 39,832 19,409 201,245 Kansas 70,498 14,607 39,136 27,602 30,223 182,066 Kentucky 113,411 28,854 78,434 122,019 37,506 380,224 Louisiana 54,322 67,873 133,014 91,606 41,530 388,345 Maine 37,819 754 45,263 33,182 19,763 136,781 Maryland 102,608 29,890 57,041 119,852 115,611 425,002 Massachusetts 98,104 141,110 184,196 180,534 49,789 653,733 Michigan 195,214 29,765 191,397 448,613 40,830 905,819 Minnesota 72,314 87,137 58,986 73,584 27,934 319,955 Mississippi 64,423 5,404 129,167 28,597 39,166 266,757 Missouri 123,653 115,319 145,031 115,776 60,801 560,580 Montana 19,246 2,051 14,774 12,494 12,980 61,545 Nebraska 45,400 11,033 31,519 21,768 16,914 126,634 Nevada 23,290 83,917 17,286 39,239 33,289 197,021 New Hampshire 25,042 1,457 19,030 31,755 16,447 93,731 New Jersey 206,612 57,727 138,541 260,334 55,845 719,059 New Mexico 24,712 45,109 31,522 39,885 33,173 174,401 New York 148,820 413,003 509,513 503,251 87,152 1,661,739 North Carolina 201,270 91,112 216,899 205,260 99,292 813,833 North Dakota 16,853 854 10,492 4,780 5,705 38,684 Ohio 168,501 201,206 173,726 504,437 74,658 1,122,528 Oklahoma 90,253 40,454 73,851 46,147 59,571 310,276 Oregon 74,270 111,991 32,653 43,144 41,369 303,427 Pennsylvania 171,091 488,388 149,964 289,204 106,483 1,205,130 Rhode Island 11,823 51,701 26,192 12,398 12,051 114,165 South Carolina 86,695 21,081 113,588 107,703 74,192 403,259 South Dakota 22,572 1,234 11,564 6,012 9,009 50,391 Tennessee 114,438 93,466 213,417 108,654 64,676 594,651 Texas 342,437 230,240 296,588 412,397 248,957 1,530,619 Utah 35,502 15,614 20,028 26,888 30,973 129,005 Vermont 17,969 105 15,771 15,248 5,704 54,797 Virginia 159,099 25,857 102,798 108,447 162,036 558,237 Washington 88,391 75,892 95,777 98,209 99,133 457,402 West Virginia 54,185 6,280 41,045 82,789 17,646 201,945 Wisconsin 80,266 47,385 109,026 132,819 29,382 398,878 Wyoming 12,521 502 5,443 6,792 6,686 31,944 Puerto Rico 14,926 177,119 1,035 10,208 12,373 215,661 Virgin Islands 1,426 46 17 3,024 243 4,756 Other^ 2,041 2,105 834 0 24,125 29,105 Total 4,882,975 5,337,343 5,657,902 6,419,271 3,099,900 25,397,391 * Medicare Advantage includes 560,000 Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries. ^ Other includes other territories and beneficiaries whose address information is being updated.

First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

CONTACT: CMS Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-690-6145

Web site: http://www.hhs.gov/http://www.medicare.gov/

Source: PRNewswire

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