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Medicare Part D Sign-Up Deadline Nears

Posted on: Saturday, 6 May 2006, 12:00 CDT

By John Trumbo, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash.

May 6--The federal government has a once-in-a-lifetime offer: Sign up now for the Medicare Part D prescription insurance -- or pay the price.

Deadline: May 15.

Anyone who is 65 or older and qualifies for Medicare coverage can join the program to get discounted medications through 47 different insurance plans in Washington.

Four months after the program was launched Jan. 1, just two-thirds of Americans who qualify have registered.

So with barely one week remaining to register, the rush is on, says Bonnie Scherger, director of the volunteer resource program and the Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) program at the Volunteer Center in Kennewick.

She has extended hours and days to squeeze in as many 90-minute sessions with the 15 volunteers in Benton and Franklin counties as possible during the final week.

"Time is short and people are getting the message," Scherger said. "In the last few days people have been hurrying in to sign up."

Despite criticism that Medicare Part D is too complicated for seniors to understand, and that it doesn't have a government-backed guarantee prescriptions will be bargain-priced, people have figured out that signing up is a good idea.

That's because missing the deadline comes at a cost -- an extra 1 percent a month on the premium -- which currently is $32 nationally.

Late-comers can't sign up again until November, seven months later. That means they will have to pay $2.24 more a month -- for life.

Waiting even longer costs even more as the 1 percent penalty grows each month.

Scherger said even people who don't need prescriptions should consider participating.

It's an insurance program that's there whether you need it or not.

People who don't take medications now can sign up and pay the minimum monthly premium -- $6.93 -- then upgrade to a different insurance company at the next annual enrollment.

That's also when seniors can change insurance companies if they need to.

But Medicare Part D is not for everyone.

People who have private health insurance with prescription coverage that is better than what they can get through a Medicare Part D company don't need to sign up by May 15.

There is no monthly penalty for them if they have a letter from their health insurer saying the prescription coverage exceeds what is available through Medicare.

And if the private insurance coverage ends, the consumer has 60 days to sign up for Medicare Part D without paying the penalty.

Medicare Part D is set up through private insurance companies that provide drugs at reduced prices to seniors and others who qualify for Medicare.

Costs vary according to each company, which has a list of discounted drugs available.

Scherger said the trick to making a right selection in insurance companies is to find which one offers what the person needs at a competitive price. That's where the SHIBA volunteers come in, she said.

"There's not a lot of cut and dried answers," she said, noting that while some people can sign up on their own, many need some guidance.

Gretchen Harder of Kennewick went online to the Medicare Web site in January to check out the registration process.

It was too daunting.

"I went to a seminar at Lourdes Medical Center, read a lot of articles and did some research, and I'm much better informed now, but still have questions and am not confident enough to do this by myself," she said earlier this week while meeting with Scherger.

Harder was trying to register her in-laws, who require medications costing hundreds of dollars a month, and who could benefit from Medicare Part D.

"They are college graduates but they don't even have a computer," she said. They were self-insured as farmers before retiring.

One of Harder's big questions concerned her father-in-law's medications that are currently covered by the Veterans' Administration.

If he signs up for Medicare Part D, would the VA kick him off its program?

Scherger spent a half-hour trying to get the answer, calling several Medicare contacts. Finally, a fax arrived explaining there was no risk in having both veterans' and Medicare benefits.

After another 30 minutes online, Harder found a way to save about $400 this year on her father-in-laws' four medications and about $1,000 on her mother-in-laws' prescriptions.

The Volunteer Center's SHIBA team has processed nearly 1,000 Medicare Part D applications since the application period opened Nov. 15.

"Anybody who is on Medicare is eligible, regardless of their age or income," said Janet Artzer, program coordinator at Kadlec Medical Center's Healthy Ages in Richland.

Scherger said everyone should consider Medicare Part D.

"I've saved people a lot of money," she said.

Her best success is a cancer patient whose $20,000 annual drug costs dropped to $3,000 under the Medicare Part D program.

"They were so happy they wanted to pay me," she said.

Artzer said people who have signed up are finding out it works well while others are suspicious.

"But now that the deadline is looming, they are feeling some panic. My schedule has gotten heavy again and I will do them until May 15. After that I go on vacation," she said.

Virginia Vogel, program coordinator for Long Term and Aging Care in Benton and Franklin counties, said, "I expect it is going to be as busy as on April 15th tax day in a few days.".

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Copyright (c) 2006, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash.

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Source: Tri-City Herald

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