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Medicare Catastrophe Possible
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November 15th, 2005
"Lawsuit Contends a US Medicare Catastrophe Possible by the New Year"
Under a new prescription drug law passed by President Bush, thousands of frail, poor, and elderly patients will potentially lose prescription drug coverage on January 1 due to computer errors and other problems, a new lawsuit filed yesterday alleges.
The suit was filed against the US government by the Medicare Rights Center and seven other organizations. The lawsuit wants the government to pay closer attention to the new laws that can leave many of the millions of affected patients in the lurch.
The new drug laws state that patients who receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits as a package plan will have to choose another prescription coverage other than Medicaid by January 1, 2006. Those who don''t choose one will allegedly be enrolled in another plan.
The lawsuit contends that no clear system is yet in place that can transfer the patient''s prescription coverage effectively and that potentially thousands of seriously ill patients could find themselves without any medication coverage for the New Year. In the US there are currently 6.4 million elderly and disabled patients who are receiving prescriptions through Medicaid and medical services through Medicare, they are known as “dual-eligibles” and many are very poor and have serious illnesses.
The lawsuit states that even if only 3% of patients do not enroll in new programs then some 180,000 people will be without medication coverage. They expect the number to be much higher. Many groups want a temporary extension of Medicare benefits so that patients aren''t left in the cold.
Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center, says that the problem with the switchover is that many of the affected people are in such a dire state to begin with. The old, sick, and poor will be the most affected, and are the most difficult to reach and explain the new procedures that are set to take effect in a little under two months time.
