Outreach to Help with Low Income Medicare Drug Benefits

It is no secret that there are many Medicare beneficiaries who have very low incomes and cannot afford prescriptions, nor can they afford the coverage that would pay for them.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is aware of this and is being proactive in trying to deal with the issue.

CMS has launched a $12 million outreach program to reach low income Medicare recipients and help them enroll in the prescription drug assistance program.  The outreach program will continue through July of this year and target specific areas. 

Part of the program will include an evaluation of what types of marketing and outreach work the best in reaching the low-income population that is eligible for the program and could use the assistance. 

$7.5 million in federal funds will be given to state health insurance programs to run the program and conduct the majority of the outreach., which will be conducted through the use of mailers, phone messages, cold calls from experts, as well as radio and TV spots.  CMS will evaluate which types of outreach work the best.

The outreach program will allow low income individuals to enroll in the drug program at any time. 

In addition to the outreach program, various senators, including the Senate Finance Committee Chair, Max Baucus, a Democratic Senator from Montana, are working on legislation that will delay the 10.6% payment cut to physicians that Medicare has been working to pass through the current administration.  Baucus is also working on a provision that would change the asset limits for the drug benefit for low-income recipients.  As it stands, one cannot qualify or current beneficiaries can lose their benefits if they have very much in the way of assets.