available to modest income residents for Medicare drug coverage

Some 22 residents of Lincoln County may still be able to get extra help paying for Medicare’s Part D prescription drug coverage, even if the subsidy they received in 2006 is not automatically renewed, according to the Medicare Rx Access Network of Georgia.

This extra help is not automatic, but it is available by application through Medicare’s Low-Income Subsidy, which offers various levels of assistance for different income and resource levels.

These 22 Lincoln County residents automatically received a generous subsidy this year for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage because they qualified either for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the federal income-supplement program; Medicaid, the federal/state healthcare program for low-income seniors and people with disabilities; or the Medicare Savings Program, which helps low-income Medicare beneficiaries pay for Medicare Part A and/or Part B.

These residents may no longer qualify for these programs (and, as a result, have lost the automatic Part D subsidy) for a number of reasons, including increased income or no longer being disabled.

They are among some 15,454 Medicare beneficiaries statewide and 632,000 nationwide in the same situation.

All of those affected were recently notified by Medicare through the mail.

“I urge those affected in Lincoln County to re-apply for Medicare’s Low-Income Subsidy for 2007. They may qualify for one of the other levels of assistance,” notes Joe Binns of the Medicare Rx Access Network of Georgia.

Help with the Low-Income Subsidy application form is available at the local Social Security office, by calling Social Security at 1-800-772- 1213, and by calling 1-800-MEDIHelp CARE or visiting the agency’s Website at www.Medicare.gov. Local residents also can call the Georgia Cares Division of Aging Services at 1-800-669-8387.

Assistance with prescription drug coverage is also available in some states from state prescription assistance programs that wrap around the Part D prescription drug benefit and help pay some of its costs.

“I want to reassure people who no longer qualify for the automatic subsidy that they will not lose their drug coverage,” notes Binns.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, those who do nothing will be re-enrolled in their current plan for 2007, though, with no subsidy, they may be subject to the plan’s regular fees. They can also change plans during open enrollment, which is November 15 to December 31, 2006 and during three extra months beyond the end of open enrollment without incurring a late-enrollment penalty.