MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG COVERAGE

Is Medicare prescription drug coverage voluntary?  Can a dual eligible decide not to participate in it?

The MMA law does not require Medicare beneficiaries to participate in the new Part D prescription drug coverage. If a dual eligible disenrolls from the Medicare prescription drug coverage, he/she won’t have any drug coverage at all.  Medicare auto-assigns people who are dual eligibles to a prescription drug plan (PDP).  Dual eligibles are permitted to switch from their auto-assigned prescription drug plan by enrolling in another PDP.  However, if they dis-enroll from one drug plan without, at the same time enrolling in another drug plan, they will not have government sponsored coverage for prescription medications. 

Note:  There are articles in the newspapers and news reports on television and radio that refer to Medicare prescription drug coverage as “voluntary.”  However, the news coverage refers to the general Medicare beneficiaries, not to the dual eligibles.

Is there just one Medicare PDP or many different ones?

There are many plans.  At least 17 are available nationally and there are several additional plans in each state. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Web site (www.medicare.gov) has information about the plans.