WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 - Low-income Medicare beneficiaries around the country were often overcharged, and some were turned away from pharmacies without getting their medications, in the first week of Medicare's new drug benefit. The problems have prompted emergency action by some states to protect their citizens.
Although there are no hard numbers, concerns expressed by state officials and complaints from pharmacists suggest a widespread pattern of problems.
At least four states - Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont - acted this week to make sure poor people received the drugs they were promised but could not obtain through the federal Medicare program.
Gov. Jim Douglas of Vermont, a Republican, said the state would pay drug claims for low-income people until the federal government fixed problems in the new program, known as Part D of Medicare. Michael K. Smith, the state's secretary of human services, said, "The federal system simply is not working."
On Thursday, the Vermont Legislature passed a bill declaring, "There is a public health emergency due to the federal implementation of Medicare Part D, which has resulted in serious operational problems, causing Vermonters to be turned away at the pharmacy without the drugs they need."
Many factors contributed to the initial chaos. Some people who enrolled in Medicare drug plans did not have any proof of coverage. Pharmacists could not get the information needed to verify eligibility for drug benefits and low-income subsidies. Insurance companies and their pharmacy benefit managers were swamped with calls, so pharmacists often had to wait an hour or more on telephone help lines.
Federal officials promised improvements, but state officials were growing impatient.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/na...html?th&emc=th
The only seniors I know who have figured the drug plan out are the ones who have better coverage under their pension plan.
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