Organizations Providing Prescription Drug Plans for Iowa Announced
ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLANS FOR IOWA ANNOUNCED
Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and chief architect of the Medicare Modernization Act, made the following comment on today's announcement of the organizations that will offer Prescription Drug Plans and Medicare Advantage- Prescription Drug Plans through the prescription drug benefit beginning January 1, 2006. The press release from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services with detailed information follows Grassley's comment.
Here is Grassley's comment.
"In a couple of months Medicare beneficiaries will be able to enroll in the first-ever Medicare prescription drug benefit. Today's announcement shows that Iowa beneficiaries will have a number of choices in drug coverage that will help protect them from sky-high out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. They'll be able to choose a prescription drug coverage option that best meets their needs and preferences. Best of all, these choices will be affordable, for both the beneficiaries and the taxpayers. And, remember, the prescription drug benefit is completely voluntary. So, if it's not in an Iowan's best interest to participate, they don't have to.
"Beneficiaries in Iowa will be able to choose from plans provided through 18 organizations offering stand-alone plans and several other plans offered by Medicare Advantage organizations.
"On October 1, the approved organizations can formally begin to let beneficiaries know about their coverage options. As this process begins, I want to remind folks that there are a number of resources in Iowa that can help beneficiaries make decisions. First, there's the Iowa State Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), which is operated by the Iowa Department of Insurance. SHIIP volunteers can provide one-on-one benefits counseling over the phone or in person. The SHIIP can be reached at 1-800-351-4664. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also has a number of community partners across the country that can be contacted for assistance."
http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=4958&Month=9&Year=2005