Baldwin Reminds Seniors of Medicare Part D Enrollment Deadline

Baldwin Reminds Seniors of Medicare Part D Enrollment Deadline
Wants Congress to Extend Deadline

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin reminds seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries that the deadline to enroll in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program is May 15. Those eligible, who do not have other creditable coverage and do not enroll before the deadline, face penalties in the form of permanently increased premiums.

A strong critic of the Part D plan, which was drafted in large part by pharmaceutical companies that stand to gain even greater profits, Baldwin joined Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Governor Jim Doyle today at a press conference at the Wisconsin Capitol to call for an extension of the enrollment deadline and offer assistance to those struggling to understand the complicated program.

"It's been clear from Day One that the Medicare Part D prescription drug program was planned with the best interests of the drug companies and insurance companies, not seniors, in mind," said Baldwin. "This plan was wrongly-conceived, and then poorly implemented so that seniors had to struggle to understand a confusing mass of plans, prices, and protocols. Now we approach deadline day - May 15 - by which seniors must enroll in a plan or be faced forevermore with a financial penalty. We need a new prescription for progress," said Baldwin.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Baldwin and Kind are co-sponsoring a bill that would extend the enrollment deadline and give enrollees an opportunity to change prescription drug plans once during 2006, if the plan they chose did not best suit their needs.

Just last week, a report released by the Government Accountability Office finds that the information provided by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services about the complicated new drug benefit is rife with problems. According to the GAO, the federal handbooks, website, and 1-800 Medicare hotline failed to provide information that was "consistently clear, complete, accurate, and usable." "It's no wonder millions of seniors are frustrated and confused. The report confirms what I've heard from constituents in listening sessions I've held recently throughout South Central Wisconsin - that when you call the Medicare hotline, you wait and wait, only then to get incomplete or inaccurate information," Baldwin said.

Baldwin praised Governor Doyle's advocacy to retain SeniorCare and ensure that Wisconsin's SeniorCare program will continue through June 2007, adding "I look forward to working with the Governor to make sure that SeniorCare continues after that time."

"Instead of providing affordable access to prescription drugs, Medicare Part-D became a disorganized, confusing ordeal for many Wisconsin seniors," said Governor Jim Doyle. "Fortunately, Wisconsin families had access to SeniorCare, which allows seniors to get the medications they need at a price they can afford," he said.

Baldwin reminds Wisconsinites that the her offices, along with state offices and the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, stand ready to help people who are having trouble signing up, or once they're signed up. They can be reached at:

* Rep. Tammy Baldwin (Madison) 608-258-9800 (Beloit) 608-362-2800
* WI SeniorCare hotline: 1-800-657-2038;
* Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, Elder Law Center: 1-866-456-8211 or www.wismedrx.org.

"The bottom line, as I see it, is that a real prescription drug program under Medicare, like all other aspects of Medicare, would serve all beneficiaries in a one-step program that uses the leverage of the federal government to negotiate the best prices. The Bush Administration and Congressional leadership had baser motives…to further line the pockets of the drug companies," said Baldwin.

http://tammybaldwin.house.gov/pr_display_page.asp?page=pressreleasedisplay&type=1&releaseid=458&pageno=1