Take Action – Medicare Part D: May 15 Deadline and 1% Per Month Late Enrollment Penalty

Take Action - Medicare Part D: May 15 Deadline and 1% Per Month Late Enrollment Penalty

Medicare prescription drug coverage, also known as Medicare Part D, is insurance that covers prescription drugs at participating pharmacies in your area. With the deadline to sign up for Medicare Part D approaching, it is of vital importance to me that seniors in my district fully understand all of their options. Those beneficiaries who sign up after the May 15th deadline will face a significant penalty - an increase in monthly premiums of 1 percent for every month past the deadline. Furthermore, if a beneficiary misses the deadline and enrolls later, their coverage won't be effective until January 2007. This means that they will automatically be subject to a minimum 7 percent penalty for the rest of their lives. This penalty is waived for seniors already enrolled in SeniorCare, seniors who are also eligible for Medicaid, and for those who already have retiree prescription drug insurance at least as good as the new Medicare program.

[If you received my most recent newsletter in the mail, you may have noticed that the permanent penalty was erroneously listed as 10% for each month past the deadline. The penalty is in fact 1% for each month.]

I am encouraging seniors to take the time to inform themselves, seek out unbiased information, and finally weigh all options carefully before choosing a plan. You should know that Medicare Part D is not a uniform, national drug benefit. In order to get the new drug coverage, you have to purchase one of the private drug plans offered or enroll in a MedicareAdvantage (managed care) plan.

I encourage you to take advantage of the following counseling services and websites in Wisconsin that will help seniors to sort through the numerous options available to them under Medicare Part D:

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http://www.house.gov/list/press/wi04_moore/medicarepartd.html