HHS pledges to handle Medicare drug benefit flap itself

HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt maintained Monday that Congress does not need to step in to iron out problems with the new Medicare drug benefit, despite proposals by lawmakers to do so.

Individuals who overpaid for Medicare-provided prescription drugs -- something that has prompted ire and a slew of bills requiring the government to reimburse states that paid drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries -- can petition their insurance plans for repayment, Leavitt said.

When Medicare last month began providing prescription-drug coverage for people formerly on Medicaid, beneficiaries in many states were not transitioned properly and some wound up without coverage for needed drugs or paying more than their plans were supposed to charge. Although the administration is working to reimburse states that picked up the tab for those so-called dual eligibles, Leavitt said it is up to the individuals who overpaid to recoup their money.

"Anyone who paid a co-pay higher than they should have can apply for reimbursement from their plan," he told reporters. "We are anxious for people to connect with their plans. Once people connect with their plans, things go smoothly."

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation requiring the federal government to repay states that overpaid for the new Medicare benefit, rather than requiring states to collect overpayments from the drug plans. But after consulting with Leavitt, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and other sponsors said they would not push the bill and instead would allow HHS to handle reimbursement.

Leavitt also suggested Congress might not need to extend the May 15 deadline for most seniors to enroll in Medicare drug plans, another proposal that is the subject of bipartisan legislation. An amendment to tax legislation that would have extended the deadline garnered 52 votes in the Senate earlier this month, falling short of the 60 votes it needed to pass.

Leavitt said the deadline would encourage more seniors to sign up for the benefit, but he demurred on whether an extension ultimately would be needed. "The value of a deadline is that people get moving," he said. "If people haven't had time to enroll, that's a policy decision that Congress has to make."

One area that Leavitt said he would prefer Congress to act on is a proposal that President Bush made in his State of the Union speech, calling for a bipartisan commission to evaluate potential changes to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Leavitt said legislation likely would be needed to give the commission the stature to make recommendations.

Such a commission, Leavitt said, "should speak with the maximum level of authority."