Medicare surpassing goals for prescription drug benefit enrollment
Officials say they still plan to press for millions more to sign up in the 25 days remaining.
With 25 days remaining before the deadline seniors face for signing up for new Medicare prescription drug coverage, Medicare officials say they have surpassed goals for enrollment in the benefit but plan to press to enroll millions more, particularly low-income beneficiaries.
Thirty million seniors are receiving the new benefit, including 8 million who enrolled individually, Medicare announced Thursday. Seniors who do not sign up for a drug plan by May 15 will have to pay higher co-payments.
Despite intensified calls by Democratic lawmakers to extend the deadline, Medicare officials remained resolute that it would remain in place. "The deadline is very important because it makes seniors focus on making a decision," HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt said Thursday. If officials extended the deadline, "there's no indication that [seniors] wouldn't put it off again," he added.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mark McClellan said about 6 million beneficiaries have yet to sign up and that close to half of them are eligible for an extra subsidy offered to low-income seniors.