HHS officials say Medicare drug enrollment on target

Bush administration officials said Thursday that nearly half of the 43 million Medicare beneficiaries have been enrolled in the new program's prescription drug plan that begins Jan. 1.

HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt said he is pleased with the progress and the enrollment "puts us right on track" to reach the goal of having 28 million to 30 million individuals receiving government drug benefits by the end of 2006. The enrollment program started last month and will continue into May.

However, nearly all the 21 million seniors had some form of drug coverage before becoming part of the new program. These include nearly 6 million retirees who had drug coverage through their old employers and who will continue to get that private coverage -- but the employers will receive a government subsidy that is designed to prevent businesses from dropping the coverage.

Others moving into the expanded Medicare "D" -- for drugs -- program include low-income individuals who were considered eligible for dual coverage of Medicaid and Medicare and those already enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program. In the first 28 days of enrollment, more than 1 million people who had no or little coverage signed up for "stand alone" coverage and will pay premiums and deductibles for prescription drugs.

Leavitt and Mark McClellan, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said they were surprised by the number of employers -- about 80 percent -- who continued their retiree drug converge in exchange for the government subsidy. There had been fears that many employers would cancel their drug plans.

McClellan also said he expected many seniors to wait until the last minute in May to sign up for one of the array of private plans that will run the program. Many seniors have expressed confusion at choosing a plan from as many as 40 or 80 available in some states.