Medicare Coverage Gap to Widen
Consumer Affairs reports that the coverage gap in the new Medicare prescription drug plan will grow for some seniors in 2007.A consumer group warns that some seniors who depend on the new Medicare prescription drug benefit will find it less helpful in 2007.
Families USA says its analysis shows changes to the plan will affect seniors in the so-called "doughnut hole" -- the coverage gap that Congress designed to make the Medicare Part D program less expensive.
That gap refers to the cutoff in Medicare drug coverage that occurs when a participant's total drug costs reach $2,250. The coverage picks back up again after costs exceed $5,100.
In 13 states next year, there will be no drug plans that offer coverage in the so-called "doughnut hole," the big drug coverage gap in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, for the top medicines prescribed to seniors, according to the report.
In 2006, there were only four such states, but the number of seniors without access to such doughnut hole coverage will increase from 375,000 to 6.6 million in 2007 - an 18-fold increase.
posted by nattietodd @ 6:28 AM
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