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Just over a million are voluntary enrollees from traditional Medicare
Dec. 22, 2005 - More than 21 million senior citizens and people with
disabilities will be covered on Jan. 1, 2006 for Medicare prescription drug
coverage, Health & Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said today. The number
includes more than one million Americans who signed up for the new stand-alone
coverage in the first 28 days it was offered. The vast majority – about 20
million – were automatic enrollees. Another 500,000 voluntary enrollments are
expected by the end of January.
“The new prescription drug benefit is off to a strong start,” Secretary Leavitt
said. “With more than 21 million participating in coverage as of January 1, we
are well on the way of meeting our goal of 28-30 million enrolled in the first
year of the program. While there is still much work to do, we are encouraged by
the early results.”
“Interest in the drug coverage is strong, and these numbers do show that people
are getting questions answered and making decisions. For people who have decided
they want coverage, they should go ahead and enroll now so they can take
advantage of this important new protection,” said Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. McClellan noted the especially strong response from employers and unions who
are planning on keeping their retirees in their current coverage. “We expected
an initial spike in enrollment, but the participation in Medicare’s new support
for retiree coverage is even better than many predicted,” Dr. McClellan said.
“With more than 11 million retirees keeping the good coverage they have now, the
support for retiree coverage provided in the Medicare drug benefit is working.”
Medicare beneficiaries will be getting their drug coverage in various ways,
including from existing federal and/or military programs. The enrollment figures
as of Dec. 13 are:
? Stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans: more than 1 million.
? Medicare/Medicaid: 6.2 million (including 600,000 in Medicare Advantage
plans).
? Medicare Advantage: 4.4 million (plus 600,000 Medicare/Medicaid
beneficiaries).
? Retiree coverage: About 5.9 million retirees are enrolled in the Medicare
retiree subsidy, with an additional 600,000 in process. Also, about 1 million
retirees are in employer coverage that incorporates or supplements Medicare’s
coverage. Another estimated 500,000 retirees are continuing in coverage that is
as good as Medicare’s.
“The holidays are a great time for families to have a conversation with a loved
one about signing up for the new prescription drug coverage,” Secretary Leavitt
said. “The new benefit is the biggest improvement in health care for seniors and
Americans with disabilities since Medicare began 40 years ago. We encourage all
eligible beneficiaries to enroll so they can start saving right away on the
prescription drugs they need to stay healthy -- now and in the future.”
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be releasing drug coverage
enrollment data monthly.
? Retiree Drug Subsidy (qualified to date): Includes retirees determined to meet
the applicable standard for their drug expenses to be claimed for retiree
subsidy payments by their plan sponsors.
? Retiree Drug Subsidy (still being processed): Includes additional retirees
expected to meet applicable standard
? Federal retirees: Includes retirees receiving coverage from the Federal
Employees Health Benefits (FEHB), TRICARE (military health care) and TVA.
? Coverage that incorporates or supplements Part D coverage, includes retirees
in:
> “direct contract” plans, where the employer or union itself becomes a
Part D plan for just its retirees, and
> “employer group waiver” plans, where a plan contracts with just one
employer or union to create a plan for just that organization, and
> separate employer/union maintained plans that “wrap around” Medicare
Part D
> Note: Since tax-exempt entities do not benefit from the retiree
subsidy not being excluded from federal taxation, these approaches may be more
attractive to tax-exempt entities.
? Other: Includes retirees that will receive coverage from non-calendar year
plans that have not yet come into the retiree drug subsidy program, as well as
plan sponsors covering relatively small numbers of retirees that decided the
administrative cost of implementing an MMA option outweighed the saving
available.
*Based on Type of Sponsor self-identified by Sponsors in their applications
? Plan sponsors can be either:
> employers or unions applying on their own behalf, or
> entities providing coverage to multiple employers or unions, such as a
state retirement system
? Sponsors can submit multiple applications if they offer multiple plans, so
the total number of applications submitted will be greater than the total number
of unique sponsors listed in the table
> It is too early to provide a reliable count of total applications,
since some sponsors may split or consolidate applications before the application
process is complete
? In some cases a single entity has applied as the plan sponsor for retirees
in a plan covering multiple employers or unions, so the number of employers and
unions providing coverage to qualified retirees is higher than the total number
of unique sponsors listed in the table.
> Because the application only captures information about the plan
sponsor, we do not have data on the actual number of individual employers and
unions that will be receiving retiree subsidy payments.
? Table include only those retirees already determined to be eligible for
their sponsor to receive retiree drug subsidy payments
> CMS is still processing additional retiree lists and expects the final
total to be about six million qualified retirees
* A single Plan Sponsor can submit multiple applications, so the total number of
applications received is higher than the total number of sponsors.
Important note: The table is based on the plan sponsor’s contact address, which
is associated with its Employer Identification Number (EIN). That address may
not be the only state in which the sponsor does business or has facilities. That
address also does not reflect where retirees live.
? Sponsors can submit multiple applications if they offer multiple plans, so
the total number of applications submitted will be greater than the total number
of unique sponsors listed in the table
> For example, numerous plan sponsors submitted as many as five
applications, though many submitted only one.
> Sponsors are required to submit separate applications for separate
plans, so sponsors that maintain separate retiree plans for different lines of
business, or separate plans for salary and hourly workers, can be expected to
submit multiple applications.
? In some cases a single entity has applied as the plan sponsor for retirees
in a plan covering multiple employers or unions, so the number of employers and
unions providing coverage to qualified retirees is higher than the total number
of unique sponsors listed in the table.
http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/M...lEnrolled4Drugs
..htm
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