Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Deane Beebe
Communications Director
212-204-6219
Medicare Rights CenterFebruary 17, 2006
Most People Bush Administration Claims to Have Medicare Drug Benefit Already Had Drug Coverage -- Midway through Enrollment Period, Only 3.2 Million Have Voluntarily Signed Up-- [New York, NY] - An analysis of the Medicare drug benefit enrollment numbers being touted by the Bush Administration reveals that only 3.2 million older and disabled Americans have drug coverage for the first time.
As many as 19 million people have yet to sign up for the drug benefit available through private drug plans, and at least 7.5 million of these older and disabled Americans have no drug coverage at all, according to an analysis by the Medicare Rights, a national consumer service group.
“The Bush Administration’s inflation of enrollment numbers disguises the problems that plague this privately-administered drug benefit,” said Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center.
“Deception will do nothing to help older and disabled get the medications they desperately need,” said Mr. Hayes.
The Bush Administration reports that 24 million people have the Medicare drug benefit, but the consumer group’s analysis shows that only 14.3 have it. About 10 million people reported to have Part D coverage actually have retiree health benefits from their former employer or union.
Most people with the drug benefit known as “Part D” were auto-enrolled because they have both Medicaid and Medicare (6.2 million), or were in a Medicare private health plan (4.5 million), from which they got some drug coverage.
Of the 3.6 million people who reportedly “voluntarily” enrolled in a stand-alone private drug plan, about 330,000 were enrolled through their state pharmaceutical assistance program and another 78,000 are covered by employers who transformed their employer coverage to a Part D plan.
Medicare Part D Enrollment Numbers, the Medicare Rights Center’s analysis of the drug benefit enrollment numbers, is available at http://www.medicarerights.org/policy_enrollment_brief022006.pdf.