Medicare drug plan signups beat goals

WASHINGTON – Another 1.7 million seniors have signed up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit in the past month, and administration officials said Thursday they have exceeded their goal for the year with 25 days left before the enrollment deadline.

The officials rejected demands from some lawmakers that the May 15 deadline be extended to give people more time to study the plan alternatives, saying that would only lead to fewer enrollees.

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said in a telephone news conference that more than 30 million Medicare beneficiaries are new receiving prescription drug coverage, surpassing projections of 28 million to 30 million enrollees in the first year of the program.

HHS said in a statement that 8.1 million people with Medicare are now enrolled in stand-alone prescription drug plans, an increase of 1.7 million in the last four weeks. The rest were signed up automatically because of participation in existing programs, such as Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage.

Leavitt said that if enrollment rates continue at the current pace, they may be able to enroll 90 percent of the estimated 43 million eligible seniors by May 15.

Leavitt, speaking from California, was joined by Mark McClellan, the administration’s top Medicare official, in Texas. The two are participating in some 5,500 events scheduled between now and May 15 to discuss the new prescription drug benefit and urge people to sign up.

The two also downplayed incidents, reported by USA Today on Thursday, of insurers warning thousands of seniors that they stand to lose their coverage because of failure to pay premiums.

McClellan indicated that part of the problem is that it usually takes the Social Security Administration two months to begin automatic withdrawals for premium payments. He said his office is talking to the insurers and is advising seniors receiving letters about non-payments to contact their insurance plans and the Medicare office.