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ALBANY---The NYS Assembly has introduced emergency legislation responding to the crisis created by the newly implemented federal Medicare prescription drug program (Part D), which could result in the possibility of 600,000 low-income elderly and disabled New Yorkers being wrongfully denied access to life-saving prescription drugs.
"This new Medicare program and the ensuing wrongful denial of prescription drugs to thousands of elderly and disabled New Yorkers is creating what could soon become one of our state's greatest public health disasters," said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. (D-Manhattan) "Sadly, while Governor Pataki has the authority to step up and fix this problem, he has not demonstrated the leadership needed to do so."
Adding her support to the legislation, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said, "It is critical that the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who depend on Medicare Part D aren't forced to sacrifice their prescription drugs until the Bush Administration gets this system sorted out. In the interim, I hope initiatives such as the legislation being spearheaded by Speaker Silver and Assemblyman Gottfried, move forward to help New York's most vulnerable populations get the medications they need."
"New York didn't create this mess, but we have the power to help people survive it," said Assembly Health Committee chair Richard N. Gottfried. "We are introducing legislation in Albany to require the Pataki administration to provide emergency assistance to senior citizens and the disabled who are caught up in this crisis. But the governor could and should act now under existing state law."
Under the Gottfried/Silver legislation, New York State would simply step in and immediately pay drug claims for disabled and low-income elderly until problems with the federal program are fixed. Once the program is fixed, the state will bill the federal government and the various drug plans for costs incurred.
"The Assembly is once again coming forward to stand up for New York's most vulnerable population," said Assembly Aging Committee chair Steve Englebright. "This bill will ensure that New York's low-income seniors and disabled are not turned away from receiving the prescription drugs they are entitled to receive under the law."
Silver explained that seniors and disabled individuals who had formerly received their prescription coverage through Medicaid were now required to receive their prescriptions through Medicare Part D. Individuals who did not sign up for a Medicare prescription drug plan were to be automatically enrolled in one of 15 plans.
However, Silver noted, administrative chaos has ensued, with reports that plans were not notified of their new enrollees and enrollees were not being provided with proof of coverage.
Additionally, some of those who were automatically enrolled into a plan by Medicare Part D have found the assigned plans to be too expensive or they do not cover their specific prescription needs. Another frequent complaint is that the program is so confusing it actually prevents people in desperate need of prescription drugs from signing up.
According to New York's Medicare Rights Center, hotline calls are up 400% over last year and 3,000 calls have yet to be responded to. Additionally, the New York State Department of Health has reported to advocates that at least 10,000 New Yorkers eligible for the new prescription plan conversion were never assigned a plan.
"This new Medicare Part D program has been nothing short of an administrative disaster," said Silver. "First, they created an overall system that is astonishingly confusing. And now, they have actually risked the health and well-being of poor and disabled Americans by totally mishandling the conversion of coverage from Medicaid to Medicare."
In addition to the human toll exacted by this public health crisis, Silver explained that the debacle will also result in costly financial hits to state and local governments. He cited nationwide press reports of some elderly and sick individuals going without needed medication or being told to seek emergency room care in order to access needed prescription drugs.
"Either of these options would surely exacerbate this public-health crisis, leading to additional costs that New York's hospitals and state and local governments cannot afford," said Silver.
"The first week of the Bush administration's new prescription drug program has been a mess. Insurers are denying claims they should approve. Pharmacists are waiting on the phone for hours to get the information they need to fill prescriptions. And many Medicare recipients are either being over-charged or turned away without their prescriptions," said New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. "This week, I called on the state to help people who are dually-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid to pay drug claims while the federal government gets the system back on track. I am pleased that the State Assembly is acting quickly on behalf of low-income New Yorkers, and I urge the Governor to do the same."
"Very sick, very poor, older and disabled New Yorkers are calling our hotline desperate for help because they are leaving drugstores empty handed," said Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center, a consumer service group which provides a Medicare counseling hotline for New Yorkers. "The state government must step in where a reckless federal government has turned its back on people in need." 1-16-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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