Medicare Rx penalty elimination plan stalls

The proposal by Senators Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) and Max Baucus (Democrat, Montana) to scrap the late-enrollment penalty for the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit available to US senior citizens looks set to stall, despite having 38 co-sponsors (out of a possible 100 Senators, including Sen Grassley).

The draft legislation would eliminate the penalty, which costs enrollees who sign-up for the benefit in November this year the equivalent of 1% of their premiums for each month (Marketletter May 29). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had not, almost a month after the May 15 deadline, yet published final totals for the number of people covered by the prescription drug plan, or equivalent coverage.

Although the proposal is thought to have widespread support in the US Senate, critics believe that such legislation is premature, preferring instead to give the program more time to settle down, after the hectic enrollment efforts led by the federal administration up to the May 15 deadline. With an estimated 1.5 million people across the USA who are potentially affected by the penalty (low-income beneficiaries are already exempt), politicians will be mindful of the November mid-term elections, which fall less than two weeks before the next enrollment period opens.