US Medicare Part D coverage 'about 90%'

Research published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a private foundation providing information and analysis on health care issues, confirms US Department of Health and Human Services figures which claim that "about 90%" of the USA's 43 million Medicare beneficiaries have prescription drug coverage under the Part D program or comparable schemes. The number of senior citizens not receiving coverage was estimated to be nearly 4.4 million, according to final tallies released on June 11 (Marketletter June 19). Enrollment has ceased until November.

The government figures reported by the KFF show that 10.4 million people have enrolled on a "stand-alone" prescription drug plan, the same number as receive coverage from an employer or labor union fund, which is considered "creditable" by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). A further 6.6 million are "dual-eligible" (entitled under both Medicare and Medicaid). Medicare Advantage plans offering more comprehensive health care coverage (including prescription drugs) have 5.5 million subscribers, plus a further 500,000 that are included in the "dual-eligible" category.

Other sources of creditable coverage are provided by the Veterans Administration, the Indian Health Service and employer plans for either active workers or those that do not provide retiree subsidies. Between them, they offer a further 5.4 million people with prescription drug benefits. The uncovered population is therefore restricted to 4.4 million people. Three-quarters of this group (3.3 million people) are estimated by the DHHS to be eligible for a low-income subsidy. The fact that they are exempt from late-enrollment penalties may partly explain their failure to sign up before the May 15 deadline. Senior citizens living in the areas affected by hurricane Katrina are also not bound by the May 15 deadline.