Illinois Governer Requests Medicare Enrollment Extension
From the Chicago Tribune:
Gov. Rod Blagojevich joined top state Democrats Sunday in an effort to buy senior citizens extra time to wade through a Medicare prescription-drug program many have called confusing.
In a letter to Mark McClellan, head of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Blagojevich said he supports a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and others that would extend the deadline for seniors to choose from among dozens of plans.
Enrollment for the voluntary program began Nov. 15 and is slated to end May 15.
The bill would move the deadline to the end of 2006 and allow seniors to change their plan one time if they believe they have made a mistake.
Seniors are able to sign up for a plan at any time, but missing the deadline results in a penalty of 1 percent of the plan’s premium for every month they wait.
Blagojevich cited research that shows nearly three of four seniors are “confused and overloaded by the vast array of plans they’re asked to choose from.”
“Most senior citizens are confused by the complexity of the program,” the letter says. “They’re concerned about making the wrong decision. And they need more time to decide which plan is best for them.”
Illinois seniors have said that choosing from the approximately 40 plans offered in the state–which include variations in price structure, covered medications and participating pharmacies–has been difficult.
Federal officials have said seniors have enough time to sort through their options, aided by thousands of community groups across the country trained to provide one-on-one help.
I personally think that if eligible citizens can’t decide on a plan in 7 months, adding 7 more won’t help anything.