Part D Problems Could be Dangerous
From the Detroit Free Press:
Thousands of Michiganders are running out of life-saving medicines after spending hours waiting on hold for help with their new Medicare prescription drug plans.
The drug coverage plan — the most monumental change in the Medicare program in 40 years — continues to be plagued by significant and widespread problems:
# Tens of thousands of Medicare patients nationwide have had problems filling their prescriptions, Medicare officials acknowledged Wednesday.
# Pharmacists can’t confirm patient eligibility through the national computer verification system.
# Insurers are denying coverage for medicines they once said they covered.
# Low-income seniors are being overcharged.
To top it off, Medicare members and pharmacists can’t get through on the phone to the people who are supposed to help when things go wrong.
The insurer help lines are overwhelmed, and most require patients to wait on hold at least 20 minutes before they connect to a customer representative. Some patients report significantly longer waits.
Insurance company Community Care Rx’s pharmacist help line informs callers that it’s overwhelmed and will disconnect in three seconds. Tick. Tick. Click.
Medicare beneficiary Audrey Roof of South Lyon said she’s waited on hold four times with Medicare and her insurance plan — 40 to 70 minutes each time — trying to straighten out her drug coverage. And her experience isn’t unique. We should know.
The Free Press called the customer service numbers at the 18 insurers that offer prescription drug plans in Michigan. Sure enough, one plan cut us off, two had busy signals, and 13 put us on hold. Only at PacifiCare and Cigna did we get through immediately to a customer service representative.