Leahy Backs Bill To Give Seniors
Greater Leeway, Plus One Penalty-Free 'Do-Over,'
In Enrolling In Medicare Drug Benefit Plans

. . . Says 'Botched Rollout' Of Drug Program
Is Exasperating Seniors In Vermont And Coast-To-Coast

(WEDNESDAY, Nov. 16) -- Tuesday's launch of the signup period for the new Medicare prescription drug program was "botched," says Sen. Patrick Leahy. He says poor planning has burdened frustrated seniors with confusing choices and a looming deadline, compounded this week by unanswered, overloaded help lines and a slow and crash-prone Medicare website.

Tuesday was the first day that seniors were able to enroll in prescription drug plans under the new Medicare Part D program, created by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, with coverage to begin January 1. In Vermont there are 44 plans, each differing in costs, the drugs it covers and where prescriptions can be filled. Leahy said his office has had dozens of calls from exasperated Vermonters trying to sort through the enrollment maze.

Leahy and eight other U.S. senators are pressing for Senate action on a bill to offer added protections for seniors as they decide whether and how to enroll in the Medicare drug plan. The Medicare Informed Choice Act (S.1841, chief sponsor, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.) would extend until the end of 2006 the time that Medicare beneficiaries have to enroll in a plan without being assessed a penalty, let seniors make a one-time switch in plans if they feel they made a mistaken initial choice, and protect retirees from being dropped from their former employers' plans during the first year of the new program.

“Vermonters on Medicare are facing confusing and difficult decisions about whether and how to enroll in a prescription drug plan,” said Leahy. "The Administration made this program unduly complicated when they designed it. It will compound those mistakes if they now force seniors to make these choices under the gun and under conditions that are far from acceptable. This bill will give seniors more time and more flexibility so they can make choices that are best for them."

Leahy had voted against the Bush version of the Medicare drug plan, favoring instead another version, because the Bush plan does nothing to bring down the cost of prescription drugs and falls short of the benefit levels he believes Medicare beneficiaries need.

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