KR: Millions face a `doughnut hole' lapse in Medicare coverage

[Pirate Smile]

Millions face a `doughnut hole' lapse in Medicare coverage

By Tony Pugh
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - With its troubled launch and frantic final enrollment drive now history, the Medicare prescription-drug program is bracing for what could be its most significant public-relations hurdle yet.



Harry DiOrio, KRT
Heart transplant recipient Frank Furfaro, of Patchogue, New York, can no longer afford his life preserving medication since his plan adopted the new Medicare drug benefit.

In coming months, millions of older Americans and people with disabilities will face a lapse in coverage known as the "doughnut hole" once their annual drug spending hits $2,250. At that point, Medicare drug plans stop paying for medications and require members to absorb another $3,600 in out-of-pocket costs before coverage resumes. And even while the plans aren't paying for their drugs, participants must continue to pay their monthly premiums.

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The timing couldn't be worse for the Bush administration and congressional Republicans who've spent most of the year defending the new benefit. In the heart of the summer and fall election season, throngs of seniors stuck in the doughnut hole will have a new ax to grind.

"You're likely to get a lot of folks hitting that doughnut hole after Labor Day and sometime right in front of the election, and that will certainly provide fodder for those who have criticized the benefit for not being generous enough," said Michael Frank, the vice president for government relations at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research center.

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