New Problems in Medicare Drug Benefit

[papau]

A problem distributing identification cards to beneficiaries may cause enrollment delays in the new prescription drug plan. As for the source of the glitch, insurers and the government each point their finger at the other.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/14/politics/14bush.html

New Problems in Medicare Drug Benefit
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: December 14, 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 - Insurers reported government delays in handling applications for Medicare's new prescription drug benefit on Tuesday, and they said the delays could create problems for some beneficiaries when the coverage became available next month.

Because of the delays, insurance executives said, they have not been able to issue identification cards to some who want to enroll, and they cannot guarantee that cards will be sent to all people who sign up before Jan. 1, when the program begins.

Pharmacists said that some beneficiaries might have difficulty taking advantage of the new drug benefit if they showed up at pharmacies next month without identification cards. In any event, the druggists said, the lack of cards could create complications for pharmacists and increase uncertainty in the first weeks of the program.

The source of the problem was not immediately clear. Insurance executives said they understood that the federal government had had technical problems with one of its computer systems. But Gary R. Karr, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said, "We have found errors in data submitted by some of the plans." In some cases, Mr. Karr said, "we kick back the applications" so the errors can be corrected.<snip>