Increase in Medicare Part D Plans Will Add to Seniors' Confusion

CMS today released the list of Medicare Part D plans that will be offering prescription drug coverage in 2007. The following is the statement of Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA:

“The incredible confusion that persisted in the past year about the Medicare drug program is about to get worse. There will be more plans to choose from, and those plans will continue to be different from one another. And, instead of a six-month enrollment period, there will be only a one-and-one-half month period this year.

Seniors will experience yet another disappointment: The plans that charged the lowest premiums have significantly increased their costs to seniors. In Maryland, for example, the lowest Humana plan premium will rise from $6.44 to $13.00 per month—doubling seniors’ costs. As another example, the premium for the lowest-priced plan for a seven-state region in the upper Midwest will increase more than five-fold.

“As a result, seniors will be more confused, and many will be forced to pay higher premiums.”

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Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

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