“Those people that are new to the Medicare program, they’ve just turned 65, they can enroll in the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit,” said Mary Grealy, President of the Healthcare Leadership Council, which is doing all it can to inform new elderly users and current users about the program.

The plan allows elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in a private drug plan that is largely subsidized by the federal government. Before the benefit began in 2006, that drug coverage was only available through private supplemental plans.

KCBS’ Jeff Bell reports

Grealy says her organization is especially interested in raising awareness among low-income seniors.

“There is special help for low-income seniors, where the government provides them an extra subsidy, and this prescription drug plan would be virtually free for them.”

The program contains a gap in coverage that is often described as “the doughnut hole.” Patients in the coverage gap have to pay full cost out of pocket for their drugs. Under 2008 Medicare rules, once the cost of a patient’s prescriptions reaches $2,510, including the amount the patient plays and the amount his or her insurer pays, the patient is in the coverage and must cover the next $3,850 in spending his or her own. After that point, Medicare coverage resumes. In 2009, the coverage gap begins at $2,700 in spending. The gap ends after the member has spend $4,350.

To learn more about the plan, visit the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov.

(cfu)