In Connecticut, as pharmacy students (at UConn) were they analyzing patient profiles online and then sending the information back to the state for distribution to senior citizens. The students were paid $4 for each profile completed.
This appears to have been an effort to assist people in choosing a Medicare D(isaster) plan that would best meet their needs. Well meaning, yes, but, it is possible that some very important information was not disclosed.
more below
A report released by Henry Waxman details the hidden restrictions that Medicare D(isaster) plans place on those who have chosen a policy.
- Prior authorization requirements, step-therapy provisions, and volume limits by the vast majority of Medicare drug plans restrict access to formulary drugs. The Medicare data show that 97% of plans place either prior authorization or step therapy requirements on at least one of the 100 most popular drugs, with the average plan restricting access to over 10% of the popular drugs listed in its formulary.
- Medicare drug plans are unable to describe plan restrictions accurately. Over two-thirds of the Medicare drug plans contacted in the phone survey were unable to describe accurately how the prior approval, step therapy, or volume limits worked with their particular plan.
- Medicare drug plans provide erroneous or conflicting information about restrictions. A number of Medicare drug plans provided information that was erroneous or misleading or conflicted with other information provided by the plan in the phone survey.
- The Medicare website and the websites of plan sponsors fail to provide adequate information about restrictions.
Despite this, the latest numbers reported claim that 1.9 million people have signed up for a Medicare D(isaster) plan in the last month alone. At first glance, that number appears impressive, however, a this may be questionable. As written earlier, some who are dual-eligilble have switched from one plan to another, as all of their rx’s weren’t covered. Despite this, some of those who switched are still being counted as being carried in both Medicare D(isaster) plans.
some people who are “dual eligible” are now enrolled in two insurance plans. Shirley D. Beer, of Pennsylvania, has found herself in that very situation. After being assigned to a Medicare D(isaster) plan that did not cover all 12 vof her rx’s, she chose a different plan, as it covered more rx’s than the one that she was assigned to.
However, she is still being covered under the first plan, that pays for some of her rx’s although she notified the carrier that she wanted to switch to a plan that covered more of her rx’s.
Guess that the Medicare Rx Bus staffed with “counselors” and their pc’s can’t afford the gas to make it from Boston to Connecticut.
