News 283 States Helping Pay Low Income Seniors Trouble Medicare Part D Usatoday

For some low-income seniors, switching from Medicaid to a Medicare Part D drug plan could prove not only costly, but also fatal. Many seniors' information has been lost in the shuffle and with continued problems in reaching the customer service voices of plan providers such as Humana, pharmacists must choose whether to give the patient their drugs with faith that they'll be repaid either by the patient themselves or by an insurer or let the patient walk away with no drugs at all. Some medications such as those that control chronic diseases are necessary for the patient to function in everyday life, not taking the pills for even a few days could prove detrimental to their health. Some states such as Maine, Hawaii, California, Illinois and Pennsylvania have stepped in and offered to temporarily foot the bill for Medicaid patients who are experiencing complications in making the switch.
 

Read more: Medicare drug benefit costly for some poor (USA Today) Pharmicists across the country are struggling with how to bill poor, elderly residents who have been switched from Medicaid to one of Medicare's private plans. Insurance administrators say they are working quickly to ensure that those transferred show up in their databases and billed only for co-payments of $1 to $5. In the meantime, some states are footing the bill.