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Provider Perspectives
Adequate Funding Needed for Part D Services
The flood of new and repeat clients brought on by confusion about Medicare Part D hit aging service agencies hard all across Illinois. As stated in a phone interview with Bob Cleveland, the Resource Center Director at Northwestern Illinois Area Agency on Aging (NIAAA), service utilization for his organization increased by dramatic proportions, from 6,000 clients in 2005 to over 8,000 in 2006! Some funding for Part D enrollment and education was allocated through Federal dollars but this funding is no longer available. Funding is needed to help meet the ongoing need of Medicare beneficiaries who are experiencing problems with their Part D coverage. Mr. Cleveland reports that seniors who call in for an appointment are told they have a 2-3 month wait to see a specialist because the demand for assistance is so high.
At the outset, many seniors were confused or worried about Part D. Beginning early in 2005, NIAAA staff gave many presentations in the community and in senior living facilities, educating Medicare beneficiaries about Part D. From October to December 2005, NIAAA ramped up the effort and began providing Medicare beneficiaries with small group info sessions three times a day in the NIAAA office. In addition, one-on-one counseling was available during open enrollment to serve clients, many overwhelmed or confused with all the different Part D choices and hoping to find the plan which best fit their needs. Comparing, choosing a plan and enrolling is an involved, time-consuming process. Many organizations hoped it would be smooth sailing once the initial enrollment period ended.
Unfortunately, this was not so. Even more labor-intensive than signing someone up for a plan is fixing the array of problems that have occurred. Aging network staff have seen a multitude of problems and have had to find creative ways to solve these problems for those who cannot do it on their own. Medicare beneficiaries getting dropped from plans; accidental auto-enrollments; clients being charged the incorrect co-pays; not getting “extra help” even though they were deemed eligible; these are just some of the issues. Some people who had retiree health insurance coverage lost it when they unwittingly enrolled in a Part D plan or were automatically enrolled by the state or Medicare. It takes a lot of work to get them back into their coverage. The problems go on and on and most organizations are not getting adequate or additional funding to handle these matters.
Since Medicare Part D is so complex, it’s anticipated that beneficiaries will always look to social service agencies for help. Every year plans change and the enrollment process begins again. Individuals will always need help signing up for the Low Income Subsidy (Extra Help), choosing a plan, information about how the program works, etc., and some beneficiaries cannot get their Part D problems solved without an advocate speaking on their behalf.
Adequate funding must be given to aging network organizations on a yearly basis. In 2006, Illinois received $1 million in Federal funding; the Illinois Department on Aging added another $1.5 million. According to a report published by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), nationally the average cost per counseling contact is $127. This indicates that for the total $2.5 million dollars Illinois agencies shared, the aging network actually provided $47 million dollars worth of service. Last year Area Agencies on Aging across the country urged Congress to direct at least $41 million to aging agencies to help Medicare beneficiaries with Medicare Part D enrollment and one-on-one counseling. The request has not been granted.
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