Move the Medicare Part D Deadline By U.S. Senator Russ Feingold May 17, 2006 The deadline for seniors to enroll in the federal government’s prescription drug plan passed on Monday. Seniors and other eligible Americans must sign up for a prescription drug plan today or face stiff penalties for late enrollment. Although the program’s supporters are touting it as an affordable, easily accessible prescription drug plan for seniors, it has fallen far short of that goal. I opposed the legislation that created the Part D drug benefit, the Medicare Modernization Act. I was concerned that Part D wouldn’t do enough to help seniors afford prescription drugs, and the results have been even worse than I imagined. Since the beginning of January, I have received panicked phone calls from Wisconsinites who are frustrated by the program and unable to get the prescription drugs they need. I recently had a man contact my office who is a transplant recipient and cannot get his anti-rejection drugs. Although his physician filled out a pre-authorization form, he could not get his medication because back ups in the Part D bureaucracy were delaying his request. Another woman who was scheduled to start chemotherapy contacted my office to say that the confusion over her drug plan was holding up her cancer treatment. Wisconsinites who want to enroll need extra time to navigate this confusing program, and that’s exactly what Congress should give them. That is why I strongly support S. 1841, the Medicare Informed Choice Act, which would extend the enrollment period through the end of 2006. It would also allow a one-time penalty-free change of programs for beneficiaries who need to switch prescription drug plans. I am also concerned about the Medicare “doughnut hole,” a huge gap in coverage for prescription drug expenditures that could affect more than one-third of all Medicare beneficiaries. I support a bill, the Medicare Prescription Drug Gap Reduction Act, which will reduce the impact of the doughnut hole on Medicare beneficiaries. We need to close this gaping hole in Medicare coverage so Wisconsin seniors are not left with a prescription drug bill that they simply can’t afford to pay. To date, the implementation of the Part D program has been simply disastrous. It is unacceptable for individuals to go without life-saving medications, yet this is what has been happening in Wisconsin and across the country since this program began. A simple change to the drug plan – extending the May 15th deadline – will provide critical help to our nation’s seniors. Today shouldn’t be the last day seniors can enroll in Part D without being punished by the federal government. Instead, it should be an opportunity for Congress to take up the bill to extend the deadline, and offer support to seniors struggling to get their medications covered under this confusing new program.