IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Regarding Some Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy Recipients
The Social Security Administration (SSA) mailed letters to 76,000 beneficiaries who may lose their Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS)/Extra Help on April 1.
Affected beneficiaries received a mailing from SSA in early March. These beneficiaries will no longer receive the Extra Help effective April 1 because they did not provide information about their continuing eligibility.
If they disagree with SSA's decision, beneficiaries should contact SSA immediately at 1-800-SSA-1213 (1-800-772-1213) to file an appeal. Appeals can be made within 60 days of receiving the dated letter. However, only those who file an appeal within the first 10 days or those who can show good cause as to why their appeal was late, will continue to receive the Extra Help while their appeal is pending.
Beneficiaries who do not appeal can file a new application for the Extra Help after April 1. Any applications from these beneficiaries received before April 1 will be considered duplicates and will not be processed, SSA said.
The current drug plan of these 76,000 individuals will contact them with details about how much their coverage will cost without the LIS. They will have a three-month special enrollment period to enroll in a less expensive drug plan if they choose.
~ taken from the National Council on Aging - Public Policy Update, March 21, 2008
NCOA's Medicare Assistance for Low Income Seniors Link
~the preceding excerpt is from the National Conference of State Legislatures' "States and the 340B Pricing Program" webpage.
BenefitsCheckup is an excellent site to help seniors who may be experiencing difficulties in paying for prescription drug coverage. You can also use their online tool to search for the right Medicare Part D prescription plan to suit your needs or those of a loved one. Please click here to visit their site.
Get the latest Medicare information by visiting Medicare's website, click here. Some tips for surviving the Medicare Part D coverage gap - click here for the tip sheet.
Click here to get a "cheatsheet" on 2007 Low Income Subsidy and Benefits as supplied to the WV Access to Benefits Coalition from the National Council on Aging (NCOA).
