Program to Close Coverage Gap Moves Forward:
People with Medicare who enter the Part D prescription coverage gap, also known as the “doughnut hole”, in 2011 will automatically receive a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs and biologics at the time they purchase their medicines, according to final guidance released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on May 12, 2010. CMS expects that all drug manufacturers will enter into discount agreements, which effectively means that the discount program will not change the brand-name drugs and biologics that are covered under Part D.
Medicare Physician Payments Still Under Threat:
Congress has not yet voted on the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213), which would prevent a 21 percentreduction in Medicare payments to doctors from taking effect on June 1. The latest version of the bill prevents Medicare payment cuts from taking place until 2012, while providing a 2.2 percent increase for the rest of 2010, and a 1 percent increase in 2011.
The Medicare Rights Center hotline has received calls from consumers who are concerned because their doctors have told them that they may no longer see Medicare patients due to the impending cuts. The cuts are a result of a payment formula established by Congress in 1997, and are unrelated to health care reform.
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