Fwd: [RD] ACTION ALERT!! Support Medicaid Wrap-Around Coverage

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/07/2003 1:16:04 PM Eastern Standard Time, tcarroll@... writes:

"ACTION ALERT!! Support Medicaid Wrap-Around Coverage"MEDICARE CONFERENCE AGREEMENT POSES SEVERE THREATS TOMEDICAID RECIPIENTSOver the next several days, the House and Senate confereeswill make critical decisions about how to treat low-incomesenior citizens and persons with disabilities, including"dual eligibles" who today qualify for both Medicare andMedicaid benefits. Because the House Democratic confereeshave been excluded from the conference, the key confereeswho will influence this decision are: Rep. Bill (R-CA), Rep. Tauzin (R-LA), Rep. Bilirakis (R-FL), Rep. (R-CT), Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), Sen.Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), and Sen. Breaux (D-LA).MEDICAID WRAP-AROUND COVERAGEThe proposed Medicare drug benefit (even for low-incomebeneficiaries) includes high cost-sharing requirements.Persons below 135% of poverty would have to pay a $2copayment for each generic drug and $5 for each brand namedrug. Persons from 135% to 150% of poverty would have topay a $50 deductible, sliding-scale premiums, and 15% ofprescription costs until they reach $3,600 in out of pocketcosts. A harsh assets test, however, could take away eventhat assistance from up to 2 million persons below 150% ofpoverty. There is no assistance whatsoever for personsabove 150% of poverty ($13,470 for an individual). (Thedecision to limit assistance to 150% of poverty leaves outover 1 million individuals who were covered under theSenate's provision providing assistance to people up to160% of poverty.)In addition to high cost-sharing requirements, individualsmay not be able to get the drugs that they need becauseeach private plan is allowed to determine which drugs arelisted under its formulary.In short, the Medicare drug benefit will be considerablyworse than the drug coverage most "dual eligibles" receivetoday under Medicaid.To prevent low-income senior citizens and persons withdisabilities from being harmed through passage of aMedicare bill, states should be required to maintainMedicaid coverage for costs and drugs not included in thenew Medicare benefit. Not only have the confereesreportedly decided not to require Medicaid "wrap-around"coverage, they are going to make a decision this weekwhether to prohibit states from doing so. This decisionwould deny low-income senior citizens and persons withdisabilities access to affordable drugs.WHAT YOU CAN DOContact the conference committee members (listed above) andask them to support wrap-around Medicaid coverage forprescription drugs.# # #=====================All JFA postings from 1995 to present are available at:www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html=====================NOTE: Some Internet Providers (including AOL, Earthlink andJuno) may see JFA postings as spam because of the largevolume of JFA mail recipients and fail to deliver theposting. If this happens, the JFA system may automaticallyunsubscribe some email addresses. Should you stop receivingJFA Alerts, please subscribe to JFA again as per theinstructions at http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAsubscribing.htmlYou may also need to contact your service provider to findout how to prevent JFA postings from being recognized asspam.PLEASE Empty your email inbox regularly. JFA deletessubscribers that are over their message quota.If you stop using an account please unsubscribe that oldaccount.With hundreds of inbound emails and thousands of outboundemails daily. JFA can not respond to every message.We thank you for your understanding and continuedoutstanding advocacy!=====================JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of theAmerican Association of People with Disabilitieswww.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.htmlThere's strength in numbers! Be a part of a nationalcoalition of people with disabilities and join AAPD today.www.aapd-dc.org===================================================================== Justice-For-All FREE Subscriptions To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@... with one or the other in the body of your message: subscribe justice unsubscribe justice