Current Medicare-eligible beneficiaries who are receiving Medicaid benefits
(so-called dual eligibles) will lose their Medicaid coverage starting January 1,
2006. These beneficiaries will be assigned into qualifying Medicare Part D
prescription drug plans starting this fall.
Most other low-income
Medicare beneficiaries will need to complete a Social Security Administration
(SSA) application form to determine eligibility for low-income assistance from
Medicare. This is a pre-screen to determine whether the beneficiary’s
income and assets are low enough to qualify for additional assistance with
prescription drug costs.
Tell Medicare-eligible Medicaid beneficiaries
that they will not need to complete the low-income assistance application.
States will automatically forward eligibility information to Medicare for
automatic enrollment. Medicare-eligible Medicaid beneficiaries will also
receive a mailing from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the
agency that runs Medicare, to explain this process in June.
Automatic
enrollment into Medicare prescription drug coverage for dual eligibles will
occur in October and November 2005. All dual eligibles will have the
option of transferring out of their auto-assigned prescription drug plan (PDP)
before Jan. 1, 2006 and every 30 days after Jan 1. Other low-income
beneficiaries will not be automatically assigned to a PDP in November, but may
face possible auto-assignment if they have not enrolled in Medicare Part D by
May 15, 2006.