Report: Medicare-Administered Drug Benefit Would be More Affordable, Comprehensive, Stable than Current Private Insurance-Run Dr...(bout the right to appeal lengthy delays ...),Health

Date:10/23/2007

bout the right to appeal, lengthy delays in the process and the need to use an experienced advocate to navigate the process. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, private drug plan denials are overturned by the independent review entity in over half of the cases concerning utilization management (prior authorization, step therapy and quantity limits).

The instability of a Medicare drug benefit available only through private insurers means fluctuating plan premiums, drug prices, formularies and utilization management restrictions for Americans with Medicare, most of whom are locked into their plans for the year, the report found. Each year, the poorest, most vulnerable people with Medicare who get "extra help," the federal subsidy to help pay drug plan costs, are forced out of their plans when premiums rise. For 2008, as many as 1.6 million people will be reassigned to a different drug plan due to increased premiums.

Consumers Union (CU), publisher of Consumer Reports, is an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization serving only the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition, and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public and protect consumers.

Medicare Rights Center (MRC) is the largest independent source of health care information and assistance in the United States for people with Medicare. Founded in 1989, MRC helps older adults and people with disabilities get good, affordable health care.

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SOURCE Consumers Union Copyright©2007 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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