A last-minute scramble to meet the Medicare deadline, but Congress may ease the penalty
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John Beale, Post-Gazette
Ruth Friedman of Squirrel Hill, does crossword puzzles as she waits in Highmark's downtown office yesterday for her turn to talk with a representative about her insurance. "I want to know if I've covered the bases," she said on the final day changes can be made.The enrollment deadline for the new Medicare prescription drug program brought a surge of calls to local health plans and other agencies yesterday, with consumers both scrambling to sign up and searching for reassurance that they wouldn't be penalized.
While the threat of a financial penalty drove many to act by the midnight deadline, Congress might reduce or eliminate the penalty for those who didn't sign up.
Democratic leaders have opposed the penalty, which could increase monthly premiums by 7 percent or more. Some Republican lawmakers also have expressed concerns, including Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, who heads the House Ways and Means subcommittee on health. She plans to introduce legislation to waive the penalty.
The Bush administration has contended that a firm deadline, with the prospect of penalties, would motivate people to enroll in the new program, known as Part D.
Locally and statewide, that possibility drove many Medicare recipients to sign up yesterday.
"I'm always late on things," said Edward Crinnion Jr., waiting to enroll at Highmark Inc.'s Downtown customer service center. "Finally I said, 'I have to do it today.' "
Mr. Crinnion, 59, of Ross, who receives Medicare because of a disability, came in after he had trouble enrolling via computer.
Waiting nearby, Joan Ostrowski, of Whitehall, said she delayed because of family commitments, including a recent vacation in Florida.
Nick Ross finished enrolling shortly before 9 p.m. Steadying himself on crutches, Mr. Ross, 58, of Emsworth, who suffered injuries in a 35-foot fall, said he was reluctant to enroll because he takes few drugs, but felt he had to because of the penalty.
Though walk-in enrollments slowed last night at the Downtown site, Highmark expected more than 3,000 people to enroll in its Part D plans yesterday, said Denise Grabner, a spokeswoman for the region's largest health insurer.
Earlier in the day, Apprise, an agency that provides free health insurance assistance to Medicare recipients, reported being swamped with calls.
"I'm about at wit's end," said Bob Kubit, coordinator of Allegheny County's Apprise program.
"We're flooded, and the numbers are big," said Anne C. Bale, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, which oversees the state program.
Some called to enroll, she said, while others wanted reassurance that they had creditable coverage -- that is, coverage at least as good as Part D.
People with that level of coverage -- through retiree health plans, for example, or the state's drug assistance programs, PACE and PACENET -- don't face a penalty. Neither do people with low incomes who qualify for subsidies to be in a Part D plan.
Fran Chervenak, managing attorney for the Pittsburgh office of the Pennsylvania Health Law Project, said some who have enrolled continue to have problems because of glitches in the program.
As the deadline loomed, Highmark and other companies offering Part D plans reported an increase in calls.
The number of calls yesterday and during the past week was twice the normal rate at UPMC Health Plan, and triple the norm at HealthAmerica, company officials said.
The heavy call volume continued last night, said Pauline Degenfelder, HealthAmerica's vice president and general manager of Medicare operations.
At Unison Advantage, a Monroeville-based health insurer, calls were up by about 25 percent yesterday, officials said.
Medicare officials also reported an increase nationwide. In the past week, Medicare has been averaging 300,000 calls a day, compared with 200,000 to 250,000 calls a day during the previous week, said Peter Ashkenaz, an agency spokesman.
First Published May 16, 2006 12:00 am
