Drug companies to cover Part D 'donut hole'

A consortium of seven major drug companies said that it will create a new discount program designed to help low-income seniors obtain prescriptions while they are enrolled in the Medicare Part D program. The program, which will be known as Bridge Rx, will provide discounts of 50 percent or more to eligible low-income seniors when they hit Medicare Part D's notorious "donut hole," the gap in the program's coverage that leaves participants responsible for covering their own prescriptions. The proposal may add to the general confusion surrounding the program, however. In the past, CMS lawyers have argued that drug company discount programs for Part D recipients are a violation of federal anti-kickback laws. Exactly how the program would mesh with existing rules is unclear.

- see this article from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

PLUS: The Los Angeles Times reprinted an email written by a Social Security Administration official that suggests the agency has been overwhelmed by requests for more information on the new drug benefit. Article