Medicare Part D

With the deadline for registration in Medicare Part D plans tonight at midnight, expect last minute efforts in Washington to extend the sign-up period. Over the weekend, several key Republicans said they would be willing to consider joining the Democrat-led effort to move the deadline back. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) said he might support such legislation but added that he wants to wait until he sees final enrollment numbers before making any decisions. …

Insurers offering Medicare Part D will be putting on a full court press over the weekend, to try to bring as many customers into the fold as possible before Monday evening's deadline. In Washington, critics continue to demand that the deadline be extended. Administration officials show no sign of budging. Article

Insurers are hustling to sign up eligible customers to Medicare Part D plans before the May 15 deadline, the Wall Street Journal reports. After that point new sign ups will have to pay stiffer premiums, a stipulation designed to encourage participation. Companies aren't sure quite what to expect, however, as a lot of potential enrollees appear to be sitting on the fence, distracted by the media controversy over the benefit. Others are simply unaware that a deadline is approaching.

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A federal probe found that operators on Medicare Part D hotlines often get it wrong--providing accurate information to callers only 40 percent of the time in some instances. GAO investigators called the Medicare hotline 500 times in late January and early February. The review was requested by congressional Democrats, who are pointing at the report as evidence that the benefit's startup phase was mishandled. CMS administrator Mark McClellan disputed the findings, noting that the test took …

Humana reported a 22 percent decline in first quarter profits Monday, blaming startup costs for the Medicare drug benefit. The company said its Medicare revenues climbed to $1.25 billion, or 127 percent. Humana has signed up the second most customers to its Medicare Part D plans among insurers, trailing only UnitedHealth group. Humana says it has signed up 1.96 million customers to its stand-alone drug plan. It predicts that it will be able to sign up 2.7 million customers by the end of …

Life has been good--very good--for the stockholders and executives of the nation's health insurers in the last few years. Many, if not most, health insurers ended the 1990s with red ink all over their income statements after they "bought" market share and fought providers over price. The early 2000s were a period when insurers got back to basics. They assessed risk, mended their …

UnitedHealth Group and Humana are leading the field in Medicare Part D enrollment, according to new numbers out today. More than 90 companies are offering about 3,000 plans across the country, CMS reports. UnitedHealth, which has has benefited from an alliance with AARP and the acquisition of PacifiCare's Medicare business, is the clear leader with 27 percent of the market. Humana is trailing not far behind with 18 percent.

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> Medicare Part D plans that drop drugs from their forumalaries will be required to continue providing them to existing customers who take the drugs. Article

> A Massachusetts-style health initiative would cost California about $9.4 billion, according to new research sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation. …

Thousands of seniors who have signed up for Medicare Part D plans apparently are unaware of the donut hole--the gap in coverage in many plans between the initial coverage limit and the threshold when the government starts paying for everything. They'll start noticing fairly soon, BusinessWeek argues, as they discover that they are temporarily on their own and faced with thousands of dollars in bills. That may lead to even more confusion and anger directed at Washington on the part …

With government officials urging seniors to sign up for Medicare Part D before the May 15 deadline, there is growing concern that insurers will not be able to handle the volume of calls and inquiries that may result. The New York Times reports that average wait times on calls to Humana for information about its drug plans were about 30 minutes last week--far more than the law allows. The newspaper looks at problems some insurers are facing with plan administration as well as the …