Nine firms to offer Medicare drug plans nationally
September 23rd, 2005 by RespiteMatch.comReuters
Sep 23, 2005 — By Lisa Richwine
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nine companies have won U.S. government approval to offer Medicare prescription drug benefits to seniors across the nation starting in January, health officials said on Friday.
Several firms and organizations also will offer other options regionally. Residents of states such as Alaska will have at least 11 options, while up to 20 choices may be offered in larger states such as New York, officials said.
The companies that received approval to offer plans nationally were Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp., Memberhealth Inc., PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., Caremark Rx Inc., Wellpoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group and Wellcare Health Plans Inc.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) later announced Medco Health Solutions Inc. also was cleared to offer a nationwide plan.
Every state except Alaska will have at least one plan with monthly premiums below $20, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan told reporters. The average will be about $32 per month.
“The drug plans are offering better benefits at lower prices than independent experts had predicted because they are competing to serve everyone in Medicare. Drug plans know beneficiaries don’t have to sign up. It’s a voluntary benefit,” McClellan said.
Investors liked the news. The S&P Managed Health Care group was up 2.2 percent to 486.73 in midday trading.
Medicare is the federal health insurance program that covers 42 million elderly and disabled Americans. Officials expect about 28 million to 30 million Medicare beneficiaries to sign up for the drug coverage, citing Wall Street estimates.
Drug plan sponsors can start advertising them October 1, and patients can begin signing up November 15.
Medicare will start mailing information about the benefits early next month, officials said. Patients also can seek help from a Medicare Web site or toll-free telephone number beginning in mid-October.
Some conservatives have suggested delaying the drug benefits, projected to cost taxpayers $724 billion over the next decade, to help pay for the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The White House and House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert have rejected that idea, as did McClellan.
