US health chief says drug plan woes easing
January 26th, 2006 by RespiteMatch.comLeavitt aims to shore up support in visit to state
By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe Staff | January 26, 2006
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt met with Governor Mitt Romney at the State House yesterday in an effort to shore up support for the troubled Medicare drug benefit.
Leavitt acknowledged problems with the drug plan, but said they are decreasing daily.
‘’The measure of success is not whether it is perfect on day one; the measure of success is can we deal with the inevitable unexpected problems and solve them quickly,” he said.
The plan has caused confusion for seniors, mountains of work for pharmacists, and panic for many who have been unable to get prescriptions filled quickly.
Leavitt said ‘’things are going increasingly well” and blamed the difficulties on computer problems and on the high number of senior citizens and disabled people who chose drug plans late in December, just before the benefit took effect. ‘’Implementing new systems is a challenge,” he said.
Romney said he is pleased with the new drug benefit, which is known as Part D.
Leavitt plans to travel to eight states in the next few days to promote progress solving problems related to the benefit. He said he is not meeting with pharmacists, seniors, or caregivers in Massachusetts.
Brian Ambrefe, president of the Massachusetts Pharmacists Association and owner of Village Pharmacy in Lynnfield, said while the situation has improved, ‘’there are still some pretty large deficiencies” with the benefit. In particular, he said, insurance companies didn’t provide adequate phone support for pharmacists trying to verify beneficiaries’ coverage.
‘’They knew what was coming down the line and did not prepare for it,” Ambrefe said.
Leavitt said his department has the authority to take action against insurance plans, but it has not yet because ‘’we’re working in a constructive way with the plans.”
In Washington, Democrats are seeking an investigation into the role a lobbying firm played in the crafting of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which established the drug benefit. Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, asked Speaker J. Dennis Hastert to investigate because the Alexander Strategy group is linked to both Congressman Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas, and convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Jeffrey Krasner can be reached at krasner@globe.com.
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