Drug Benefit Expanded to More Elders

Added: (Wed Feb 24 2010)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Gene L. Osofsky of the law firm Osofsky & Osofsky offers some insight about the change in the Medicare extra help program and how it will impact low-income elders in 2010.

As of January 1, 2010, more than 1 million low-income seniors are now eligible for additional prescription drug benefits under the Medicare drug program. The new law will benefit those with life insurance policies and those who regularly receive assistance from relatives to help pay household expenses but were previously disqualified because of too many assets or too much income. The new law is called the “Extra Help” program.

Gene L. Osofsky, of the law firm Osofsky & Osofsky explains why the program became more generous. “It has a lot to do with the current deep and prolonged recession,” he asserted. “The safety net has been frayed if not entirely severed for many people, and a particularly vulnerable group is low-income elders, many of them on fixed incomes.”

With the new expansion of drug benefits, income limits have been raised to $16,245 a year for singles and $21,855 for married couples living together. Assets such as stocks, bonds, and bank accounts must be limited to $12,510 for singles and $25,010 for married couples. The value of homes and automobiles are excluded.

Under the old law, applicants had to include the value of life insurance policies in calculating their assets. They also couldn’t exclude as a portion of their income whatever assistance they might have received on a regular basis from relatives and friends to help pay household expenses.

As of January 1, 2010, life insurance policies are no longer required to be listed as assets and money received to help pay household expenses is not counted as income.

Many elders who might have been rejected under the old program are being urged to reapply. “I would encourage elders in precarious situations to take advantage of the changes,” Osofsky said. But in lieu of mass influx of new applications, a Medicare ad campaign featuring former rock n’ roll icon Chubby Checker, who popularized “The Twist,” may help. The campaign includes posters, brochures, and a television public service announcement.

Approximately 32 million Americans are enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, with about 30 percent of that number also enrolled in the Extra Help program, also known as the low-income subsidy. Benefits vary according to income. For many elders, the extra help program eliminates premiums and annual deductibles while charging co-pays as low as $1.10 for generic drugs and $3.30 for brand names. For more information visit www.socialsecurity.gov/prescriptionhelp/.