Problems with billing for Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums persist

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Problems with billing for Medicare prescription drug benefit

premiums persist

About 50,000 of the 4.7 million Medicare beneficiaries who opted to

have their Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums automatically

withdrawn from their Social Security checks still are having

incorrect amounts deducted, CMS officials said, USA Today reports

(Appleby, USA Today, 11/8).

In August, CMS erroneously reimbursed 230,000 beneficiaries for

their drug benefit premiums after a computer glitch occurred while

the agency was updating beneficiary information with the Social

Security Administration (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/26).

An additional 400,000 to 500,000 beneficiaries have experienced

other errors, some of which resulted in the lack of payment of

premiums for months (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/18).

Other beneficiaries are having money incorrectly withheld from their

Social Security checks.

Jim Kerr, an acting deputy director at CMS, said that the agency

resolved about 100,000 cases last month but that about 50,000

beneficiaries still are experiencing problems. " It has taken a great

deal of time to resolve some them, unfortunately, " Kerr said.

He suggested that beneficiaries who want their premiums deducted

from their Social Security checks for the 2007 plan year sign up

before Dec. 8.

Some advocacy groups are advising beneficiaries to avoid

participating in the Social Security deductions for next year and

instead use other methods to pay their premiums. They say the

problems with the automatic deductions have been ongoing since the

drug benefit began. Deane Beebe of the Medicare Rights Center

said, " We have cases that go back as far as July and have not been

resolved " (USA Today, 11/8).