Good News About Part D: A Change in Policy Means that Enrollees Are Guaranteed Their Medicine for at Least A Year.

One of the biggest complaints about the Medicare drug benefit is that patients are being asked to select a program based on the drugs provided but, until now, the program could drop those drugs at any time. The enrollee, however, cannot change programs until the next yearly enrollment period.

A new memorandum changes that policy, stating, "No beneficiaries will be subject to a discontinuation or reduction in coverage or reduction in coverage of the drugs they are currently using."

There are some limitations. A Part D program can drop a drug if new research shows it to be unsafe or if a new low-cost generic version becomes available.

Drug plans can still require doctors to get prior approval for prescription and limit the number of pills given to a patient each month.

While the change has been labeled a political move, its still good news that beneficiaries will not find their medicine has become unavailable to them through their Part D insurer. It is, however, unclear what will happen next year.

Dr. Mark McClellan, the Medicare administrator, defended insurers, saying that they have legitimate reasons for changing formularies because "drug therapies are constantly evolving as new drugs are developed and new medical knowledge becomes available."

Created 4/28/06