Posted At Duluth News Tribune
BY : Todd Zwillich
Minnesota is falling behind the nation in prescription drug coverage for seniors and disabled people, ranking 45th in a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Only 45 percent of Minnesotans eligible for the federal Medicare drug benefit were covered, compared with almost 60 percent nationally, according to the survey, which was based on federal data and released Monday.
About 711,000 people in the state are eligible for Medicare Part D, the prescription drug coverage, but fewer are signing up than anticipated. As of Feb. 11, about 30 percent of Minnesotans on Medicare had signed up for drug plans. They have until May 15 to enroll.
The findings suggest that many still pay retail prices for their drugs, ration them or go without.
Senior advocates said the low rate of coverage reflects inequalities in state Medicare payments based on health care costs. States with high medical costs, such as Florida, get more from Medicare, which means seniors there can get better drug coverage.
St. Paul seniors pay four times as much as their Miami counterparts for seven medications under Medicare drug plans provided by private insurers, the Minnesota Senior Federation said.
"They're not paying anything for drug coverage down there," said Peter Wyckoff, executive director of the senior federation. "They haven't for years."
Florida insurance companies are offering plans with no premiums and total coverage of the so-called doughnut hole gap in Part D, Wyckoff said. Under the standard Medicare plan, enrollees pay $250 in deductibles and $500 of their first $2,000 in costs. Then they cover everything until their drug costs hit $5,100.
Only Wyoming, Montana, Iowa and the Dakotas had lower rankings than Minnesota.
The survey measured only seniors with drug coverage that matched or exceeded Medicare Part D - including many employer-sponsored retiree health plans, but excluding discount drug cards and Canadian import programs. In Minnesota, only 10 percent of Medicare enrollees are getting drug coverage through employer plans, lagging the national average of 15 percent.
Low enrollment in Medicare drug plans could end up increasing premiums for enrollees and cause some providers to drop out of the program, according to Kaiser. That would leave fewer options for seniors and could result in even less drug coverage.
