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In a news conference Monday, Kind said seniors who don’t sign up by May 15 — and are not covered under a credible employer or state plan — will face a penalty of 1 percent a month, or 7 percent in 2006, when and if they do sign up after the deadline.
The La Crosse Democrat said he is co-sponsoring a bill that would extend the deadline to Nov. 14, allowing seniors to change plans once a year and prohibit drug companies from dropping drugs from the plan.
Kind said he would introduce the bill this week.
With only a week remaining to sign up for a plan, millions of seniors have yet to enroll, Kind said.
“The right thing to do is to extend the deadline so our seniors and disabled are not made to pay for a complicated program that has been rife with problems from the beginning,” Kind said.
The Medicare drug plan has been one of the most disorganized, complicated and confusing programs ever implemented, said Doyle, also a Democrat.
In Wisconsin, 94 percent of seniors would fare better with SeniorCare, the state’s prescription drug assistance program, than any Medicare plan, Doyle said.
Doyle said the drug companies received billions of dollars in subsidies with the Medicare plan, while “seniors got the runaround.”
He said an independent review by the Government Accountability Office found about one-third of all callers to the government’s enrollment hotline were given wrong information or none at all.
When asked about the least-expensive plan, the hotline provided an accurate answer only 40 percent of the time, the governor said.
“We can’t expect our seniors to make good decisions based on incorrect information,” Doyle said. “We should give seniors more time to deal with this incredibly complex program.”
Kind said the Bush administration is holding fast to the May 15 deadline, but he hopes to rally support in the House.
In the interim, Kind said, people should sign up before the deadline and get help from their local aging offices and the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups.
He expects about 78 percent of those eligible from the Third Congressional District will enroll in a Medicare plan. In La Crosse County, less than 15 percent of those eligible for a Medicare plan are not yet signed up, said Tina Johnson, an elderly benefits specialist for La Crosse County.
What can you do now?
If you’re a senior and have not signed up for a Medicare Part D prescription plan:
May 15, to avoid a penalty:
La Crosse County Aging Unit, (608) 785-9710. County residents can meet with personnel
Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, 1-866-456-8211, or www.wismedrx.org
Medicare, 1-800-633-4227, or www.medicare.gov
Social Security Administra-tion, 1-800-772-1213, or www.ssa.gov/prescriptionhelp
Office of U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, 1-888-442-8040
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at (608) 791-8227 or trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com.
