Thought Theater

Poor Not Signing Up For Medicare Drug Benefit genre: Little Red Ribbon-Hood

As the May 15th deadline to sign up for the Medicare prescription drug benefit approaches, it appears that those with the greatest need, the poor, are participating the least. Read the full article here.

A report out today by Families USA, a liberal health care advocacy group, shows that only 24% of the 7.2 million people projected to be eligible for low-income subsidies have been approved. The participation rates vary from 12% in Arizona to 41% in Kentucky.

Federal officials say more than 37 million people on Medicare have joined or been automatically covered by the drug plan since it began Jan. 1, including 70% to 75% of eligible blacks, Hispanics and Asian-Americans. They acknowledge that millions of eligible low-income Americans are still not enrolled.

Low-income community organizers say the application process is too confusing and the personal financial data too intrusive. They say six months isn't enough time to get people enrolled - and the federal government has not been effective at infiltrating ethnic communities.

"The outreach by Social Security was not what I would consider outreach," said Jane Delgado, president of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. Most seniors received a mass mailing, she said.