Blunt reacts to Medicare Part D problems in state

In a letter to U.S. Health and Senior Services Director Michael Leavitt, Blunt said that about 14,000 Missourians who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid were not automatically enrolled for Part D as planned, leaving them without drug coverage since Jan. 1.

Blunt has asked the department to add some of the affected recipients back on to the state Medicaid roll while these “federal miscalculations” are corrected, which he says could take several weeks.

“The current situation resulting from federal missteps is unacceptable,” he said in the letter. “I strongly urge that the federal government take immediate action to ensure that the health and safety of dual eligible Missourians is provided.”

Details on how to access the transitional program for critical need will be available in the near future, according to a news release from Blunt's office. In the meantime, individuals may continue to call the state's Medicare call center at 1 (800) MEDICARE.

Blunt's letter also said that some individuals who were successfully auto-enrolled experienced problems with Part D. Many chose to switch plans to find drug formularies that better fit their medication needs, but those changes were not always updated in databases, resulting in problems in filling prescriptions.

“Missouri offered to help the federal government with the implementation of Medicare Part D in our state numerous times, but our offers of help were repeatedly turned down,” Blunt said in the letter. “Missouri can no longer stand by and watch the health and safety of our most vulnerable citizens continue to be jeopardized.”

This story originally appeared in SBJ's Jan. 17 e-news Daily Update. Click here to register.