CMS contracts with two private companies regarding dula-eligibles’ Part D enrollment statust
Two weeks after being sued, the government said Thursday it put inplace more safeguards to ensure that poor older people can fill theirdrug prescriptions on Jan. 1.
In recent weeks, the governmentautomatically has enrolled about 6 million people in private plans thatwill offer a new drug benefit under Medicare. The people in thiscategory are called dual eligibles because they qualify for bothMedicare and Medicaid.
Even if the government misses enrollingjust 1 percent of them, that means about 60,000 people potentiallywould have no prescription drug coverage come the new year.
Toaddress that, federal officials said the Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services has contracted with two companies. When a customerenters a store, pharmacists will check with one contractor — Z-TechCorp. of Rockville, Md. — to determine the customer’s eligibility fordrug coverage.