Archive
05/25/05
The partnership page on the CMS webpage has been updated with new MMA information including a Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Mailings Overview, Vignettes used in MMA outreach, an Important Information from Medicare about Paying for Prescription Drugs Notice, and the most recent preferred terminology used by CMS for MMA outreach.
Visit the Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Information for Partners section at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/partnerships/news/mma/default.asp.
The site has also been updated to include new information about preventive services. Visit this site at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/partnerships/tools/2005preventive/toolkit/default.asp
MEDICARE NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CMS Office of External Affairs
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2005 202-690-6145
Older Americans Month and Medicare’s Prescription Drug Coverage
May is Older Americans Month, Theme is “Celebrate Long-Term Living”
The 2005 Older Americans Month theme of “Celebrate Long-Term Living” was selected by the Administration on Aging (AoA) to recognize and honor the valuable contributions of older persons to their communities as they age. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is also “celebrating long-term living” by ensuring that all people with Medicare will be able to take advantage of the new and enhanced benefits available through Medicare, including new preventive benefits and the Medicare prescription drug coverage.
When May was first established as Older Americans Month in 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthdays. About a third of these older Americans lived in poverty and there were few programs available to meet their needs. Interest in older Americans and their concerns was growing, and on July 14, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Older Americans Act to create the Administration on Aging and authorized grants to states for community planning and services programs to help improve the lives of these seniors. Later that summer, the law creating Medicare was also signed, to address the health care needs of older Americans. And now, 40 years later, Medicare is expanding to include prescription drug coverage and new preventive benefits to meet the needs of nearly 43 million beneficiaries.
America’s elderly population is growing rapidly and their needs are growing with them. Older people are living longer and staying healthier and more active much later in life. And this population will continue to grow as the first wave of the 78 million baby boom generation turns 65 in 2011.
As this population continues to grow, so too does the need to ensure that Medicare keeps pace with advances in modern medicine. For too long now America’s seniors and people with disabilities have struggled to pay for their medicines. Beginning in January 2006, Medicare, for the first time in its history, will offer prescription drug coverage to help people with Medicare pay for the prescription drugs that their doctor tells them they need. Enrollment in the new drug plans will begin November 15, 2005.
All people with Medicare need to know that the new drug coverage will:
In addition to the Medicare prescription drug coverage, the new Medicare law ensures that retirees who currently have health and drug coverage from their past employer or union continue to receive that coverage.
Since 1963, a formal proclamation has been issued during or before the month of May asking that the entire nation pays tribute in some way to older persons in their communities. To honor this year’s theme, “Celebrate Long-Term Living” vow to educate people with Medicare about the upcoming prescription drug coverage. For more information about the upcoming Medicare prescription drug coverage or other Medicare questions visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-Medicare, (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today issued the final regulations implementing a new prescription drug benefit that will help people with Medicare pay for the drugs they need.
This benefit begins in January 2006 and allows all Medicare beneficiaries to sign up for drug coverage through a prescription drug plan or Medicare health plan. The final regulations also provide new protections for retirees who currently receive drug coverage through their employers or unions, and they strengthen the Medicare Advantage program.
Extensive additional information including fact sheets about the drug benefit and Medicare Advantage, and the regulations themselves, can be found at www.cms.hhs.gov.
HHS Promotes New Medicare Preventive Benefits for Better Senior Health (Off Site) (01/10/05)
Medicare Preventive Benefits Begin January 2005 With A Goal of Healthier Seniors
12/29/2004
America's seniors will now have new benefits that will help them live healthier lives, including Medicare-provided medical screenings for heart disease and diabetes. For new Medicare beneficiaries, the "Welcome to Medicare" physical exam, coupled with an increasingly broad set of preventive benefits including prescription drug coverage, provides Medicare beneficiaries with greater access to more prevention-focused benefits than ever before. These services are key features of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), signed into law by President George W. Bush in December 2003.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently mailed an updated "Medicare and You" handbook that, for the first time, emphasizes Medicare's new prevention-oriented focus. The handbook informs beneficiaries of what they should do to take advantage of these new services dedicated to early detection and treatment of disease.
The handbook can be downloaded at:
CMS has also published a “Guide to Medicare’s Preventive Services” that is available for download. The guide provides important information on the preventive services covered, how often, and which preventive services are new.
The guidebook is available in both English and Spanish and can be downloaded at:
Last Updated: 06/16/2005