CMS Delays Launch of Online Tool for Medicare Drug Benefit Because of Jewish Holiday
CMS has delayed the launch of an online tool to help Medicare beneficiaries select prescription drug plans in observance of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, the Miami Herald reports. CMS on Thursday had planned to launch on Medicare.gov a tool that allows beneficiaries to input their most used medications and view the prescription drug plan that meets their needs based on monthly premiums, copayments, deductibles and formularies.
However, CMS has decided to delay the launch of the online tool until "the middle of October," agency spokesperson Peter Ashkenaz said. He added that CMS has not selected a new launch date for the online tool. According to the Herald, beneficiaries can continue to call 1-800-Medicare for more information on the new prescription drug benefit (Dorschner, Miami Herald, 10/12).
KPCC's "Talk of the City" on Tuesday included a discussion of the promotional campaign for the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Guests on the program included CMS Regional Administrator Jeff Flick and Cheryl Meronk, program manager for the Council on Aging in Orange County (Morrison, "Talk of the City," KPCC, 10/11). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
Additional information on the Medicare drug benefit is available online.