Today hundreds of community leaders from across the nation, representing National People's Action (NPA) will converge on the home of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, delivering NPA's giant "prescription" for the country's broken health care system.
Seven million seniors are still without prescription drug coverage and have until May 15 to select a plan, or face costly penalties and forgo coverage.
Under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, Leavitt has the power to immediately extend the deadline without legislative action.
Extending the deadline would enable those seniors who are still muddling through the confusing process to choose a plan, ensure continued coverage, and avoid costly penalties for missing the deadline.
To make matters worse, the Medicare Part D plan introduces new costs for the 20 million low- and moderate-income seniors who now do not qualify for assistance.
For this group, there is a huge "donut hole" that will require seniors to pay for costly medications, co-pays and big premiums.
"Seniors who make less than $25,000 a year are facing costs that we never paid before, and some of our prescriptions aren't covered anymore," says Gazaway.
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