Errors cost thousands of South Florida residents Medicare coverage

[RagingInMiami]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-rxmed18feb18,0,4151016.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

Medicare HMO members, perhaps numbering in the tens of thousands, were mistakenly dropped from their medical coverage when they signed up for the government's new prescription drug plan -- a problem hitting hard in South Florida, officials and advocates say.

Medicare recipients in managed care were expected to have an easy time joining the new drug coverage plan, but because of their own signup errors or enrollment mistakes by HMOs, many instead have been left without insurance for physician care or medicine.

"I can't go to a doctor. I need a couple prescriptions that I don't have," said Delray Beach retiree Allan Cooper, 66, who was among those dropped by Humana Health Plans. "What happens if … I have to go to a hospital? That's kind of scary."

Although no one has a complete count of those erroneously dropped from HMO rolls, the national advocacy group Medicare Rights Center estimated that tens of thousands are affected, in most states. Advocates think the problem is pronounced in South Florida, where about one-third of 825,000 Medicare recipients are in HMOs, compared to 11 percent nationally.

[acmavm]

1. Errors? Right. n/t

[silverweb]

2. Exactly.

That was my first reaction, too.

[flordehinojos]

3. in new orleans the levees, in florida the no more medicare coverage for

seniors, in new york 9/11...these are a few of the depth charges fired against our country and our country's people by the bush foul odorous brothers and their sissified father.

[salin]

4. Ugh!

and Kick.

[Toots]

5. I wonder if any of those tens of thousands are AARP members?

Remember it was AARP that went to bat for this program and that is how it got passed. That and blantant LIES from the Administration on the cost of the program. I wonder how much they like it now?

[rodeodance]

11. i wonder if aarp is helping these folks.

[KittyWampus]

15. It wasn't so much the AARP as the head of it who was a Bush crony

[area51]

6. This is on purpose by republinazis.

Republinazis live to cull the population; it gives them a woody. :mad:

[dbt]

14. Dead on! Literally.

Nobody makes as many "errors" as the bu$h regime has made without becoming front-runners for Natural Selection. These ain't no errors, they are deliberate moves--thought out well in advance. Now everyone repeat after me and get used to this phrase:

We are being culled.

:freak:
dbt
Remember New Orleans

[thecrow]

7. This is just wrong

WRONG!!!!!

[Tracer]

8. A true story:

I recently became eligible for SS and was sent a Medicare card with the number XXXXXXX-T.

Unfortunately, I became ill and had to use the card. After a while, Medicare started refusing the bills and I couldn't understand why.

It turned out that SS had decided that I was DEAD and passed this erroneous info on to Medicare, which promptly started refusing to pay my bills.

I had to go to the local SS office in person, along with my passport, driver's license and other ID, to PROVE to them that I was still among the living.

As it happens, the letter "T" on my Medicare card stood for a group of old railroad workers who, no doubt, have long passed from this earth.

[FlaGranny]

9. God, I'm stuck with Humana.

It's all we can afford, but hasn't been too bad so far. I've been trying to reach them to get drug coverage and I haven't even had any luck getting them on the phone or getting them to answer my e-mails. Now I'm glad I didn't. I think I better just wait a while. I HATE, HATE, HATE what we have to go through to get medical care in this country.

[rodeodance]

10. The Dems have an opportunity to make hay of this.-sounds callous

but......

[lovuian]

12. this was not accidental and these people know it

and they are left being vulnerable!!! There should be Socialized Medicine for everybody...

[WhiteTara]

13. what do you call mass killing old people?

grandpatricide? age cleansing? seriously? I don't know if we have done this before, selected just an age group. Ethnic groups, sexes (as in the witch burnings) lots of times, killing our parents and grandparents...I can't remember when.

[dbt]

16. "Kompassionate Konservatism." n/t