Having Problems with Medicare Part D Prescription Drug

The new Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, Part D, began on January 1, 2006, and affects all 60,000--80,0000 individuals with AIDS across the country who receive Medicare coverage.

In the first weeks of the new program, Part D beneficiaries have already experienced a number of significant problems accessing their medications. These problems include individuals being asked to pay higher co-pays than they should, not being automatically enrolled in a plan, or being told they had no Part D coverage when they had in fact signed up.

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Project Inform encourage individuals who are continuing to experience difficulties with Part D to let us know--we can help you resolve these problems, and your story will help us advocate to improve the program. We can be contacted by email at dvangord@sfaf.org or adonnelly@projectinform.org.

"Medicare Prescription Coverage" in the Summer 2005 issue of BETA explains Part D at length. We encourage you to refer to this article and to check the AIDS Foundation and Project Inform websites for regularly updated information about the new program at SFAF's Medicare page and www.projectinform.org.