DHHS chief hails state for efforts on drug plan

Maine pharmacists have been working overtime to ensure their elderly and disabled customers have continued access to the medications they need during the thorny transition to Medicare Part D.

In recognition of their efforts, Mike Leavitt, secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, publicly commended Maine pharmacists on Tuesday and pledged his department’s continued aid in ironing out the wrinkles in the new drug program.

Leavitt, who visited Maine last week as part of a national tour, said he has seen for himself that the new Medicare drug benefit that took effect Jan. 1 has posed significant challenges to consumers and the pharmacists who serve them.

“Pharmacists have been making heroic efforts to ensure that people with Medicare get their medicines,” Leavitt said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. Those efforts include working directly with consumers to get them enrolled in appropriate Medicare plans and contacting the private companies that offer those plans when computer billing problems arise – frustrating and time-consuming work that bogs down the pace in busy drugstores.

Leavitt said Medicare officials will continue to work on resolving the problems that have caused many consumers to lose drug coverage altogether, especially those who are transitioning from state Medicaid coverage and other state assistance plans to the new federal program, as is required by law. Many states, including Maine, have borne the cost of paying for medications during the transition, and DHHS has promised to fully reimburse states for drug costs incurred through Feb. 15, maintaining that most glitches in the program will be resolved by that date.

Gov. John Baldacci has pledged to continue covering medicines as long as necessary, though whether states will be reimbursed after the Feb. 15 deadline is unclear.

In Bangor, pharmacist Bill Miller took Leavitt’s accolades with a grain of salt, calling it a “dog and pony show.” Miller said he sincerely appreciated the secretary’s visit to Maine and other states hard hit by the transition to Part D, but added that Leavitt “was already pretty sure of what he was doing” and didn’t seem to pay too much attention to what Maine pharmacists, including Miller, had to say.

Nonetheless, Miller said he was looking forward to a scheduled visit from regional CMS officers who will come to his State Street store today to offer welcome assistance. Though things have gotten better since Jan. 1, Miller said, “all day long, we have issues with Medicare Part D. There are still a lot of issues to resolve before the [Feb. 15] deadline.”