AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci asked federal officials Tuesday for three more weeks to straighten out problems stemming from the transition to the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

An extension to March 7 would enable the state to recover the full costs of providing coverage to those who were enrolled in state drug programs before the new federal program took effect in the beginning of this year.

Baldacci administration officials say it’s costing the state $33,000 to $100,000 a day to iron out problems associated with the transition, which has most directly hit Mainers eligible under Medicaid and Medicare.

After the Part D program kicked in, some Mainers couldn’t get drugs they needed because they had not been enrolled in the new program. Others were asked to pay much higher co-payments than they should have.

Federal Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said last month when he met with Baldacci to discuss the problems that the government would repay Maine for the added cost of making sure eligible Mainers got the medications they needed. Officials hoped to correct the problems by today, Feb. 15.

On Tuesday, Baldacci sent a letter to Leavitt which said 15,000 Mainers are not yet receiving the drug benefits they are entitled to, and that the state continues to absorb the costs of seeing that they get their needed medications.

Baldacci said “significant progress” has been made in identifying people in some state programs who are also eligible for Medicare Part D, but many technical issues remain in finding others.

Problems stemming from the transition have prompted state lawmakers to submit several bills during this election-year session. In Washington, congressional Democrats are trying to win support among senior citizens ahead of November’s midterm elections by forcing votes highlighting problems in the new Medicare drug program.