Policymakers Discuss Medicare Law and Funding Issues at NCOA Conference Contact: Scott Parkin Two key health policymakers spoke to the joint conference of the American Society on Aging/NCOA on April 17. Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, Administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, said Medicare has announced guidance that allows state pharmacy assistance programs, in certain circumstances, to enroll low-income Medicare beneficiaries automatically into the transitional assistance benefit of the recently passed Medicare Modernization Act. He also said that Medicare will issue a standard enrollment form that will be accepted by all Medicare Approved Discount card programs. Following his remarks to some 2,500 attendees at the conference, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is also House Minority Leader, criticized the new Medicare law and called for full funding of Older Americans Act nutrition programs. In referring to the lack of Congressional action, she said “we should know better” and urged attendees to make not supporting funding “too hot to handle.” McClellan praised NCOA for the formation of the Access to Benefits Coalition, which intends to extend and supplement CMS education efforts targeted to low-income Medicare beneficiaries. |