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A couple of articles that caught my eye today..
Nearly $2 billion in Katrina aid unclaimed: Clock is ticking for states to claim emergency funds for needy families, MSNBC News, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 8:02 AM PST
WASHINGTON - Nearly $2 billion in federal disaster aid for Katrina evacuees is sitting unclaimed more than six months after lawmakers approved the emergency funding.
Congress approved a $2 billion block grant program in September for displaced Gulf Coast families — regardless of income — to help them get back on their feet after the Aug. 29 storm.
But only 11 states have made requests totaling $25.5 million in aid so far, according to the Health and Human Services Department (HHS). Several states said they didn’t want the bureaucratic hassle, or weren’t certain if displaced families qualified for aid under the program.
Comment: I would hope like [heck] that those states are offering wholly comparable alternatives to these funds they have consciously chosen not to seek because of the "bureaucratic hassle". Knowing as I do that human error reigns supreme, I can't help but seriously wonder..
To my Fellow Advocates, please be doing all things possible to find out if your state has claimed its dedicated portion of that funding earmarked for individuals with disabilities..
Medicare drug benefit cuts lifeline; Sabine Vollmer and Jean P. Fisher, Staff Writers, The News & Observer, Fri, 10 Mar 2006 1:41 AM PST
James Hayes has HIV. His regimen of 17 medications is in jeopardy under the new Medicare prescription plan.
The reason: the prescription drug benefit, or Medicare Part D, that took effect Jan 1.
Hayes, who lives near Boone and is on Medicare, receives about $40,000 worth of drugs for free through patient assistance programs offered by drug makers to the poor and uninsured. But now that Medicare enrollees are eligible for drug coverage, many pharmaceutical companies are closing those programs to Medicare patients and urging them to sign up for Part D.
From the same article: Paying For Medicare Part D
The standard Part D benefit requires enrollees to meet a $250 deductible, then pay 25 percent of the drug's retail cost.
Once drug costs hit $2,250, Part D then requires enrollees to cover the cost of their medicines in full until they have paid $3,600 out of their own pockets. Only then does coverage resume, with Medicare paying 95 percent of members' drug costs.
The rules are hurting people, especially those on expensive drugs, who are not poor enough to qualify for low-income assistance under Part D but not affluent enough to afford their out-of-pocket expenses under the Medicare drug plan. Medicare is the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled.
Comment: I recently posted something elsewhere about the loss of Life that continues and that is a direct effect of policies made by those who do not have a clue what it is like to walk in our shoes. This is just one story of at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions.....
Tags: Hurricane Katrina, Katrina Aid, Washington, Congress, Gulf Coast, Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, Medicare Part D.