Good News, Bad News About Part D

Since Jan. 1, more than 16,000 D.C. seniors and people with disabilities have gone without their prescriptions. The Medicare Part D drug plan ostensibly replaced the prescription benefits that Medicaid had provided, but it has failed at every turn.

As a result, people with AIDS have interrupted their treatment because their Part D plan refuses to cover antiretroviral drugs. Patients needing heart medications or insulin suffer days without help. And when they call 1-800-MEDICARE or their Part D drug plans for assistance, they get no response. Despite valiant efforts by pharmacists, community advocates and local officials, the implementation debacle at the federal level leaves people without the care they desperately need.

In three weeks, the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services, part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, has erased much of the progress that the District made in improving access to and continuity of care during the past five years.

BRIAN HAILE

Washington

The writer is the eligibility chief at D.C. Medicaid.