Through Medicare Savings Programs, states provide extra help to low-income beneficiaries by paying their Medicare premiums and, in one of the programs, cost-sharing. Fewer than one of three eligible individuals, however, is enrolled in them. Similarly, about three-quarters of Medicare beneficiaries without any drug coverage are believed to be eligible for the Part D low-income subsidy.
(10)Fund-supported researchers at the National Academy of Social Insurance examined ways to facilitate enrollment in these valuable programs. At an Alliance for Health Reform briefing, they presented a number of recommendations to congressional staffers—among them, simplifying and aligning programs for low-income beneficiaries, enhancing federal participation in the programs, and adopting uniform methods for counting income and resources.
(111)Fund support also helped the State Solutions National Program Office at Rutgers University assist Minnesota in its efforts to increase enrollment in its Medicare Savings Program. The Rutgers staff conducted more than 1,800 education and enrollment sessions at community venues, many located in minority communities. These efforts yielded tangible results: enrollment of eligible Native Americans in Minnesota, for example, rose 11 percent.
