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Please scroll down to the bottom of the page for downloadable materials and helpful links. Please note the number in bracket next to a bold item in the page content corresponds to the downloadable item or link at the bottom of the page. {5}Information on Medicare Part D SSA Premium Withholds In response to questions regarding beneficiary options for paying their Medicare prescription drug plan premium, CMS has developed a set of materials that addresses these options and how they work. One option that beneficiaries have is to have their monthly prescription drug plan premium deducted from their monthly Social Security benefits. Other options that beneficiaries have include being billed for their monthly prescription drug plan premium directly by the plan or having their Part D premium automatically deducted from their checking or savings account. For beneficiaries who have chosen to have their premium automatically deducted from their Social Security payment, it generally takes about two months from the time an enrollee's drug plan submits a request to the Social Security Administration (SSA) before deductions begin. As a result, most of the time, the first time premiums are withheld from the Social Security benefit, two monthly premium payments will be withheld at the same time. Social Security will only deduct the cost of one monthly premium payment from the monthly Social Security benefit after that. It is important to note that this has been the case from the beginning of the Part D benefit implementation and does not represent a new policy. In rare instances, a beneficiary's Social Security benefit may not be enough to cover two months' premiums at once. To address this issue, CMS has drafted a model letter that plans can use to contact beneficiaries to arrange another method for paying the monthly premium. CMS has also emphasized to plans that they may not disenroll a beneficiary for non-payment of premiums if they are waiting for the Social Security deductions to begin. Please find below a description of the options and answers to questions related to withholding premiums from beneficiaries' Social Security checks, as well as the model plan letter described above. {4}Completed LIS Decisions By State This document provides updated information on the SSA completed LIS decisions by state, as of 3/31/06. {3}SSA Outreach Plan SSA's outreach plan details their goals, audiences, where SSA will conduct outreach, key messages, the roles of different SSA offices and staff, and products. {2}SSA Proposed Rules Contain rules used to determine eligibility for premium and cost-sharing subsidies under the new Medicare Prescription Drug program. {1}SSA's "Information for Organizations" Website SSA has created a website specifically for agencies and other organizations to assist in providing information to Medicare beneficiaries about the Extra Help available for persons applying for Medicare Prescription Drug coverage.
Page Last Modified: 05/08/2006 12:00:00 AM
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