The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists is concerned that nursing home residents will face a challenge in enrolling in the Medicare Part D benefit because they cannot receive any advisement about specific prescription drug plans from the facilities.
The ASCP, along with the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Medical Directors Association, sent a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mark B. McClellan about long-term care residents’ obstacles to enrollment. Specifically, the organizations are worried that residents, who are often frail and with limited cognitive skills, cannot choose a plan themselves.
Pharmacists, along with physicians and social workers, are not allowed to assist beneficiaries with completing enrollment applications, collecting completed applications for submission to the Part D plan or even recommending a specific Part D plan to beneficiaries, according to the CMS Marketing Guidelines for the benefit.
