Dems: "Complete" Drug Plans Should Fill Donut Hole

Senate Democrats say some Medicare Part D prescription plan sellers are using misleading plan names.

In a letter to Michael Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, and 13 other Democratic senators are asking Leavitt to make sure that carriers do not use words such as “complete”, “premier plus” or “gold” in connection with Part D plans unless the plans fill the gap in Part D benefits known as the “donut hole.”

The donut hole affects Part D plan enrollees who use up everyday prescription benefits but have not yet spent enough on prescriptions to qualify for catastrophic coverage.

The senators write in their letter that some plans described as “complete” or with terms such as “gold” fail to provide much relief for enrollees who use up the everyday benefits.

“Although several of these plans do cover generic drugs in the donut hole, seniors in these plans will have to pay 100% of the cost out-of-pocket for brand name products,” the senators write. “How can a plan be called ‘complete’ when it contains a gap in drug coverage?”