State officials and health care advocates have raised concerns that dual eligibles -- individuals covered by both Medicaid and Medicare -- might experience "major disruptions" in care when the new Medicare prescription drug benefit takes effect in 2006 and their medication coverage shifts from Medicaid to Medicare, NPR's "Morning Edition" reports (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 3/30). Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) earlier this month introduced legislation that would delay by six months the Jan. 1, 2006, expiration date of Medicaid prescription drug coverage for 6.4 million dual eligibles. The bill would revise a provision in the new Medicare law under which dual eligibles who do not select a Medicare prescription drug coverage plan between Nov. 15, 2005, and Jan. 1, 2006, will become automatically enrolled in a plan that might fail to address their specific medication requirements (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 3/10). According to NPR, a number of dual eligibles likely will not meet the deadline because many cannot read or understand information and about one-fourth reside in nursing homes. CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said that the agency in October will begin to assign Medicare prescription drug coverage plans for dual eligibles who have not selected plans. The NPR segment also includes comments from Dr. Carl Clark, CEO of the Mental Health Center of Denver, where more than one-fourth of patients are dual eligibles with mental illnesses; Tina Kitchin, a physician with the Oregon Department of Human Services; and Rockefeller ("Morning Edition," NPR, 3/30).

The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.