Now that Monday’s deadline has passed, more lawmakers are openly asking that penalties for late enrolment be dropped. Senator Charles Grassley, Republican, said that waiving the penalty would encourage more people to sign up. Grassley is attempting to get the Senate to authorize a waiver.
The Bush administration says lawmakers need to wait till they see how many have signed up. Health Secretary, Mike Leavitt, said that we don’t know how many have signed up yet. This is puzzling, as he has declared the whole thing a great success. How can he declare it a success if he does not know what the numbers are?
According to Medicare operators, more than 800,000 people enrolled during the last week alone, with an extra 140,000 on Monday – the last day.
According to official estimates, just 1.5 million people will be facing penalties for late enrolment. The other 3 million who are estimated not to have enrolled would be exempt from penalties because they are in a low-income bracket.
Those who did not enrol will have to wait till November 15, 2006. The penalty for signing on late is 1% per month after the deadline on their premiums. Therefore, someone signing up next November will have to pay 7% higher premiums.
Some say the official estimated numbers are too high as several people have been counted twice.
Written by:Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today