Medicare Postponing Roll Out of Drug Plan Comparison Tool Because of Jewish Holiday, USA

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 13 Oct 2005 - 14:00 PDT

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CMS has delayed the launch of an online tool to help Medicare beneficiaries select prescription drug plans in observance of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, the Miami Herald reports. CMS on Thursday had planned to launch on Medicare.gov a tool that allows beneficiaries to input their most used medications and view the prescription drug plan that meets their needs based on monthly premiums, copayments, deductibles and formularies. However, CMS has decided to delay the launch of the online tool until "the middle of October," agency spokesperson Peter Ashkenaz said. He added that CMS has not selected a new launch date for the online tool. According to the Herald, beneficiaries can continue to call 1-800-Medicare for more information on the new prescription drug benefit (Dorschner, Miami Herald, 10/12).

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