Medicare Enrollment in Tennessee

Tennessee surpassed the federal government’s goal for enrolling seniors into Medicare’s new prescription drug plan, but there are still a significant number in the state who haven’t signed up.

May 15^th was the deadline to enroll in a drug plan without incurring a financial penalty. Seniors who qualify for low income assistance aren’t subject to the penalty.

According to the latest report from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 177-thousand seniors in Tennessee are not enrolled in a drug plan. That’s 19-percent of the state’s eligible Medicare population.             CMS spokeswoman Lee Millman says that she believes many of those who aren’t enrolled now can still sign up without a penalty.              “We don’t want anyone to make a decision whether you buy groceries or you buy your prescription drugs. So if someone thinks that having a drug plan would be difficult for them financially, then they definitely should call Social Security Administration right away get an application, and if they do qualify then they can apply for Part D without a penalty.”

 Nationwide, CMS estimates that 72-percent of seniors who have not enrolled qualify for the low income help. 

To sign up for or compare the Medicare drug plans, you can call 1-800-Medicare or go online to medicare.gov.