Beginning on May 1st, qualified Medicare beneficiaries will have the opportunity to enroll in the New Medicare Drug Discount Card Program, which was established by the enactment of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act ("MMA") of 2003 (Pub. L. 108-173). Federal regulations governing the administration of the new programs were published in the Federal Register on Dec. 15, 2003 (68 FR 69840).In addition to discounts on prescriptions, the MMA established a Transitional Assistance Program to assist beneficiaries with prescription drug purchases. Under this transitional assistance, qualified beneficiaries will be eligible to receive stipends up to $600 in 2004 and 2005 (based on when the beneficiary applies for the transitional assistance). On April 29, 2004, CMS rolled out a new website designed to show price comparisons for prescription drugs among the various drug card sponsors participating in the program. The agency created this new website to assist beneficiaries with making informed decisions as to which drug card sponsor would best provide for their needs. The price discounts and transitional assistance are schedule to take effect on June 1st. Both the drug card and transition assistance policies serve as precursors to the more comprehensive Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, which is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2006. To see the price comparisons and more information, please visit www.medicare.gov.

V&E's summary of the MMA's Transitional Drug Card Program and Prescription Drug Benefit by Amanda Brino and Larry Oday can be found at http://www.velaw.com/pdf/resources/hhspecial043004.pdf.

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