RELEASE: November 14, 2005

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Medicare Part D and NJ's Dual Eligibles: An Information Session
DHS offers assistance to residents with disabilities

TRENTON — Human Services Commissioner James M. Davy held an informational session today to help guide New Jerseyeans who receive their health care coverage from both Medicare and Medicaid — the dual eligibles — about the changes to their prescription drug coverage. People can begin enrolling in the Medicare Part D drug program tomorrow, November 15.

Come January 1, 2006 , the federal law will change so that Medicaid will not provide prescription drug coverage to those who are covered by both governmental programs.

This change affects 140,000 people in New Jersey : dual eligibles who are the oldest, poorest, sickest, most vulnerable people in our state. 

“Today, we need to help guide our dual eligibles — the folks who receive health care coverage from both the federal Medicare program and the state Medicaid program — through the maze of a new drug system,” Commissioner Davy said.

They include people who are developmentally disabled or mentally ill and who average four expensive prescriptions a month. Under the Medicare Part D plans, a consumer facing $12 or so in copays may have had to choose between medications and food.

However, the State of New Jersey has appropriated funds to cover the copays so our most needy residents do not have to make this choice. Although New Jersey 's dual-eligibles will not have to pay copays, and they will receive medications not covered by Medicare's plans, they must still enroll in a Medicare Part D drug plan.

“There was no hard decision in whether we were going to help this segment of the population,” said Acting Governor Richard J. Codey. “It was imperative that the Legislature would appropriate the necessary funds to cover co-pays and wrap-around for our neediest residents — and we did.”

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In the state fiscal budget for 2006, Gov. Codey and the Legislature designated $10 million to assume co-payments and $10.6 million as wrap-around to pay for drugs not on the Part D formularies.

To assist the transition to the federal plans, the Department of Human Services has added links to its website — www.state.nj.us/humanservices — to enrollment and informational tools on Medicare's site.

In addition, DHS's Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, which administers the Medicaid program, now has the ability to assist people in choosing the best prescription drug plan that suits their needs. People with questions can call the toll-free NJ Medicaid hotline at

1-800-356-1561 .

“We have been hard at work trying to ensure a smooth transition to this new program,” Commissioner Davy said. “We want to be sure that no one who will be affected by this legislation wakes up on January 1 st without an understanding of how their drug benefits have changed.”

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