WASHINGTON — Government checks to seniors with high prescription-drug bills are going out early, Obama administration officials said Thursday, plugging the advantages of the new health care overhaul law.
The $250 checks for Medicare recipients who fall into the prescription-drug coverage gap are a new benefit this year, a modest down payment on gradually closing the “doughnut hole” over the next decade. Seniors who fall into the gap are responsible for $3,610 in drug costs in 2010 before their Medicare coverage kicks in again.
Health and Human Services spokeswoman Jessica Santillo said the rebates are going out ahead of the June 15 deadline set in the law. Some 4 million seniors and disabled people will get checks this year. The first monthly batch of 80,000 will be mailed out June 10.
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