United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2007-05-08 monographic deposited born digital 20 p. GA 1.13:GAO-07-858T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-858T P0b002ee1803a58f4 f:d07858t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-858T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-858T GAO-07-858T Beneficiaries Data collection Eligibility determinations Federal social security programs Medicare Monitoring Performance measures Prescription drugs Program evaluation Subsidies Program goals or objectives Program implementation Medicare Part D Testimony A69305 To help the elderly and disabled with prescription drug costs, the Congress passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003, which created a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit (Medicare Part D). A key element of the prescription drug benefit is the low-income subsidy, or "extra help," available to Medicare beneficiaries with limited income and resources to assist them in paying their premiums and other out-of-pocket costs. To assess Social Security Administration's (SSA) implementation of the Medicare Part D low-income subsidy, GAO was asked to review (1) the progress that SSA has made in identifying and soliciting applications from individuals potentially eligible for the low-income subsidy, and (2) the processes that SSA uses to track its progress in administering the subsidy. This statement is drawn from GAO's ongoing study for the committee on the Medicare Part D low-income subsidy, which is expected to be published at the end of May. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed the law, assessed subsidy data, and interviewed officials from SSA, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Internal Revenue Service, state Medicaid agencies, and advocacy groups. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-858T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-858T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-858T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-858T.pdf GAO-07-858T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-858T Testimony GAO-07-858T; Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy: Progress Made in Approving Applications, but Ability to Identify Remaining Individuals Is Limited; Beneficiaries Data collection Eligibility determinations Federal social security programs Medicare Monitoring Performance measures Prescription drugs Program evaluation Subsidies Program goals or objectives Program implementation Medicare Part D