Time's up for senior citizens to sign up for drug coverage
By REBECCA TOWNSEND
of the Columbia Missourian
Web Posted on May 16, 2006

While operators nationwide were working overtime to enroll last-minute additions to Medicare's drug coverage program before Monday night's deadline, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Missouri's Ninth District was calling for an extension.

Candidate Duane Burghard of Columbia acknowledged that the chances of an 11th-hour deadline extension emerging from Congress "isn't terribly likely," but he said the deadline provided a good opportunity to address his concerns with the issue.
Scott Baker, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof, confirmed that deadline extensions were not moving forward in Washington but low-income recipients are already eligible for an extension.

Medicare's Part D is the portion of the federal senior citizens' insurance program offering coverage for members' prescription drugs.

Eligible Americans were to sign up for coverage by Monday or face a 1 percent per month increase in premium costs should they choose to sign up during the next registration period, which runs Nov. 15 through Dec. 31 with coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2007.

The rest of this story can be found online at The Columbia Missourian