Enrollment Jumps After Renzi's Medicare Workshops Sign Seniors up for New Prescription Drug Plan

Meetings in Casa Grande, Florence, Coolidge, Globe, Safford called a Success More Meetings Scheduled for White Mountains, Payson, Prescott, and Flagstaff WASHINGTON, D.C. - According to a new study from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, enrollment numbers in the new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan for seniors in Arizona's First District jumped eight percent after the first round of Medicare workshops planned by Congressman Rick Renzi's (AZ-1) office and the Medicare Access Network of Arizona. The First Congressional District is leading the state in increased enrollment, while Arizona's average increase is less than four percent. Renzi's office held several meeting in Casa Grande, Florence and Coolidge in March and recently hosted workshops in Globe and Safford. Future workshops are planned for Show Low, Payson, St. Johns, Holbrook, Prescott, Prescott Valley, and Flagstaff. The deadline to sign up for the Medicare Prescription drug plan is May 15, 2006. Renzi also has special Medicare section on his website (www.house.gov/renzi) to help seniors sign up for the new plan and learn more about future Medicare workshops. "This program will help increase competition and lower prescription drug prices for our seniors," said Congressman Renzi. "The plans will be especially beneficial to seniors with low incomes." Renzi noted the importance of convenient access to affordable prescription drugs in rural Arizona and said he supports allowing consumers, pharmacies, and wholesalers to import improved drugs from certain developed foreign countries like Canada. "I am supporting legislation to give Americans the opportunity to purchase FDA-approved drugs at the same low cost as in Canada and other developed countries," Congressman Renzi said. "I will continue the fight for convenient access and fair pricing of prescription drugs for our seniors." Currently 27.6 million seniors have enrolled, and since the beginning of March, seniors have been enrolling in the plan at an average rate of 416,000 per week. According to a recent survey, two-thirds of seniors, 66 percent, believe the drug benefit was a step in the right direction (KRC Research, 3/15-3/20). Seniors who have not yet enrolled say they plan to do so by the May 15th deadline (KRC Research, 3/15-3/20). The average senior who signs up for a plan will save more than $1,100 on their prescription drugs this year.