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Policy Briefs

County-Level Estimates of Medicare Beneficiaries Eligible for But Not Enrolled in the Low-Income Subsidy Prescription Drug Program

The Medicare Part D outpatient prescription drug program subsidizes low-income Medicare beneficiaries to participate in the program and lower their out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. As of April 2008, estimates suggest that almost 80% of the persons eligible for the low-income subsidy are participating in the program. However, despite significant efforts by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and its partners to enroll as many eligible persons as possible, 5.6% of rural Medicare beneficiaries and 3.7% of urban Medicare beneficiaries are estimated to be eligible for but not enrolled in the low-income subsidy program. The state tables below, with county-level estimates of the eligible-but-not-enrolled population, are designed to aid state and local agencies in the targeting effort at the local level.

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming