The Bronx Medicare recipients who may be falling into the prescription drug “donut hole” will be receiving help to plug the nearly $2,000 gap in coverage.

An estimated 3,000 Bronx seniors fall into this “donut hole” coverage gap, according to Congressman Jose Serrano. The gap is created once the beneficiary’s drug costs for the year have exceeded $2,830. Once they reach that threshold, they are expected to pay 100 percent of the cost of their drugs until they hit the “catastrophic coverage” ceiling of $4,550.

Starting next week, the government will begin to dole out $250 checks to seniors who fall into the “donut hole.”
Serrano said the payments will put nearly $750,000 back into the pockets of Bronx seniors.

“We are starting to see the benefits of the health care bill we passed earlier this year,” said Serrano. “These $250 checks, which will go out to thousands of Bronx seniors, represents the first step towards providing full coverage of prescription drugs for Medicare recipients.”

The checks are the first step towards closing up the gap. Beginning January 2011, seniors in the donut hole will recieve a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs. The gap should be entirely closed by the end of the decade.

Serrano urges seniors to look out for fraud in the case that they are asked to sign up for the checks or fill out applications. “Medicare recipients don’t have to do anything to get the $250 check — once their drug costs for the year hit $2,830, the one-time check will be issued automatically.”