Settlement to ease drug costs for some

WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- A settlement the U.S. federal government reached in a class-action lawsuit will ease drug costs for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, court records show.

The government pledged to provide new protections for the affected Medicare recipients to ensure they receive prescription drugs promptly and at minimal cost, The New York Times reported. The class action was filed on behalf of people who have had difficulty in getting the medications they need.

Under terms of the proposed settlement, filed Thursday with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, federal Medicare officials promised to speed up the process of providing extra help to low-income people, who could qualify within days under the new rules, rather than the current weeks or months.

Low-income beneficiaries were overcharged and pharmacies turned away some without their medicine, the Times said. Several states eventually declared public health emergencies, some paying for prescriptions that should have been covered by the federal Medicare program.

"This settlement agreement is a victory for many of the nation's most vulnerable citizens, who have faced life-threatening delays in obtaining vital medications," said Kevin Prindiville, an attorney with the National Senior Citizens Law Center, which sued along with the Center for Medicare Advocacy.