Response to Comments (60-day)

CMS Response to Public Comments Received for CMS-1013

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) received the following comments related to the Notice of Denial of Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage (CMS-10146; OMB 0938-0976):

Comment:

Considering the new standing basis translation requirements, we recommend that CMS

provide the Part D denial letter, and all standard model materials going forward, in the top

15 languages that are on the MLI. This will assist by limiting delays in turnaround times for

beneficiaries, promoting consistency, avoiding risk of inaccuracies, minimizing the plan

administrative burden and reducing costs.

CMS Response:

Thank you for your recommendation.  CMS will take this recommendation into consideration in the future.  If an enrollee needs a denial notice or standard model material in a specific language/format, he/she must contact the Part D plan sponsor. Plans are only required to translate required documents for enrollees whose primary language is one other than English and make up 5% or more of the service area.  The primary purpose of the MLI is to let enrollees know that plans have interpreter services for those top 15 languages.