The News in 2 Minutes

From The Associated Press

Medicare cutting prescription drug plans

PHOENIX—Starting next year, some low-income seniors in Arizona will have fewer Medicare prescription drug plan options.

Medicare has announced that just two private drug plans will qualify next year for its program, down from the current seven plans available to more than 150,000 eligible low-income Arizonans.

The change means thousands of low-income seniors can expect new plans that may include a different mix of prescription drugs and benefits.

The decrease in plan choices is a result of insurance companies either opting out of providing Medicare coverage because it is not profitable enough or submitting a bid that was rejected by the program.

The two available plans for 2009 are United Healthcare’s SierraRx Basic and Health Net’s Orange Option 1.

The five leaving Medicare’s roster of Arizona drug plans next year are Humana’s PDP Standard, Sierra Rx, WellCare Classic and two UniCare plans.

Arizona seniors belonging to the canceled drug plans will be automatically enrolled in either of the two remaining plans. They also have the option of enrolling in the more comprehensive Medicare Advantage plans, but they would have to pay for those.

Representatives of Health Net and United Healthcare expect to mail out details of their drug plans to new and existing members over the coming weeks.

N. Korea off US blacklist after nuke inspection deal

WASHINGTON, D.C.—After North Korea relented on nuclear inspection demands, the U.S. on Saturday erased from a terrorism blacklist the communist country President Bush once branded part of an “axis of evil.”

The U.S. step, assailed by some conservatives who say it is sketchy and rewards North Korea’s bad behavior, is aimed at salvaging a faltering disarmament accord before President Bush leaves office in January.

State Department officials said the inspection agreement and the decision to take North Korea off the state sponsors of terrorism list were in the interests of national security and consistent with the “action for action” principle of the negotiations.

Bush approved the action on Friday and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice followed suit Saturday.