Medicare has issued $50 million in reimbursements. Checks have been issued to 230,000 Medicare drug plan participants as refunds of premiums that they have paid this year. The problem is that all of these refund checks were issued by mistake.

Recipients of the checks will also get a letter telling them that their premiums will no longer be deducted from their Social Security checks. This is also a mistake.

Once found, the erroneous letters and checks were quickly followed up by a second letter explaining that the refunds were issued by mistake and that the money will have to be returned.

Many Medicare drug plan participants have their premiums automatically deducted from their Social Security checks. While transmitting some information on this group of people to Social Security, they were accidentally eliminated which caused the deductions to stop. It will take until October to resume deduction of premiums but the prescription drug coverage will continue for all beneficiaries that were involved.

For more info see Senior Journal.