The federal government has started sending out checks to 80,000 Medicare beneficiaries who earlier this year hit the "doughnut hole" gap in the program's prescription drug coverage. More checks will go out monthly as additional beneficiaries hit the $3,610 gap—a total of about 4 million beneficiaries this year. The checks are part of the new federal healthcare overhaul, which could eliminate the drug coverage gap by 2020, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
