Medicare Mayhem
Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be the first day Americans eligible for Medicare coverage can enroll in the new part D prescription drug plan. But the plan is so confusing, that the majority of seniors are staying away.
Medicare has traditionally provided only medical benefits. People on Medicare have gotten drug coverage through public assistance programs or other health plans or have simply gone without.
This plan was made to--plain and simple--save Americans money on their prescriptions. But there’s nothing plain and simple about it, and that’s leaving our seniors hopping mad at the government.
In a heavily Asian community in lower Manhattan, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt announced the kickoff of the new drug plan.
“It will give you peace of mind we don’t want any senior in America to worry any longer about having their prescription drugs wipe out their savings,” said Leavitt.
President Bush has called it the “greatest advance in health care for seniors”. But many seniors hardly agree.
A Kaiser family foundation poll of 802 seniors released last month found that 6 out of 10 seniors said they do not understand plan. And only 1 out of 5 is going to enroll.
Sid Socolar, a retiree, was one of the protestors. He said, “I have struggled and I think figured out for myself what to do I have neighbors that are so despaired over making an intelligent selection, that they’ve decided just not to enroll.”
Medicare has provided many tools such as an online plan-finder and comparison guide to help consumers.
But the website is visually intimidating to many, and difficult to navigate.
“Ask your children to help you. So if you don’t understand call your son or your daughter or some other relative, some grandchildren, and ask them to help you with this very very important prescription drug benefit,” Chao advised an audience of Asian seniors.
But what about those seniors in nursing homes, perhaps alone and without family?
Related Stories Links:
|