Medicare's New Drug Plan
The new federal prescription drug benefit is ready for prime time. Here's how to make sense of it all
The weightiest thing most people contemplate on the day after Thanksgiving is either a big sandwich heaped with turkey leftovers or the linebacker for their favorite football team. This year, the government wants it to be different. That's the day that it has identified as a good time for Americans eligible for Medicare--nearly 40 million of them--to sit down with their families and talk about the program's new drug benefit, officially called "Medicare Part D." The benefit, which kicks in January 1, is going to help a lot of people who have poor prescription drug insurance coverage or none at all. But its complexity is a lot to digest.
In theory, there's been a while to bone up on the plan, which Congress passed in 2003 after a political battle royal. In practice, the nitty-gritty details have filtered out only in the past few months, leaving little time to educate the public. "There has never been a new item in Medicare as big as this prescription drug program and its components," says Amy Bernstein, coordinator of the Health Insurance Information, Counseling, and Assistance Program in New York City.
The government's online tool, which was supposed to help people pick the plan that is right for them, has been delayed and criticized for being incomplete, and community and senior advocates have noted errors in government publications. Meanwhile, the plan's private administrators are blanketing the airwaves with ads starring a lot of old familiar TV faces to strike a chord with Medicare recipients but that don't provide a lot of details on important issues like gaps in coverage. No wonder that 64 percent of respondents rated their understanding of the benefit "not well," according to a new study by Market Strategies.
But Part D is not something to be ignored. If you lack coverage now, you finally have a chance to obtain what even critics say is a worthwhile benefit. If you're eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, you're in for some big changes. Even those who have drug coverage must pay attention to see how the shift affects them.
Never fear. We're here to help. We'll spell out the program's nuts and bolts and drill down to address the needs of specific groups of seniors. And we'll tell you where to get help and how to be on guard for scams. So pick up a drumstick and pull up a chair. Your health may depend on it.
FURTHER READING
More information on the Medicare drug plan and other health issues can be found online at www.usnews.com.
This story appears in the November 7, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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