admin @ Tue, 2005-10-25 12:46
A book recently arrived for the millions of Americans who qualify for Medicare. The book is an effort to make choosing a prescription drug plan easy. But there is nothing easy about this process. It is complex, confusing and difficult, and if you don't choose, there will be a penalty.
Starting Nov. 15, those eligible must choose coverage from dozens of different plans. It's a situation ripe for confusion, if not tragedy.
In many cases, people depend on prescriptions not just to make their lives easier, but to make them possible. They shouldn't need an accountant or a translator to help them decide among dozens of competing plans.
Medicare "Part D" is so complicated that the government made two glaring errors in its new book. A recent Gallup poll in USA Today found a quarter of all senior citizens don't understand the program, and half don't plan to enroll.
Help is available - if you want to call it that. The drug companies, which lobbied so fiercely to get this plan enacted, are spending millions to convince customers to choose one program over another.
In California, there are 53 choices, each with a different co-payment, deductible, pharmacy and formulary. Sorting through claims of low prices vs. companies offering more complete formularies makes it difficult unless you know exactly what you need. These are individual decisions and must be tailored by each person. Some people will be left trying to predict which drug they might need in the future.
Enrollment opens Nov.15 and closes May 15 for 2006. Anyone who signs up after May 15 faces a 1 percent penalty for each month of delay.
Under standard coverage, enrollees will pay a $250 deductible. After that, drugs are covered up to the "donut hole," which begins after bills reach $2,250. Starting at $2,251, there is no coverage until drug bills reach $5,100.
Meanwhile, the AARP has warned that scam artists - pretending to be insurance agents or government officials - will use this opportunity to steal Social Security numbers, credit card information or bank account numbers. Others might offer to help seniors navigate all this confusion for a fee - though it's free to enroll.
The Internet won't help much. Type in "Medicare prescription drug plan and California" and you'll get 393,000 entries - most of them sites set up by someone wanting to sell you a plan.
If you have trouble understanding your government's new program, you can call 800-633-4227, but that's an automated system.
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