learn yourself a little something 'bout medicare

Confusion Is Rife About Drug Plan as Sign-Up Nears

Enrollment in the new Medicare drug benefit begins in three days, but even with President Bush hailing the plan on Saturday as "the greatest advance in health care for seniors" in 40 years, large numbers of older Americans appear to be overwhelmed and confused by the choices they will have to make.
Beneficiaries around the country are flocking to Medicare workshops, where experts present them with complicated descriptions of drug formularies, "tiered co-payments," "creditable coverage" and "true out-of-pocket costs," and caution about penalties for late enrollment.
In most states, beneficiaries have a choice of more than three dozen prescription drug plans. Premiums, deductibles, co-payments and covered drugs vary widely. Many retirees also have other options: getting drug coverage through former employers or through Medicare-managed care plans.
In a survey issued this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, only 35 percent of people 65 and older said they understood the new drug benefit.
Asked about beneficiaries' confusion, Michael O. Leavitt, the secretary of health and human services, said: "Health care is complicated. We acknowledge that. Lots of things in life are complicated: filling out a tax return, registering your car, getting cable television. It is going to take time for seniors to become comfortable with the drug benefit."
Even after attending the seminar, Raymond L. Middlesworth, 70, a retired truck driver from Urbana, said he was baffled. "I've tried reading the Medicare book about the drug plan," Mr. Middlesworth said, "but I couldn't make sense of it. This is the biggest mess that Medicare has ever put us through."

So, in a few weeks, it'll be my full-time job to help explain this crap to some of the most vulnerable and confused of the vulnerable and confused. And also to try to kick as many asses and take as many names of the people in charge of this bullshit. Wish me luck!