It’s been nearly a month since enrollment into Medicare’s new drug benefit began, and there is still widespread confusion among seniors because of problems ranging from misprints in the Medicare handbook to wrong drug prices on the internet.
Medicare advocates say seniors should be patient.
“You know there’s so many plans, there’s so many choices…”
At the Woodbine Community Center, about 25 senior citizens and family members are listening to Derrell Payne explain the Medicare drug plan. Payne is the Public Affairs Specialist for Nashville’s Social Security office. The questions he’s getting are from people who are frequently frustrated, like Carrie Kimbrough.
“Remember, this is the first time this has been offered….People were supposed to be getting this in October though….”
Kimbrough is upset because some insurance companies didn’t publish the list of drugs they’ll cover on time. Kimbrough, not a senior herself, is helping friends and family choose a drug plan.
“I personally think everybody got everything together late. Instead of starting the year right, like most people would and wanted to do, I think it’ll have probably be after the first that they’ll have to wait and that just makes a whole lot of headaches for everybody.”
Many seniors say they’re overwhelmed at their choices. In Tennessee, there are 82 Medicare drug plans to choose from.
Paul Nelson, a 65-year old retiree says he’s having trouble choosing a drug plan because he can’t do an “apples to apples” comparison.
“I don’t take hardly any drugs per month, so it’s a different situation for me. But it would be good if they had a plan and compared all the co-pays and deductible for the drug. That way you might be able to make an intelligent choice.”
Nelson says he’ll make his own spreadsheet on a computer, but he doubts many other seniors will do that. Less than a third of seniors aged 65 and older have even used the internet. This is a problem because Medicare officials are telling seniors to enroll via the web.
Medicare doesn’t have the manpower to give one on one attention. So they’ve partnered with local non-profit agencies to form the Medicare R-X Network. Anita Bertrand directs the Mental Health Association of Tennessee, which is part of the network. Its goal is to help Tennessee’s 912-thousand Medicare beneficiaries enroll.
Inside the computer lab at Nashville’s Looby Library, Bertrand is one of more than a dozen volunteers helping seniors. She says it’s taking about an hour per person.
“People don’t understand this process. So many of the people who are eligible they don’t have access to the internet. And those that have been there who have said they’ve called, they’re not, well they’re getting the help, if they get through, but it’s just so difficult to get through.”
Unfortunately, the accuracy of information from the Medicare hotline is spotty. A draft report from the Center for Medicare Advocacy reveals that some operators gave callers wrong or misleading information. CMA’s report also shows that problems on Medicare’s web site range from discrepancies in drug prices to the inability to print out the drug plans and compare them.
Judith Stein is CMA’s executive director.
“How do you know when you’re reading something to know whether that particular thing is correct or not? I mean c’mon. How do you to question the information about price premiums on page 97 as opposed to the information on page 52? And by the same token, if you do look at the web tools, how are you supposed to know that not all that information is accurate?”
Stein says she’s concerned that seniors may enroll a drug plan that doesn’t best suit their needs.
Lucy Utt fears the same thing. She’s the coordinator for Tennessee’s State Health Insurance Program. She hopes CMS officials will be as sympathetic as they were last year during the drug card launch.
“Our experience with CMS with the drug discount card was positive when we got to that place. They were willing to help us get people out of drug discount card programs that were not appropriate for them.
Despite the problems, Utt is encouraging seniors to enroll now. She believes they will be able to change plans if they need to.
Medicare spokesman Gary Karr says the law is firm. Most seniors will only be allowed to change plans once a year. He also says that reports of incorrect or inconsistent drug information and other problems are intermittent and that, when found, are getting solved immediately.
“And, we’re doing spot checks of plans; we’re calling their 1-800-number and doing mystery shopping. And if they say something wrong, we then take formal action and say, hey you’ve got to fix that, you can’t tell people that. But for people who have no drug coverage now, they are treating this as a godsend. They see this is finally a chance to get some help on a vital part of modern medicine.”
Karr says Medicare officials are pleased with how the enrollment process is going and will release the first enrollment numbers next week.
Despite their differences, Medicare officials and advocates do agree on at least one point – for seniors that have had to choose between groceries and medications, the new drug program will save them money.
For more information on enrolling into the Medicare Drug Benefit, please contact:
1-800-Medicare
www.medicare.gov
There are also two enrollment events on Wednesday, December 14th at the
Z. Alexander Looby Library and at Pruitt Library.
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