Medicare Will Revise Guide to New Benefits for 2006--I think

the initial book was a DELIBERATE attempt to mislead!!


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/politics/22medicare.html?hp&ex=1116734400&en=610fc7f0ab375964&ei=5094&partner=homepage

May 22, 2005

Medicare Will Revise Guide to New Benefits for 2006

By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, May 21 - For two years, health policy experts have been warning that Medicare beneficiaries may be confused by complexities of the new prescription drug benefit. Now it turns out that Medicare officials were also confused, not just about the drug benefit but also about other options.

The Bush administration is revising the 2006 Medicare handbook - the main tool for educating beneficiaries - after discovering that many statements in the first draft of the document were inaccurate, misleading or incomprehensible, even to people who have worked on the program for decades.

(many groups including Congress told Bush the handbook was flawed-so....)


For example, in describing the drug benefit, the handbook says, "After you meet the deductible, you pay part of the cost of covered prescription drugs, and the plan pays part."

The handbook does not mention that beneficiaries face a gap in coverage. After the beneficiary pays a $250 deductible, Medicare pays three-fourths of the next $2,000 in drug costs. But then the beneficiary is normally responsible for all of the next $2,850, and Medicare pays nothing............