WP: Giving Part D A Spin (push to sell new Medicare plan to seniors)

Giving Part D A Spin
Drug Plan Allies Launch Drive to Educate, Sell
By Tom Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 27, 2005; Page HE01


....In simplest terms, Part D is an insurance program that protects enrollees from catastrophically high drug bills. It's also a discount program for the routine prescriptions that can gradually drain the bank accounts even of people who are neither especially sick nor especially poor.

The program is expected to cost the government $720 billion over the next 10 years, a sum far higher than was estimated when Congress approved this major expansion of Medicare in 2003.

Despite this price tag, the benefit falls far short of complete coverage: For most people, the first $250 of drugs each year is not covered, nor is another $2,850 that some experts call a second deductible and others call a "doughnut hole," or gap in coverage....

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....the program is so big and complex -- and its costs and benefits so hard to forecast for individual consumers -- that supporters are spending millions to explain it and convince seniors to sign up.

Some of the confusion arises from an abundance of options: People in the Washington area will be able to choose from almost 20 plans, each with its own premiums, covered drugs and participating pharmacies. Adding to the puzzle is that Part D will not be a smart buy for some retirees -- for example, those with generous drug coverage from their former employers. A further complication is that many people who opt not to join the program this year will pay a hefty and continuing penalty if they enroll in the future....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/26/AR2005092601357.html