Don't Get
Caught in the Last-Minute Chaos
By Grace-Marie Turner
Alexandria, VA
The final days leading up to May 15 will almost
certainly be chaotic at Medicare offices. That's
the deadline for seniors to enroll in the new
prescription drug benefit without paying a penalty
of higher premiums. Phone lines will be jammed
and websites will be clogged. The organizations
now helping seniors sign up will be overwhelmed
by the last-minute rush to enroll.
That's why seniors shouldn't wait until May to
pick a plan. The final month of the penalty-free
sign-up period is almost here. But while more
than 27 million seniors are now participating
in the new drug benefit, millions more eligible
seniors have yet to enroll.
Why are so many ignoring a program specifically
designed to save them money? Perhaps it's because
the newspapers and airwaves are filled with criticisms
that the drug benefit is just not good enough.
A recent poll found that an astounding 41 percent
of drug benefit enrollees thought that political
attacks on the program made other seniors less
likely to sign up.
That's a real shame.
Because it doesn't matter whether the program
could benefit from some tinkering in the future.
What does matter is that the drug benefit is a
valuable insurance policy right now. Those with
medium and small drug bills are able to buy peace
of mind against future medicine costs for a reasonable
price. Those with large drug bills get substantial
help with their expenses right away.
And seniors who don't sign up by the May 15 deadline
simply won't get as good a deal as those who do.
They'll have to wait until the next enrollment
period in November for their next chance to sign
up. And their premiums will increase by at least
1 percent every month they delay, adding at least
6 percent to the cost.
Seniors who are feeling skeptical or confused
should listen to those who already are enrolled.
New enrollees in the Medicare drug benefit are
overwhelmingly satisfied.
A survey by America's Health Insurance Plans found
that 84 percent of those who have enrolled had
no trouble signing up or using their benefit.
Only 3 percent of seniors polled had trouble enrolling.
Most seniors - 85 percent - have experienced no
problems using their new benefits, and 59 percent
already are saving money.
The drug benefit is offering more and better choices
than anyone anticipated when Congress crafted
the program. The government estimated that seniors
would pay $37 a month in premiums for their Medicare
drug coverage. But the average premium has turned
out to be much lower - $25 a month.
Competition among the private insurers offering
plans has resulted in some great deals. Some prescription
drug plans, for example, cost as little as $5
a month. Others eliminate the $250 deductible
before coverage kicks in - so seniors can enjoy
covered from the very first dollar they spend.
Some plans are even providing drug coverage in
the infamous "doughnut hole" - the gap
in the standard plan where insurance coverage
is interrupted between moderate and high drug
expenses.
Even The New York Times, the venue of choice for
many of Medicare's critics, is finally coming
around, recognizing that seniors are benefiting
enormously under the program. The paper recently
reported, “Those who have signed up say
the total cost of all their drugs under Medicare
is often less than the amount they were paying
for just one prescription in the past."
The Times gave the example of a couple that together
takes 24 medications. With the new benefit, their
drug bills "will plunge to $4,900 or less
a year, from more than $25,000." That's an
incredible savings.
It would be a real travesty if political attacks
kept some seniors from seeing real savings on
their prescription drug bills. With premiums starting
at less than $5 a month, they have next to nothing
to lose by signing up. By law every plan must
offer access to drugs in every medical category.
And once you enroll, you can switch plans.
Seniors shouldn't wait until May 16 to realize
what millions of others already have - perfect
or not, the new Medicare drug benefit is a good
deal.
(Grace-Marie Turner is president of the Galen
Institute, a non-profit research organization
that focuses on free-market ideas for health reform.
She can be reached at turner@galen.org.)
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