Medicare Part D
- From: califchief@xxxxxxxxxxx (Califchief)
- Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2006 20:05:00 -0400
Seniors Conflicted About Medicare Drug Benefit,
Researchers Say
08-01-2006 02:34
By KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON -- The less medicine they take, the
less likely the elderly were to enroll in a new
Medicare drug plan, a signal that many senior
citizens still don't view the program as
insurance in case their health deteriorates.
Researchers say the trend was particularly
noticeable among the poor and those without a
college education. About 40 percent of these
seniors did not have drug coverage _ and were
not taking medication.
"We speculate that this arises because of
constraints or perceptions that make it
difficult for people in these groups to account
for future benefits," said the authors of an
article, published Tuesday in the journal Health
Affairs.
The authors concluded that healthy people with
low education should be targeted with counseling
on the future benefits of coverage, and that
waiving a penalty for late enrollment could help
bring more into the program.
As incomes rose, the elderly were more likely to
have drug insurance, even if they were taking no
medications. For those with more than $20,000 in
income annually, the percentage without drug
coverage dropped to 11.3 percent.
Seniors taking three or more medications were
far more likely to have drug coverage, even
among the poor. Only 5.2 percent of these people
did not have prescription drug coverage, the
authors wrote.
The researchers based their conclusions on a
survey of 2,137 seniors who were interviewed
just before enrollment into the program began
and again once enrollment ended.
"The Part D program has performed better than
some people feared, but it has also left a
significant chunk of people uncovered," said
Daniel McFadden, a lead study author and a
professor of economics at the University of
California, Berkeley. "Many are people that any
system would have difficulty reaching and
helping make informed choices."
Other authors were Florian Heiss and Joachim
Winter of the University of Munich in Germany.
The study was funded through the National
Institute on Aging and the E. Morris Cox Fund at
the University of California at Berkeley.
Seniors seemed conflicted in how they view the
program. While 57 percent of respondents
described the program as a major benefit, only
30 percent said it was well designed.
"When Medicare was passed in 1965, it was also
hotly contested and debated," said Leslie
Norwalk, deputy administrator for the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "Over time,
people have grown to love their Medicare
program, and I suspect people will grow to love
their drug benefit. It just may take a while for
the political waters to calm."
Judith Stein, executive director of the Center
for Medicare Advocacy Inc., an advocacy group,
said seniors don't like the design of the
program because it leads to confusion rather
than maximum value.
"Part D should be revisited and redesigned to
offer a standardized prescription drug program
through the traditional Medicare program," Stein
said. "Such a program would be more valuable to
more people with Medicare and less expensive for
taxpayers."
___
On the Net:
Health Affairs: http://www.healthaffairs.org/
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