The number of Medicare drug card takers a fraction of what was expected USA

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 31 May 2004 - 14:00 PDT

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AARP, one of the Medicare drug card sponsors, has only signed up 400 card takers so far. AARP has 35 million members over the age of 50. They had expected a much larger number of takers by now. AARP had sent out 26,000 enrolment kits. 400 out of 26,000 is being considered by many experts as a complete flop.

Most of the other sponsors are fairly tight-lipped about their uptake. Had the number of takers been great, or even satisfactory, one imagines they would be telling everyone.

According to Michael Polzin of Walgreen Co. "We prepared for a crush of seniors to come in beginning in May. That hasn't happened."

The US government had been talking about an uptake of more than 7.3 million seniors, of which 4.7 million would be low income people who would receive $600 from the government this year and next year (to help pay for their prescription bills).

Some say the slow uptake could be a result of Tommy Thompson's advice. He told people to window shop before choosing a card. He is now urging people to sign up.

Medicare phone lines have been swamped. Discrepancies between prices posted on the Medicare web site have left many people confused. The US government says the fact that phone lines have been busy is a sign of great interest. Others say it is more a sign of confusion.

Most people agree that the Medicare Web Site is confusing and a nightmare to use.

The main complaint is the size of most of the discounts - they are small. The other major complaint is that the discounts are less than the recent hikes in drug prices. A bit like raising the prices in your store by 20% today and offering a 10% discount tomorrow and telling everyone they are getting a bargain.

Despite all this gloom, the US government says things are on track and their enrolment projections will be met. $4.6 million will be available, says the US government, to help sign up low-income Medicare beneficiaries.

Asked whether this sudden injection of new money is a sign that things are not going according to plan, the US government said 'No'.

What does not seem to be abating is the number of elderly Americans who are buying their prescriptions from abroad, namely Canadian pharmacies. Discounts from buying abroad are far greater than anything offered in this new Medicare card program.