Administration touts enrollment in Medicare Part D

Despite problems in the program's first weeks, Medicare Part D is on pace to match expectations in terms of enrollment. The Bush administration announced yesterday that more than 2.6 million additional Medicare recipients have signed up for the plan. HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt told reporters that enrollment will likely pass the target of 28 million of 30 million predicted by the May 15 deadline. The issue now is whether or not the emergency fixes announced over the weekend will patch things up after last week's rocky start. If problems continue, expect this to become February's top healthcare story and a major issue in the 2006 elections.

- see this article from The Hill