Bush sells prescription drug plan in Calif., Ariz.

President Bush made visits to Rancho Cucamonga, California, and El Mirage, Arizona, to talk up the Medicare prescription drug plan on Monday. In his comments Bush acknowledged that the details of the benefit may be difficult for some seniors to absorb, but he said that the savings the program enables make it worth the trouble. The President said children with elderly parents have an obligation to help their parents understand and sign up for the plan. Enrollment for the benefit begins November 15 and ends May 16, 2006.

Recent evidence has suggested support for the benefit is growing. A Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll released last week found the number of seniors planning to enroll has more than doubled to 22 percent. However, the details of the benefit itself remain a bit of a mystery to most, with 60 percent saying they "don't understand it well or at all."

- see this story from the San Diego Union Tribune

PLUS: CMS says that stand-alone drug coverage for Part D will be offered in every region, with the cheapest being in California. Story

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