Confusion builds over Medicare Part D

Two surveys released today show that seniors are still very confused about the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan that will start in January 2006. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that while 20 percent plan to enroll and 37 percent plan not to, 43 percent don't know. These numbers are somewhat in contrast to a Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive poll which now has 50 percent of seniors planning to enroll, although 24 percent of those are only "somewhat likely" to do so. But other than this difference, both polls report that seniors remain confused about how many choices they have in the new program.

In general there appears to be a preference for an easier to understand program, with Kaiser reporting that 73 percent say multiple plans "makes it confusing and difficult to pick the best plan." Both polls also show that the most important determinant of plan choice would be the amount seniors pay in out-of-pocket costs for the drugs, rather than premium amounts or which drugs the plans cover.

- see the press release from Kaiser
- see this article in The Wall Street Journal for the Harris/WSJ poll (sub. req.)

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