The Medicare Part D benefit continues its troubles in Washington. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that former economic adviser R. Glenn Hubbard, now the head of the Columbia University Business School, said he thinks the benefit was a "bad idea." Hubbard was formerly chairman of the US Council of Economic Advisers. Despite such comments and criticism from patient advocates who argue the details of the benefit are highly confusing, the Bush administration is showing no signs of backing down on the plan.
- see this article from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)
ALSO: The McKinsey Quarterly argues the new benefit is the starting point for a larger opportunity for health insurers. Article
PLUS: A programming error on the Medicare.gov Web site is causing the malfunction of a comparison tool designed to help beneficiaries chose among Medicare Part D plan offered by competing insurers. Article