Seniors
now as likely
to have favorable as unfavorable view
of Medicare Drug Benefit, survey shows
[Aug 26, 2005]--Seniors are as likely have to a favorable opinion of
the new prescription drug benefit as they are to have an unfavorable
opinion, according to a
Kaiser Family Foundation survey released on Thursday, the
Washington Post
reports. The telephone survey, conducted earlier this month,
included responses from 300 seniors with a margin of error of plus
or minus six percentage points (Washington
Post,
8/26). According to the survey, 32% of seniors said that they had a
favorable opinion of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, and 32%
said that they had an unfavorable opinion. In a similar survey
released by the foundation in February 2004, 17% of seniors said
that that they had a favorable opinion of the Medicare prescription
drug benefit, and 55% said that they had an unfavorable opinion (Freking,
AP/Las Vegas Sun, 8/25). Slightly more of seniors
said they now understood the benefit. Twenty-four percent of seniors
said in early August they understood it "somewhat well" and 13
percent "very well," up from 18 percent and 11 percent,
respectively, in April. In addition, 22% of seniors said that they
would enroll in the Medicare prescription drug benefit -- up from 9%
in April -- and 33% said that they would not enroll, the survey
found. Forty percent of seniors said they lacked adequate
information to decide whether to enroll, according to the survey (Heavey,
Reuters, 8/25). The survey also found that 37% of
seniors said the Medicare prescription drug benefit will prove
"very" or "somewhat" helpful to them personally, up from 29% in
April (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 8/25).
Reaction
Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman said, "The positive drum
beat has caught up with the negative one. But on an individual
basis, most seniors still can't answer the big question: 'What does
it mean for me?'"
CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said, "The poll is definitely
showing that more knowledge means more favorable views." McClellan
added that, because many Medicare beneficiaries currently have
prescription drug coverage through their former employers or unions,
he "would expect a lot of people to stay where they are for their
coverage" and not enroll in the prescription drug benefit.
The
survey is available
online. Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the
survey.
Lautenberg
Criticizes Medicare Web Site
On Wednesday, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) in a letter to
McClellan criticized the explanation of the prescription drug
benefit that appears on the Medicare Web site. Lautenberg wrote, "At
this critical time, CMS should have a user-friendly, informative and
easy to understand Medicare Web page." Lautenberg said that the
explanation of the Medicare prescription benefit appears as the
fifth link on the Web site and requires additional software to view.
A CMS official said that he had not reviewed the letter but added
that the agency would consider recommendations to improve the Web
site. McClellan said that CMS this fall will add new, "very
interactive" features to the Web site (AP/Las
Vegas Sun,
8/25).
HHS
Officials Promote Rx Drug Benefit
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Tuesday at an event in Topeka,
Kan., asked Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in the new prescription
drug benefit as part of a nationwide campaign to promote the
program, the
Topeka Capital-Journal reports (Hollingsworth,
Topeka Capital-Journal,
8/25). Leavitt on Wednesday participated in a similar event in
Oklahoma City (Killackey,
Oklahoman, 8/25). He also participated in an event
in Wichita, Kan. (Bjerga,
Wichita Eagle, 8/23). On Thursday, Leavitt
participated in an event in Omaha, Neb. (Aksamit,
Omaha World-Herald, 8/26). Leavitt on Friday plans
to participate in an event in Denver (Austin,
Denver Post, 8/26). Meanwhile, McClellan on
Thursday participated in an event in Minneapolis (Olson,
St. Paul Pioneer Press, 8/26).
The
survey is available