Originally published December 18 2005
Medicare sets up system on web to help elderly enroll in prescription drug plan
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Federal officials have developed the "Plan Finder," found at Medicare.gov, to help senior citizens through the tangled maze of information surrounding the new Medicare prescription drug plan.
There's just one catch: The new system is designed for people who have no problem getting onto the Internet via computer -- something fewer than one-third of all elderly Americans have ever done.
If navigating the Internet is not enough of a challenge, those who get to the Medicare.gov website must type and mouse-click their way through screen after screen of questions, boxes to check, options, and choices.
They must feed in personal information about themselves, the drugs they take, and the pharmacy they use.
Only then will they get a personalized list of available plans, with their main characteristics spelled out and their costs ranked from lowest to highest.
''For someone who is computer savvy, I would probably give [Plan Finder] a 'B,' " said Marlene Eskin of Austin, Texas, who is 70 and works as a marketing consultant.
''For the audience they are directing it to, the majority of whom may not even have a computer, I would give it a 'D.'
At one level, it might seem all too predictable that the government, which many Americans consider the leading producer of red tape, proposes to deal with the red tape of the prescription drug plan with an online help system that is the dot-com equivalent of more red tape.
The Medicare prescription benefit is a small but pioneering step toward helping large numbers of Americans cope with the ever-increasing cost of healthcare.
It is also one of the proudest domestic policy achievements of the Bush presidency.
Yet, the complexities of the plan have discouraged so many senior citizens from signing up that the plan's success is in doubt.
Recent surveys show that 23 to 30 percent of seniors go online, compared with more than 70 percent of all Americans.
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