New Year, New Medicare Plan (expecting confusion on Part D-Drugs)

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-medicare30dec30,0,4415008.story?track=tottext

From the Los Angeles Times
New Year, New Medicare Plan
Doctors and pharmacies are expecting 'an awful lot of confusion' over the Part D drug benefit when patients start arriving next week.
By Lisa Girion
Times Staff Writer

December 30, 2005

For physicians and pharmacists, the day after the New Year's holiday is often the busiest. This year they are bracing for even longer lines as baffled patients try to use Medicare's new drug benefit.

Much has been made about confusion among seniors over choices presented by Medicare Part D, which adds prescription discounts to the federal health insurance plan for the elderly. Doctors and pharmacists will find out just how confused they are when patients — some of whom may not know they were automatically signed up for the program — start arriving next week.

This comes on top of a surge of business that traditionally follows the New Year's holiday as patients seek help with colds and the flu and new employer-sponsored health plans take effect.

John Cronin, senior vice president of the California Pharmacists Assn., described it as a "sort of a triple witching hour for pharmacists."

"There's going to be an awful lot of confusion," said Cronin, a pharmacist who owns two drugstores in San Diego County. "Is it going to be mass confusion that's overwhelming or is it going to be a trickle? We really don't know."
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<snip>The most complex cases doctors and pharmacists probably will see are the so-called dual eligibles — low-income seniors and disabled people enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid programs. Those who haven't enrolled on their own will find that Medicare automatically signed them up.

"The question is, will they realize they have been enrolled and are being covered under a different plan now?" said Michael Polzin, a spokesman for Walgreen Co., which has conducted special employee training to help people in this group.