Medicare Low-Income Drug App's so complicated only 5 % response expected

[papau]

"The Bush administration said Monday that it had sent the first of some 20 million applications to low-income people who might qualify for financial assistance with Medicare's new prescription drug benefit."

"But lawyers and other advocates for low-income people said the form was so complex that they expected fewer than 5 percent of the people to respond."


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/politics/29medicare.html
March 29, 2005
Medicare Applications Sent to Low-Income Americans
By ROBERT PEAR

ASHINGTON, March 28 - The Bush administration said Monday that it had sent the first of some 20 million applications to low-income people who might qualify for financial assistance with Medicare's new prescription drug benefit.

But lawyers and other advocates for low-income people said the form was so complex that they expected fewer than 5 percent of the people to respond.

The value of the new assistance is substantial. The government will provide a 75 percent subsidy worth about $1,250 a year for the basic drug benefit, plus an average of almost $2,300 a year in extra assistance to people with low incomes.

The applications have been sent to Medicare beneficiaries in 42 ZIP codes in 21 states. The list of cities includes Bristol, Conn.; New York; Miami; Chicago; Las Vegas; and Honolulu.<snip>

[tanyev]

1. Maybe he should send out Mama Babs and Laura

to people's houses to help them with these forms.

[papau]

2. :-) those "compassionate ladies would be glad to help - unless it

meant they would have to "waste their beautiful mind" for half a day - as Barb would say.

[MountainLaurel]

3. Not surprising

A few months ago, the Washington Post's health section ran a story on the new system. It elicited a LTTE from a physician who had been trying to help her mother fill out the forms -- the doctor was completely lost as to what to do, and the helpline she called was utterly worthless. If a physician, who knows the technical jargon, can't fill out the paperwork, what chance do people like my grandmother, who has a high school education earned 60 years ago, have to do this?

:grr: