Time to Cram For Medicare

摘要

It's the largest expansion in medicare ever, and a huge experiment in choice. The new Part D— prescription drug insurance—opens for business this week. The coverage is being offered through private insurance companies rather than by the government directly. Seniors can expect a barrage of sales pitches. Forty plans or more might be available in your area, each one covering different drugs at different prices, with different ways of getting prescriptions filled. You're supposed to parse them all, to find the one that's exactly right. Who are they kidding? Even if you're a sharp and healthy 65, or a younger person helping a parent, your eyes will cross. "Too many seniors will stand on the sidelines rather than make the wrong decision," says Richard Stefanacci of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, who leads discussions on Part D.