Medicare Part D Will Complicate Things

A lot of blogging has been done regarding the Medicare prescription drug benefit, so much so, that there is no point in rehashing it.  You may recall the allegations that the budget projections were falsified, that unseemly political arm-twisting was done to get the votes in the House, and that the plan is a giveaway to pharmaceutical companies because it prohibits negotiation for better prices.  Now, the big theme is the complexity of the Plan.  It is turning out to be difficult for people to figure out exactly what they should do and how they should do it.  Headlines on the subject (as aggregated by Google News) include: US "greatest advance" in health care puzzles elderly, Medicare Prescription Plan Confuses Elderly, Medicare drug plan confusing seniors, CONFUSED BY COVERAGE CHOICES, New drug plan is prescription for confusion, the Medicare maze, Drug plan's side effects: Confused seniors, and Medicare's Part D as Plan B.  Just looking at the headlines, you get the impression that a lot of people are having trouble figuring this out.

The one point that I have not seen covered in all of this, is the problem that will occur after everyone gets signed up for one of the plans.  People think that the real problem is figuring out what plan to choose, but that is just the start.  

There would be little point in complaining about all of this, without offering a suggestion for improvement.  Continue reading here.