Clear As Mud

Seniors don't understand it. Younger folks don't understand it. We don't understand it. The Feds don't understand it. Lucky it's really expensive, huh. Reuters (08.25.05):

"Most older Americans say they still do not understand how Medicare's new prescription drug coverage will work and they are split over whether it will be worthwhile, a study released on Thursday found. In a Kaiser Family Foundation survey of people aged 65 and up, 60 percent said they did not understand the new benefit, which opens for enrollment in November and is scheduled to start in January." US retirees still wary of Medicare drug plan -study

"Nearly one-third said they did not know or could not answer whether they had to sign up for drug coverage or would be automatically enrolled. Forty-four percent said they had not received any information about the benefit, according to the telephone survey." "The poll also found about 32 percent of old Americans had a 'favorable' opinion about the benefit, up from 17 percent six months ago. Another 32 percent said their view was 'unfavorable,' down from 55 percent in February. The rest either were neutral or unsure." Younger folks were even more baffled. "Of 905 adults aged 18 to 64 whom Kaiser surveyed, 68 percent said they did not understand the plan, compared with 29 percent who did." In other words, pretty much no one understands the damned thing. This is the program we were once told would cost $400 billion over ten years. This is the same program where "Medicare's chief actuary thought the cost would be much higher, but his boss threatened to fire him if he told Congress. Within weeks of enactment, the measure's official cost projection skyrocketed; the latest estimate puts the 10-year price at more than $723 billion." Been going just ducky to boot:

• In April, a poll "sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 45 percent of seniors knew virtually nothing about the drug benefit. About a third who said they knew about it had an unfavorable impression."
• In June, "President Bush [kicked] off an effort...to help senior citizens sign up for Medicare's new prescription-drug coverage."
• In July, the Administration started "a cross-country campaign to sell its most significant domestic policy initiative, the new Medicare drug benefit."

So in April, 45% of seniors said they knew pretty much nothing about the thing. Now, though they may know more about it, 60% of seniors say they still don't understand it. Helluva job, guys. Also back in July, 74-year old Carmela Decker, of Portland, had a question: "'Wouldn't it have been easier if Medicare had just established a prescription plan and said, 'We will pay 80 percent of the cost'?'". As we suggested back then, it certainly would have been easier. Much, much easier. Then again, it sure seems as if making it easier wasn't really the point.