Falling A Little Short

Folks are avoiding this like the plague. LATimes (12.02.05):

"Despite a massive outreach campaign, only 661,000 of an estimated 4.6 million low-income seniors have been approved for financial assistance under the new Medicare prescription benefit, the Social Security Administration said today." Only 8% of Eligible Seniors Approved for Medicare Drug Program

"The disappointing figures are another indication that seniors are ambivalent about the new program, which will offer outpatient prescription coverage through private plans starting Jan. 1." Ambivalent? Sounds more like they think the thing sucks. They're raising hell about it, too. LATimes (12.02.05):

"Although the sign-up period for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit is barely two weeks old, pressure is mounting in Congress to extend it so that senior citizens can have more time to understand a program many find dauntingly complex. The registration period is scheduled to end May 15. But lawmakers who have been in their home districts during the Thanksgiving holiday have reported being besieged by elderly constituents." Pressure Mounts to Extend Deadline for Drug Benefit

"'My guess is when [Congress] comes back from Thanksgiving recess, they'll be jumping up and down to do something, because they're hearing from a lot of people who are getting heartburn trying to figure this out,' Rep. Pete Stark (D - CA13) said Thursday. Pete "wants to extend the deadline through the end of 2006." " The Republican Party leadership has opposed an extension."