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Drug discount cards are not popular
by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
December 15, 2004

Marty Gates says many seniors aren't applying for Medicare drug discount cards because they are put off by the complexities of the program. (MPR Photo/Tom Scheck)

Several groups that represent the low income and the elderly say they're not having much success giving away the government's money. They say Minnesota's seniors aren't signing up for the Medicare drug discount cards that are a part of the Medicare overhaul that became law last December. Certain low-income seniors are eligible for $1,200 in federal aid between now and 2006 -- but only if they sign up by the end of the year. After that they're only eligible for half that amount.

St. Paul, Minn. — Marty Gates says many of her friends are giving up free money by not signing up for the Medicare drug discount cards. The cards were created as a stopgap measure to help low-income seniors pay for medicine before the Medicare prescription drug benefit kicks in in 2006.

As a member of the Minnesota Access to Benefits Coalition, Gates has been encouraging her friends to sign up for the cards, but it's not working as expected.

	Krista Boston

"We know that prescriptions are expensive. So $600 or $1200 could really help," says Gates. "Many of the people are afraid, and I think the one thing that we need to do is help reassure them."

Gates says many seniors are skeptical of the program. She says they don't like that the private companies offering the cards under the program can make changes at a later date. Gates also says many complain the process of choosing a card is too complicated. And they don't know if the company they choose will continue to offer the same drugs over time.

"Now we're getting all these other dimensions to it that are frightening them. If you would go and talk to all of the people on the street in my age group, they would say, 'There's too much to bother with. I don't want to bother,'" says Gates.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services says 118,000 Minnesotans are eligible for the federal assistance. The agency hasn't released figures on how many of those people have signed up. Seniors can enroll through Medicare's toll-free number or through the state.

Krista Boston, director of Minnesota's State Health Insurance Program, says 9,500 eligible seniors have called the state line to sign up. Boston says part of the problem is that many seniors probably think they make too much money to be eligible for the program.

If you would go and talk to all of the people on the street in my age group, they would say, 'There's too much to bother with. I don't want to bother.' - Marty Gates, Minnesota Access to Benefits Coalition

"My guess is that more could be enrolling, and we're trying to get that information, to find out how many have enrolled. And that will give us a better sense of what additional outreach we will need to do," says Boston. "If there's a senior out there -- or a caregiver -- that thinks that they might be eligible or thinks that they might try this, they should call us."

Boston says the people who staff the state helpline can help seniors pick the best card for them.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services says the program has not been meeting nationwide expectations. The agency's Greg Chesmore says 1.5 million low-income seniors have signed up for the card -- only one-third as many people as the agency predicted.

Chesmore says the agency has made changes to the program to make it easier for seniors to sign up. He also says it's more difficult to get the message out to those with low incomes.

"The population that we're trying to reach with this educational message is a somewhat difficult message to reach," says Chesmore. "And when they hear about it, they think it's too good to be true."

Chesmore says most of the companies that are offering the cards have not made changes to the drugs offered or the price of drugs. He says the cards are a benefit even for those who aren't low-income, since they offer price breaks of 10 percent to 25 percent, on average.

The AARP's Paul Cotton says complaints about the complexity of the program are hard to shrug off. Cotton, who's based in Washington D.C., says it's not just the sheer number of options, but the fact that seniors have one chance to pick the right card. He says they're worried they'll pick the wrong one.

"There have been quite a number of cards paticipating in the program. And people have heard that there have been that many choices, and find it daunting to have to weed through that many choices," says Cotton.

Lack of marketing probably isn't the only factor in the low enrollment rate. Some of the companies that are offering the cards sent out two million letters to seniors, asking them to enroll in the program and get government assistance. Only 100,000 have done so.

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