The Associated Press reports that the feds have "added 6,000 operators, quadrupled computer capacity for enrollment and will assist with more than 1,000 events in the week ahead as part of a final push for signing people up for the Medicare drug benefit" prior to the May 15 deadline.
Meantime, the Wall Street Journal has pointed out that "the massive effort has produced clear winners and losers among businesses and seniors. The early winners include some of the nation's largest health plans, which are peddling the drug coverage. After a rocky start in January, the plans have snagged roughly 15 million new customers and healthy government subsidies. Also buoyed: drug makers, which are reporting increased demand for some products used by seniors, such as drugs for chronic conditions. Many seniors are also giving the benefit good reviews, despite initial confusion about which plan to choose."
The WSJ also reports: "But not everyone is faring well. Many seniors have yet to sign up, which is leading to debate in Washington about extending the enrollment period. Medicare already has extended the deadline for people with low incomes. They stand to gain the most because of extra government subsidies, but their enrollment continues to lag. Dozens of smaller health insurers, meanwhile, are seeing only minimal enrollment gains, and independent pharmacists are criticizing the lower payments and suffering cash-flow problems. ... By far, the biggest winner in the race to sign up seniors is UnitedHealth Group Inc., which has used an alliance with AARP to help it grab more than 3.9 million new customers."
Posted by schwitz at May 9, 2006 11:15 AM | TrackBack