Senior Drug Plan Enrollees Say Effort Is Worthwhile

Most enrollees in the new Medicare prescription drug program seem to think that the value of the new drug benefits will justify the work that went into comparing drug plans.[@@]

Researchers at America’s Health Insurance Plans, Washington, have published data supporting that conclusion in a report on a survey of 400 randomly selected U.S. seniors that was conducted earlier this month.

Officials at AHIP, which hired Ayers, McHenry & Associates, Alexandria, Va., to run the survey, say the survey is the first that assesses the experience and expectations of seniors who already have enrolled in the new Medicare drug program.

Some consumer groups and news reports have focused on the difficulties seniors face when sorting through drug plan choices, but 57% of survey participants told researchers that they believe the time and effort spent on evaluating drug plan choices has been worth it, compared with only 16% who say the benefits have not justified the extra work.

About 56% of the participants said they would recommend the drug plan program, and another 24% said they might recommend the program if it works as expected.