Confusion slows pace of discount card sign-ups

Drug Store News, June 21, 2004 by Michelle L. Kirsche

WASHINGTON -- While seniors have positive feelings in general toward Medicare, they expressed negative feelings toward the new Medicare drug benefit, according to a study the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation released earlier this month.

The study, which included a series of focus groups with Medicare beneficiaries conducted in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Kan., and Washington, found seniors are confused and uncertain about the new Medicare law and how it will be administered, with the level of confusion contributing significantly to their negative feelings. Specific concerns researchers uncovered included personal cost, how the new benefit will affect current Medicare coverage, future access to drugs prescribed by a doctor, logistics of the benefits and an overall lack of information.

The focus groups also revealed that seniors who lacked sufficient personal knowledge of the new Medicare law formed their opinions of the law based on news reports and advertising, both of which they reported as being negative.

Overall, complaints about the discount drug cards centered on five areas: discounts are not substantial enough to make drugs affordable; discounts are not guaranteed; the plan ends after only two years; the number of cards from which to choose is overwhelming; and the $600 credit, while a good idea, may not be sufficient.

When asked their opinion of the drug discount cards, 57 percent of focus group participants had an unfavorable view, while 22 percent looked upon the cards favorably and the remaining participants had no strong opinion either way.

In addition, seniors and beneficiaries with disabilities expressed further apprehension about investigating and choosing which card is right for them.

Card sponsors reported a slow start to the June 1 launch of Phase One of Medicare drug benefits, as fewer seniors than anticipated began to take advantage of discounts offered through 73 local and national cards.

"We didn't know what to expect, so we prepared for ... seniors [to] flood our stores," sad Michael Polzin, a spokesman for Walgreen Co., one of 28 government-approved sponsors.

But that hasn't happened yet, Polzin said. "What we have seen is a steady flow of seniors into our stores asking for information or enrollment forms."

Polzin attributed the slow sign-up pace to the fact that most seniors still don't know about the program ... so there's still a lot of education to be done." In addition, he said, "the government was encouraging people to wait and take their time to sign up. So I think we're going to see people signing up for this well into the fall. It's just going to take time for seniors to hear about it and look into it."

Michelle McKenna, spokeswoman for the Pharmacy Care Alliance, agreed that seniors are taking their time before signing up for a card. "[The Department of Health and Human Services] is telling people to sit back and wait and do their research, and I think that's what folks are doing. They're ... trying to decide which card is the best fit for them, she said.

The moderate enrollment comes despite evidence that seniors' interest in card-based discounts is rising. According to the Scripps Howard News Service, the Medicare hot line for seniors with questions about the cards and drug discount levels received more than 3.5 million calls in May, and the CMS Web site for price comparisons generated more than 10 million hits.

HHS has allocated an additional $4.6 million to organize and fund community-based organizations to help low-income beneficiaries learn about the discount card program.