Medicare Prescription Drug Plan: Has it Flopped?

As President Bush moves forward on the campaign trail, he touts the Medicare prescription drug benefit as one of his accomplishments. Part of the benefit was a lottery for people with serious illnesses to receive early coverage, including coverage of the self-injectable drugs for rheumatoid arthritis. We reported on the Medicare lottery when it was announced and again when more details were released. For the 50,000 available slots for early coverage, only 6,364 people have applied - dramatically lower than what was expected - therefore you can still apply. Enrollment has fallen short of expectations for the Medicare discount drug card program too. Some claim people don't know about it. Others say the application process is too complex, and there are many who believe the Medicare discount drug plan being offered isn't enough to excite Medicare recipients when considered in conjunction with prescription drug prices which have gone up significantly. More on Medicare.