Perspective               

Medicare Consumer Education

The Bush administration’s consumer education campaign for the new Medicare law and prescription drug benefit is not illegal, although parts of it are politically motivated, according to the General Accounting Office. In mid-March, Democrats sought an opinion on the ad campaign’s print, mail, and television materials, believing they contained information that would mislead Medicare consumers.

Because of public criticism, the Department of Health and Human Services has changed some of the language in the campaign’s materials. However, the General Accounting Office reports that parts of the materials still obscure the facts of the legislation, like what the prescription drug discount card that starts in June will offer, and how the prescription drug benefit that starts in 2006 will work.

Specifically, while the materials mention the drug discount card, none of them mention that Medicare consumers could be charged $30 annually for it. Flyers also mention that the premium for coverage will be about $35 a month, even though the premium could be a lot higher. Additionally, flyers fail to mention that Medicare consumers only have a limited amount of time to enroll in the drug benefit without incurring penalties.

To learn the facts of the prescription drug discount card, the drug benefit, and other parts of the Medicare law, visit Benefits Under the New Medicare Law.

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