I'm not sure exactly why Medicare Part D is causing such headaches. My grandmother signed up for it, got an award letter that has her paying no more than a $5 copay on any of her medications (cheaper than before), and there were absolutely no problems at the pharmacy the first time she picked them up under the new plan last week. Everyone involved in the process seemed to know what they were doing, and there was relatively little confusion. This was quite unlike the last time health care changes needed to be made, which was not a fun week or two for anyone.

More impressively, this particular plan not only goes through Medicare, but also through New York's EPIC program and Independent Health. Despite that entanglement, things worked just fine. I'd put my bet on the problem being too many people not being prepared for the start of the plan - everything was set on my grandmother's end before the start of the year, and as a result, she's quite satisfied with the whole thing.

- Posted by in Politics at 5:56 PM