The person who wrote this article needs to actually take a look at Medicare Part D before writing some of this tripe.
Another complicating factor is the lack of information from current providers and sources of medications. I made some inquiries for an elderly family member who currently receives medications through pharmaceutical companies' charitable programs. These companies were unsure how their programs would be affected. It's hard to run the numbers when you can't get any to work with.
It seems a lot of people here are "blaming the victims" for this nightmare government program.
You are exactly correct. I have spent the last 12 weeks in this mess. It has been impossible, with patients having signed up, but eligibility not beginning until after a phone call to the company--if you can get through. I know one New York company with the standard "all operators are busy" message that doesn't even put you on hold--it just hangs up.
As for those who say it is easy to understand, I say wrong! One pharmacist I know, who has done retail for 20 years, couldn't get her own mother enrolled and finally said, "to hell with it." If she can't figure it out, with seminar after seminar last summer and fall, then I don't expect Aunt Minnie to figure it out. The major problem was that in the seminars, no one knew what was going to happen until December. This implementation makes the post-war Iraq planning look downright prescient.