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Special coverage: Medicare

President hopes to twist a few arms

Seeking to boost enrollment in the new Medicare drug program, the White House turns to retiree-rich Florida.

By BILL ADAIR and ANITA KUMAR
Published May 9, 2006

This morning, Bush will greet Broward County seniors at an enrollment event before traveling to Sun City Center in southern Hillsborough County to give a speech about the drug program. On Wednesday, he will hold a forum with seniors in Orlando before flying back to Washington.

The Florida trip is part of a full-court press to persuade people to sign up for the Part D program, which expands Medicare to cover prescription drugs, before the deadline next Monday.

"His goal is to get the message out about the benefits of this program and that seniors, once they sign up, are happy and saving money," said White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo.

The visit also has political overtones, as Bush tries to pull up his sagging approval ratings in an election year. He was greeted in Fort Lauderdale by about 50 protesters carrying signs such as "Stop Oil Addiction" and "No blood for oil."

The drug plan got off to a bumpy start five months ago because of computer glitches and management problems. Some states declared temporary public health emergencies to help low-income seniors who were unable to fill prescriptions because of confusion.

What had been seen in 2003 as a shrewd way to draw seniors to the Republican Party began to look like a political liability. But now, the glitches have largely disappeared and polls show a growing number of seniors are satisfied with the program and believe they are saving money.

The White House already has met its goal for the number of seniors it hoped to have enrolled by May 15.

"Seniors are realizing substantial savings on their prescription drug costs," said Mamo.

Mike Tanner, a Medicare expert at the libertarian Cato Institute, which opposed the bill when it passed in 2003, said the program "certainly appears to be much better than we would have predicted."

Stuart Rothenberg, a political analyst, said "the drumbeat of negativity about Part D has really disappeared. I don't know that it is a wild success. But it's certainly not the disaster that Democrats and critics thought it would be."

More than 8-million new seniors have signed up for the plan since enrollment began Nov. 15.

The Bush administration uses a different, broader measurement of participants that includes those who were automatically enrolled in Part D because they had drug coverage through another federal program such as Medicaid. The White House says about 30-million people are enrolled, out of about 42-million who are eligible.

Only a small portion of the low-income people eligible for special subsidies have signed up _ only 1.7-million out of the 8-million eligible.

Democrats, with an eye toward winning control of Congress, say the overall program has been a failure. They plan to hold events today in Washington, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale to call attention to the "botched" program.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kathy Castor, a candidate for Rep. Jim Davis' congressional seat, said in a statement that Bush should work on reforming the plan "rather than swing through the area with campaign-style pep rallies."

Polls indicate Bush still has some selling to do. Despite the enrollment increase, an ABC News-Washington Post poll last month found that 35 percent know "hardly anything" about the plan.

But those who enrolled said it was easy to sign up (74 percent described it as "very easy" or "somewhat easy"), and 63 percent said they were saving money by using the plan.

The uptick in enrollment hasn't deterred Democrats from attacking the program. They say it is needlessly complex because the Republican-controlled Congress wanted to help drug companies. Many Democrats want the administration to extend the deadline until the end of the year.

On Monday, Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat seeking re-election, took to the Senate floor to ask for an extension.

"Our job now is to help seniors who choose to enroll in the program pick the plan that is right for them," Nelson said. "The stakes here are too high not to provide them with the time and resources they need to make an informed decision."

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, immediately objected to Nelson's request that the Senate consider the bill because it did not go through committee. Nelson vowed to bring the bill back to the floor this week.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates 1.1-million more beneficiaries will sign up for the program if the deadline is extended, Nelson said.

The Bush administration does not want to extend the deadline.

"We believe a fixed deadline encourages people to sign up and we don't want seniors to put off a decision that can start saving them money now," said Mamo, the White House spokeswoman.

People who don't enroll won't have another chance until Nov. 15, when the cost is higher, and the earliest they will be eligible for drug coverage is January 2007.

Times staff writers Bill Varian and Stephen Nohlgren and researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report, which used information from the Associated Press.

Medicare Part D

The last day to enroll in the new Medicare Part D plan is Monday. Enrollment won't be available again until Nov. 15, when the monthly cost of plans will rise 1 percent and coverage doesn't begin until January 2007. For information or to sign up, call toll-free 1-800-633-4227. To read previous stories on Medicare Part D go to links.tampabay.com.

[Last modified May 9, 2006, 16:21:07]