Medicare : Communications to Beneficiaries on the Prescription Drug Benefit Could be Improved

On Jan. 1, 2006, Medicare began providing coverage for outpatient prescription drugs through its new Part D benefit. Beneficiaries who enroll in Part D may choose a drug plan from those offered by private plan sponsors under contract to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv. (CMS), which administers the Part D benefit. Beneficiaries have until May 15, 2006, to enroll in the Part D benefit & select a plan without the risk of penalties. This report reviews the quality of CMS's commun. on the Part D benefit. This report: examined 70 CMS publications to select 6 documents to review & evaluate the clarity of these texts; made 500 calls to the 1-800-MEDICARE help line; & evaluated the usability of the Medicare Web site. Illus.Aronovitz, Leslie G. is the author of 'Medicare : Communications to Beneficiaries on the Prescription Drug Benefit Could be Improved', published 2006 under ISBN 9781422306734 and ISBN 1422306739.