Medicare's drug benefit explained / Companies can now tout the details of their plans and directly contact potential customers

Medicare's drug benefit explained / Companies can now tout the details of their plans and directly contact potential customers: "Medicare's drug benefit explained
Companies can now tout the details of their plans and directly contact potential customers

Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, October 2, 2005

Medicare's Drug Benefit. Chronicle illustration by Ed Rac...

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What in the world should you do about the new Medicare drug benefit?

The program is about to get under way and more than 40 million Medicare beneficiaries are scratching their heads, asking themselves whether to sign up for the program and, if so, which of the dozens of plans to choose from.

The marketing blitz for the program, known as Medicare Part D, began Saturday. Companies can now tout the details of their plans and directly contact potential customers. Enrollment starts Nov. 15 and seniors can start using the benefit Jan. 1.

The program is big and bulky, and requires lots of choices. Seniors will be bombarded with direct mail and phone calls pitching different plans and urging a quick decision. That's a recipe for confusion."