The President has asserted that the new prescription drug benefit provided through Medicare Part D is working, and that “26 million have already signed up.” But the Boston Globe reports that only 5 million people have voluntarily signed up. The rest of the millions being counted are people with private insurance and people who were automatically enrolled in the program.

The President is using a number that is more than 5 times the actual number of voluntary enrollees in the new Medicare program. This is manipulation of information. It is an attempt to reassure people that the program is working fine and there is no need for reform. In fact, 30 states have enacted emergency plans to deal with the crisis of people not being able to negotiate the benefit. The need for reform seems to be the issue that Democrats can go straight to the people for proof on, as they campaign for the November elections.

In fact, Sheldon Whitehouse is calling for a congressional investigation into how the drug companies’ projected $139 billion in profits from the deal happened. Whitehouse is questioning whether this is a situation where corporate influence and corrupt lobbying practices have aligned to create a massive windfall for the drug companies at the taxpayer’s expense, and a program that many seniors are not able to navigate.

Ron Pollack of Families USA has this to say about the low enrollment and its consequences:

“Figures released in January show that 24 million seniors have been covered by Part D so far,� said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. “However, the Administration is being very disingenuous with its figures, since the overwhelming majority of those covered had drug coverage before the program started on the first of the year. Even worse, the seniors who need it the most are the ones facing the biggest obstacles. Unbelievably, only 5 percent of low-income seniors have enrolled.�

It is too early to determine why so many millions fewer are enrolling in the drug benefit than projected only last year. Some of the reasons point to the complexity of the program and the considerable costs for most beneficiaries. Regardless of the reasons, there will be serious consequences if low enrollment persists in Medicare Part D:

1. Beneficiaries won’t be getting the drug coverage they need.

2. There is a late enrollment penalty equal to 1 percent of the average premium per month. Most beneficiaries who do not enroll in Part D on time will have to pay this penalty for as long as they stay in Part D—generally for the rest of their lives.

3. Continued low enrollment in Part D could jeopardize the long-term fiscal viability of the Part D program.

“It is truly disappointing to see such a large number of seniors not get the benefits to which they are entitled,� said Pollack. “What’s also disappointing is that, instead of correcting many of the underlying problems, the Administration is trying to simply move the goalpost to portray success in a program that has so far produced rather meager results.�

The President is also asserting that the program is costing less than anticipated. I am suspicious of the political spin on this, especially given that so few low income seniors have voluntarily enrolled.

Other References: Think Progress.