HHS Secretary on Prescription Drug Benefit

ED GORDON, host:

I'm Ed Gordon, and this is NEWS & NOTES.

This week the government rolled out the new Medicare prescription drug plan. President Bush says the program will make medicine affordable for millions of people 65 and older. But it's not that simple. Seniors who already have drug benefits have to decide if they'll switch plans, and new enrollees have to choose from dozens of various health plans administered by insurance companies under contract to the federal government. So far, seniors aren't exactly knocking down doors to sign up. Only two in 10 plan to enroll, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Critics say that's because the new Medicare plan is too complicated and confusing. Earlier, I spoke with Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. His department supervises Medicare. The secretary acknowledged that many people are confused, but he said in the long run the plan will be beneficial.

Secretary MIKE LEAVITT (Department of Health and Human Services): Health care by its nature is confusing. But I believe when people actually begin to enroll they're going to find out this isn't that difficult. I was just watching on television a program having a person doing it on TV. They did it in 20 minutes. I'm in the process of helping my parents, and it's clear we're going to be able to accomplish it in less than an hour. And the average person saves about $1,300. I mean, it's--it does require a little bit of choosing, but it's a very important step in health care and one that I believe people will be pleased with once they've worked through that decision.

GORDON: Yet perception is everything, particularly in politics. And as you know--the numbers are not new to you--the Kaiser Family Foundation poll suggested that 37 percent of the people polled had an unfavorable view of the benefits compared to 31 percent who saw it as favorable.

Sec. LEAVITT: Well, I would feel concerned about that if we were at the end of the enrollment period. I feel quite confident that as time goes on people are going to find that this eminently achievable. People just need to go on the Web site or go on the 1 (800) line or go to a pharmacy or a doctor or a church where they have a volunteer group. We're counting on that same network of people who help seniors with their tax returns or to get their car registered to help them if they need the extra help. Most seniors will be fine, but those who need extra help, we want to make sure that they have every help they need.

GORDON: Mr. Secretary, respectfully, though, there are going to be those seniors who may not have anyone to help them--not in the sheer numbers that we're talking about--and may be intimidated, quite frankly, by the Internet and may not, in fact, be able to sit through or comprehend being walked through it by an 800 number. What do you do for those people?

Sec. LEAVITT: Many people fall into a category who are on Medicaid, and we're going to be actually enrolling them automatically; if for some reason they don't choose to enroll voluntarily, we're going to pick a plan. We don't want to miss any of them. Many others will be on existing programs, and their plan will automatically enroll them. We expect we'll have 28 million to 30 million people enrolled between now and May 15th. And I feel optimistic that we're going to look back and, while it won't have gone perfectly, we will have made an important transition in this country. This may be among the most important things that's happened in health care in 40 years.

GORDON: Let me ask you as relates to just the total picture of health care in this country. This is one step, but, quite frankly, health care has run rampant in terms of cost, and it is costing people, quite frankly, out of their jobs when you look at corporate America and what General Motors and others have been going through. Is there any way to look at this as a step one, and if this is step one, then what else can be done?

Sec. LEAVITT: I believe there are three things. One is precisely what this plan--prescription drug plan runs at, and that is turning our attention to keeping people healthy as opposed to just treating them after they're sick. For 40 years, Medicare has been paying for heart operations, sometimes at $100,000, $200,000 each, that could have been prevented with some prescription drugs for a thousand dollars. So turning our attention to wellness has to be the first thing. The second is the incentives in our system, giving people the incentive and the need to be a cost-conscious consumer. And, lastly, we need to have better use of information technology so that people have information on the decisions that they're making.

GORDON: And what of those who suggest that in the long run, though, we're still allowing--even with this plan--the least among us to fall through the cracks?

Sec. LEAVITT: We would all like a plan that covers everything for everybody, but this plan covers a lot for a lot of people. It's an important step. It will for the first time allow people to have prescription drug coverage. We've waited for 40 years. Now we have it. It's not perfect, but it's a very important step forward.

GORDON: All right. Well, Mr. Secretary, we appreciate your time today, and obviously, so many people have so many answers, and these--as you suggest, this is only the beginning. We hope that everyone will be able to be serviced by this.

Sec. LEAVITT: Thank you, Ed.

GORDON: That was Mike Leavitt, secretary of Health and Human Services.

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