Battle Over Medicare Report Heats Up

(CBS/AP)  The White House is defending its Medicare drug plan following a Government Accountability report released Wednesday that finds that the information provided by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services about the complicated new drug benefit is rife with problems.

As the report details, GAO investigators spent several weeks calling the 1-800-Medicare call line, posing as senior citizens asking for information about the new benefit. What they heard amounted to a busy signal.

"Without reliable customer support, the Part D program isn't just complicated, it's a health care crap shoot," said Rep. Henry Brown, D-S.C., ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee.

According to GAO, the federal handbooks, Web site, and 1-800 Medicare hotline failed to provide information that was "consistently clear, complete, accurate, and usable," CBS News correspondent Andrew Wyatt reports.

Investigators read from a set list of five to six questions that seniors might be expected to ask. Sources say the government's own information specialists — the very people real seniors were calling for help — could often not answer the questions. The failure rate, or "incomplete call rate," was described as unacceptably high.

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Read the GAO Medicare Drug Benefit report

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However, the Bush administration maintains that earlier problems were part of the dramatic Medicare changes. It says it's always improving the information links, CBS News correspondent Peter Maer reports. The president announced he will travel throughout Florida next week to get that message across — and to remind seniors to sign up for the Medicare prescription drug program before the May 15 deadline.

The drug program is voluntary, and individuals who never enroll do not incur a penalty. On Monday, the Medicare trustees released their latest projections, finding that enrollment for the drug benefit was well below expectations, with one-third of seniors without coverage expected to forego the benefit. Seniors who do not enroll before May 15 face penalties in the form of increased premiums. The confusing nature of the benefit and the inability of seniors to obtain accurate and understandable information about it is blamed by many experts for the low enrollment.

The GAO's allegations are also fueling Democratic calls to extend the plan's signup deadline beyond May 15, CBS News reports. House Democrats in particular have said they intend to make an issue of the program in this fall's midterm elections.

"The bill is confusing," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "The administration doesn't even understand the bill fully enough to explain it to seniors."

Under pressure, congressional Republicans are considering elimination of the financial penalty for missing the deadline.