CMS Part D website is confusing and almost useless for most seniors

About three-fourths of older adults with basic computer skillscould not find the most beneficial prescription drug plan on theMedicare Web site, and could not take the necessary steps to enroll toreceive home health care services, according to a study published onWednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.  The study — conducted by Sara Czaja, co-director of the Center on Agingat the University of Miami Medical School, and colleagues — included112 adults ages 50 and older from Broward and Miami-Dade counties inFlorida, each of whom had at least 14 years of education and basiccomputer skills.

Study participants received brief training onthe Medicare Web site before researchers asked them to find the mostbeneficial prescription drug plan among various plans listed on thesite. Researchers analyzed the computer activity logs of participantsand found that they often could not understand the technical languageor navigate the pages of the Web site. In addition, some participantsdid not search the Web site adequately to find the information thatthey needed to select a prescription drug plan, the study found. Someparticipants ended their searches before they visited the 10 or morepages needed to find the information, according to the study.

Czajasaid, “There are some problems … some design features with the sitethat make it difficult for people to use, and they can’t get themaximum value out of it,” adding, “Some of them just gave up trying.”

In a response to the study, Jeff Nelligan, a CMSspokesperson, said that the Web site receives more than one millionvisitors daily and that the agency conducted focus groups before thelaunch of the site in 2005. Nelligan said, “We’ve worked hard toorganize and format our quality ‘compare’ tools … in aconsumer-friendly manner by conducting both qualitative andquantitative research of the Web site tools with multiple audiences,”adding, “More research is probably needed to assess the usability ofthe site, and should be performed by people who have a basicunderstanding of the size and complexity of the program” (LaMendola, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 8/20).

Source:  KFF Daily Health Policy Report, http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=54056

Editor’s note:  I just tested the plan finder tool to see how it works.  Now, I am one of the most Web-savvy people I know.  I have no idea whether I picked the best plan for me, but what I do know is that even though I chose what I thought was the cheapest plan, I ended up with a montly total premium cost plus drug co-pays that is approximately more than double what I currently pay for the medications I listed.  Hmmmm.  That’s not good, is it?