Medicare information given to seniors often wrong, study shows

[Celebration]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002970411_webmedicare03.html

WASHINGTON — With less than two weeks remaining for seniors to sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, an independent review has found that Medicare's telephone operators frequently give callers false or incomplete information, reviving calls by Democrats to extend the May 15 deadline.

The report released Wednesday also found that Medicare's written promotional materials used too much technical jargon, that call waiting times lasted from a few minutes to close to an hour, and that the government Web site was so confusing that some people gave up before completing the process.

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The quality of service varied widely. On a question relating to which seniors qualified for discounted plans, customer service representatives gave correct information 90 percent of the time.

When asked which drug plans were most appropriate and least expensive for an individual, however, the accuracy rate fell to 41 percent. Often, Medicare representatives incorrectly told callers they required personal data such as a Social Security number. In fact, they can provide general information but would be able to give more sophisticated guidance with the personal data.