Medicare part D—the prescription drug coverage plan of Medicare has been on show for several months, and the enrollment deadline, May 15, has been passed. More than 31 million beneficiaries have enrolled in one of their local plans or government standard plan, though more than 8 million people are still left behind.
Given the pessimistic prediction mostly by democrats that many beneficiaries will have trouble in enrolling in the drug program, the above news is great. The new drug plan is, by and large, rolling on.
So in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine, the administrator of Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) presented an optimistic report to cheer the American public[ref 1]. The figures, numbers, and phrases are as encouraging as one can get. However, in the same issue, state-women Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) reviewed the struggles during the unforgetable drug bill fight, and harshly criticized the republicans in abusing the legislation process[ref 2].