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Enrollees Say New Drug Benefit Worth the Effort
Survey Results
(.pdf - 15 KB)
Executive Summary
(.pdf - 12 KB)
Enrolled seniors would encourage others to sign up;
First enrollee survey shows seniors are getting drug coverage they need and out-of-pocket savings
WASHINGTON – The vast majority of enrollees in the Medicare prescription drug program believe their new benefits are worth the effort needed to evaluate the drug plan choices available to them, a new survey released today found.
The poll also found that an overwhelming majority of enrollees would recommend that other seniors sign up for the benefit. Just nine percent of enrolled seniors say they would not encourage others to sign up.
Conducted by Ayres, McHenry & Associates on behalf of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the survey is the first to assess the experiences and expectations of seniors who have enrolled in the new Medicare prescription drug benefit.
A majority of enrolled seniors signed up for plans that provide immediate out-of-pocket savings compared to what they currently spend on prescription drugs. The survey also found that more than four-out-of-five enrolled seniors say their plan covers the drugs they need.
“Seniors are confirming that having a choice of drug plans works for them,” said Karen Ignagni, AHIP President and CEO. “Although enrollment has just begun, millions of seniors now have coverage for the drugs they need at a price they can afford.”
“These results are striking, especially given critics’ charges about the difficulty in evaluating the many choices of drug plans,” said Dr. Q. Whitfield Ayres, President of Ayres, McHenry and Associates. “A large majority of seniors who have completed the enrollment process say their new benefits are worth the time and effort needed to select a plan that meets their needs.”
The survey’s key findings include the following:
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By a 57 to 16 percent margin, enrolled seniors say their new benefits are worth the time and effort they spent evaluating the various drug plans.
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By a six-to-one margin (56 to 9 percent), enrolled seniors say they would recommend that other seniors sign up for the program.
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Fifty-one percent of enrollees say their new plan will yield immediate savings versus 28 percent who say it will not.
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Among the 36 percent of enrolled seniors who currently spend more than $100 per month on prescription drugs, 68 percent say their new plan will save them money, and 15 percent say it will not.
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More than four-fifths of enrollees say that their new Medicare drug plan covers the drugs they need.
The survey also found that a total of 28 percent of enrolled seniors have accessed on the Internet information about the Medicare drug benefit, while 25 percent have attended an event dedicated to Medicare drug benefit education.
Enrollment for the new Medicare drug benefit began November 15, 2005 and continues until May 15, 2006. The drug benefit goes in to effect January 1, 2006.
The survey of 400 randomly selected seniors was conducted December 15-18 and has a margin of error of 4.9 percent. The sample was drawn from a list targeting all adults age 65 or older. Respondents confirmed their age and were asked if they had enrolled in the new benefit.
