New Kaiser Family Foundation Survey Shows Seniors Confused About Medicare Rx Drug Law

back

New Kaiser Family Foundation Survey Shows Seniors Confused About Medicare Rx Drug Law

The New Kaiser Foundation

February 26, 2004

A survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows seniors are confused about the outcome of the Medicare prescription drug debate and the prescription drug law. While about two-thirds of seniors report following the debate closely, just 15% say they understand the new prescription drug law very well and most seven in 10 don't know that it passed and was signed into law.

The January/February Kaiser Health Poll Report survey shows just how big a challenge it will be to educate seniors about the new Medicare prescription drug law, signed by the President on Dec. 8, 2003, as the focus shifts from debate in Congress to implementation.

The survey found that as of Feb. 8, 64% of seniors (49% of the public) said they followed the Medicare prescription drug debate "very closely" or "somewhat closely." However, most seniors say they don't understand the new law. Only 15% of seniors (7% of the public overall) say they understand the law "very well"; 24% of seniors (26% of the public) say they understand it "somewhat well"; and 60% of seniors (64% of the public) say they understand it "not too well" or "not well at all."

One poll finding was particularly striking: 68% of seniors don't know the law was passed by the Congress and signed by the President; 27% think the law did not pass, and 41% say they did not know whether or not it was passed. Some 32% of seniors correctly say the law was passed and signed. Awareness is even lower for the general public (23% say it was passed and signed).

"The lack of understanding of the prescription drug law makes it ripe for political demagoguery on both sides as we enter the election season. The President will say he delivered a good prescription drug law and the Democratic candidate will say it's a bad law. How are seniors to judge?" said Drew E. Altman, Ph.D., Kaiser's President and CEO.

"The complex nature of the law, with all its nooks and crannies and winners and losers, makes the public education challenge much harder. It will take customized one-on-one assistance to really give beneficiaries meaningful help," Altman added.

The drug benefit will not take effect until 2006 and clearly confusion exists, but currently a majority of seniors have an unfavorable impression of the law. Based on their personal knowledge about the law, 55% of seniors (38% of the public) say their impression is unfavorable, compared with 17% of seniors (25% of the public) who say it is favorable. Some 28% of seniors (37% of the public) say they don't have any impression of the new law.

Among seniors, those who know the law has passed are more likely to say they understand it "very" or "somewhat" well (58%) compared to those seniors who did not know the law has passed (31%). Seniors who knew the law was passed are also considerably more likely to say that they have an unfavorable impression of the law (73%) compared to those seniors who didn't know about passage (46% say unfavorable). The survey found that seniors who knew the law passed appear more politically engaged than seniors as a whole; they were more likely to report being registered to vote and voting in past elections.

"Implementation of the drug benefit is still two years away and success or failure is not preordained, but as of right now, there is obviously a huge need for seniors to have more information," said Mollyann Brodie, Ph.D., Vice President and Director of Public Opinion and Media Research.