|
|
Medicare
Help Line Not Much Help
By
Hiran Ratnayake, The News Journal
Margaret Bingham recently spent 17 minutes on a fruitless call to the Medicare help line.
October
10, 2005
Slumped in a chair on her three-season porch, 70-year-old Margaret Bingham punched the digits for the Medicare help line.
She has private insurance, but Jule Bingham, her 88-year-old mother-in-law, does not. In Margaret's estimates, Jule, a Wilmington resident who prefers to buy her medicine from pharmacies, spends $1,500 a year on medicine.
Margaret Bingham, a Townsend resident, was hoping to find out if pharmacies are offering Medicare prescription drug plans -- they are. She also wanted a list of their plans.
As the phone rang, Margaret Bingham rubbed her forehead with her right hand.
It was 1:15 p.m.
"I'm not looking forward to this," she said.
Each day, more than 89,000 people call the Medicare help line at (800) 633-4227 when choosing a federal prescription drug plan. As many as 9,500 customer service representatives will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer questions.
But despite this access, some see problems with the help line. In July of last year, after placing 420 calls to the help line, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that 29 percent of the calls were answered incorrectly. The GAO also found that 10 percent of callers received no answers.
Coverage through the federal Medicare prescription drug program begins Jan. 1. People who sign up in a six-month period beginning Nov. 15 will not be penalized. The cost of the plans will vary since many have discounts.
After two minutes of following instructions from an automated female voice, Bingham arrived at a list of choices.
"If you're calling on the Medicare discount drug cards say, 'Drug card,' " the voice said. "For Medicare health plans, say 'Plan choices.' "
"Plan choices," Bingham said.
"I'm sorry I didn't understand you," the voice said.
"Plan choices!" Bingham said again.
"I'm sorry, I still didn't understand you."
Bingham brought the telephone two inches from her lips.
"PLAN CHOICES!"
"Please hold a moment while I transfer you to a customer service representative who can help you."
Should be expected
It's difficult to provide a service that millions of elderly will understand, said Patricia Nemore, senior policy attorney for the Center for Medicare Advocacy, a Connecticut-headquartered consumer group. She said flaws in the help line and other tools should be expected since the Medicare plan is attempting to enroll 43 million elderly and disabled people. She also said the multitude of plans can be confusing. Eighteen insurers are selling prescription drug plans in Delaware.
Nemore once called the help line to obtain a phone number for a state health insurance counseling program. She said the number given was incorrect.
"I didn't find it an easy tool for me to use," she said. "I think it is not particularly user-friendly. I think the information is variable in its accuracy."
After five minutes of loudly enunciating her words for the recorded voice, Bingham got through to a person. But she still wasn't getting what she needed.
"I'm wondering if you sign up [for the plans] with a drug store or drug company," she asked a customer service rep.
The rep started explaining how people can qualify for extra help paying for the plans through the Social Security Administration.
"Can you sign up with drug companies?" Bingham interrupted.
"I will send you information," the operator responded.
Random follow-up calls are completed each day to "identify what our weaknesses are and where we need to put an intention to improve," said Peter Ashkenaz, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The customer service reps go through up to four weeks of training on the program before they answer calls, he said. The automated responses that first greet callers are in place to address the most frequently asked questions. The top question is, "Can you tell me about the Medicare RX Drug Coverage?"
"We want people to make sure they are satisfied with the information they got," Ashkenaz said. "[And] to make sure the operator was responsive."
After 10 minutes on the telephone, Bingham still couldn't find out if pharmacies were selling plans. The rep offered to mail her more information on drug plans. Bingham accepted -- even though she just wanted an answer over the telephone.
The clock read 1:32 p.m. She sighed as she hung up, having spent 17 minutes on her fruitless quest.
"It's boilerplate," she said to herself.
|
|
