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Richard Piatt Reporting Health and Human Services secretary Mike Leavitt visited Utah today. He is urging senior citizens, and others eligible for a new Medicare prescription drug plan, to sign up.
Ann Christensen is a long-time friend of the Leavitt family. She wasn't planning to sign up for the new Medicare benefit. She just came to see Mike, she said. After talking to him, she changed her mind.
Ann Christensen/ Signed Up For Benefit: "I wasn't going to sign up because I only take two. But I've been ill, very ill in January."
The benefit---what Leavitt calls a 'good deal' for seniors--needs to be activated by mid-May. This senior center is just one stop for the Health and Human Services secretary, one of hundreds across the nation where people can get help signing up.
It's a good thing, according to Patricia Harmon. She says the choices can be confusing.
Patricia Harmon/ Signed Up For Benefit: "I wanted to sign up because you never know what's coming down the line."
There's been criticism of the new federal prescription drug plan: New benefits aren't exactly the same for some; slow to go into effect for others; the sign up process is frustrating. Leavitt says those problems are being addressed.
Mike Leavitt/ Secretary, U.S. Health and Human Services: "The measure of our success is, are we finding them and fixing them and doing that rapidly? Yes, we are. The system gets better every day."
This is the largest change to Medicare benefits in U.S. history. Twenty-five million people are signed up across the nation, with 400-thousand new enrolled every week.
There are still about 100-thousand people in Utah who are eligible for the benefit, but who haven't signed up yet. The good news is, the deadline isn't until May 15th, and there's plenty of help if you need it.
