ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Internet may be the cornerstone ofMedicare's strategy to enroll seniors in the new federal prescriptiondrug program, but that isn't persuading seniors to log on.
Consider Warren and Marilyn Gladitsch. They are well educated -Marilyn has a master's degree in public health. But they haven'tneeded the Web before, and they won't become silver surfers now.
"My husband doesn't even want to touch the computer," said MarilynGladitsch, 74.
Federal leaders were aware from the start that many seniorsdislike computers, even as they touted Medicare.gov for seniors tolearn about the Part D drug plan. It's why President Bush campaignedfor Part D this summer and asked computer-savvy people to help theirelderly parents do research.
But with the beginning of enrollment Tuesday, Medicare analystsbelieve the lack of computer literacy among seniors is hurtingefforts to get the anticipated drug benefit under way.
A poll released last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation showedthat only 6 percent of responding seniors have ever looked atwww.medicare.gov and that only 24 percent have ever used theInternet.
The Web site produces some very helpful recommendations, but itwill take the average person 45 minutes to two hours to get to them,said Jerry Maher, a Part D expert for the Minnesota SeniorFederation.
"This is not sending your grandchild an e-mail," he said. "This isentering data and then doing analysis. ... If you're 88 years old andyou have cataracts and arthritis, you aren't going to do it."
Some seniors may choose a name they trust to keep enrollmentsimple. But that could be costly. Others may not enroll. But if theydon't have comparable drug coverage through another plan, they willbe penalized with higher premiums when they finally do enroll in PartD.
Bargain hunters will need Medicare's "plan finder," a tool thatwas added to the federal Web site last week. The tool allows seniorsto enter their specific drugs, desired premiums and preferredpharmacies to learn which plans will meet their criteria and savethem the most money.
The best deal for some seniors may be plans with cheap premiums.But for others, cheap premiums will mean nothing if the plans don'tcover their expensive medications.
"For people who are inclined to make very rational decisions,they, or somebody they know, are going to have to use this tool,"said Tricia Neuman, Kaiser's senior Medicare policy analyst.
Federal officials anticipated some confusion when they made thepolitical decision to solicit Part D plans through numerous privateinsurers rather than through one standard federal program.
The Kaiser survey confirmed that 73 percent of seniors believe thehigh number of choices adds confusion and difficulty.
The Medicare Web site still has some problems. Some insurers arerevising their cost information, so it is possible seniors couldreceive different information if they used the site now and triedagain next month.
The performance of the plan finder has been erratic in the firstweek - sometimes working very slowly or crashing.
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Community centers are trying to prepare seniors with computertraining and counseling on Part D. The Passport senior center in St.Paul, for example, provides a regular schedule of basic computerclasses, and will host a Part D signup party Nov. 16 when volunteerswill help seniors navigate the Web site.
Counselors for the state's Senior LinkAge Line will perform theonline research while seniors talk with them on the phone.
Even community volunteers have computer issues, though. When Bushheld a town hall forum in June, he invited Dorothy Bourgeois, 71, todiscuss how she would volunteer to help seniors understand Part D.But then the subject turned to computers.
"Are you Internet savvy?" the president asked.
"A little bit," Bourgeois replied nervously. "Not as much as I'dlike to be."
Reached by phone last month, Bourgeois said she wants to use thecomputer for her own research. But she still feels uncomfortable atthe keyboard, despite attending a computer class.
"I don't know much more about computers now than I did then," shesaid.
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Enrollment for 2006 is from Nov. 15 through May 15. Usewww.medicare.gov, call the federal hot line or contact individualinsurers.
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