Editor’s note: This commentary is by Lee Russ, of Bennington, who was the lead author/editor of the third edition of “Couch on Insurance.”
[T]here are 39 million-plus people on Medicare Part D (39.1 million in 2013). Every single year, they have to go through plan comparisons to decide if they want to switch during the open enrollment period. You either do that or you stick with what you have and hope you aren’t overpaying.
The process of plan comparison is a nightmare. First you have to find out what plans are available in your state. When I checked on Oct. 17, I found 26 separate “stand alone” plans (plans separate from Medicare Advantage) just in Vermont.
I take three drugs on a continuing basis, so I have to find out:
• Whether the plan covers each of those drugs, in the dosage I’m taking.
• What “tier” the drug is assigned to under the plan.
• What supply options are available (i.e., only 30-day supplies, 90-day supplies).
• What pharmacies are in the plan’s “network.”
• Which of these pharmacies are considered the “preferred” ones which lower my co-pay, etc.
• What is the annual premium.
• What is the deductible (a multi-part question for most plans, which have different deductible terms for different tier drugs).
• What is the co-pay (another multi-part question for many plans, which have different co-pays for different tier drugs).
• What is my total annual cost for the plan.
This all needs to be done using some tangled combination of printed material received in the mail, an online website, and, usually, separate listings of drugs and network pharmacies. Having just gone through this, I can tell you that this is no simple process and it’s really doubtful that simplicity is the goal of the insurers.
So, at a bare minimum, you’ve got 39 million people, times two plans, times .5 hours per plan, which is 39 million hours.
I challenge anyone to complete that process in less than 30 minutes per plan. Most people would take an hour or more and still be unsure whether they have correctly interpreted the terms of the plan. So at a minimum, 39 million people are spending half an hour each per plan that they investigate every single year.
How many plans do you investigate? That’s going to depend on your tolerance for misery and how desperately poor you are. At a minimum, you will investigate two plans, just to have some basic comparison information.
So, at a bare minimum, you’ve got 39 million people, times two plans, times .5 hours per plan, which is 39 million hours. Thirty-nine million hours is 1,625,000 days, which is 4,452 years. Forty-four and a half centuries of time spent EVERY YEAR doing a mind-numbing task that could be totally eliminated with a real universal health care system. Forty-four and a half centuries of time spent every year keeping the free market fanatics moderately happy. Every single year.
If it takes an hour instead of half an hour …
