Medicare Monitor

Medicare Monitor

The Palm Beach Post's veteran Washington correspondent, Larry Lipman, tracks policy makers and interest groups who are shaping the future of the federal health insurance program for the elderly.

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Medicare at a glance
Medicare is the federal health care system that covers about 36 million people age 65 and older, plus 7 million disabled. It has four parts:

Part A Covers inpatient hospital care as well as nursing home, home health and hospice care. Nearly all elderly and disabled Americans qualify for Part A coverage.
Financed by a 2.9 percent payroll tax divided equally between employees and employers.

Part B Covers outpatient care, doctor’s services, durable medical equipment, home health visits and preventive care. Part B coverage is voluntary, but roughly 40 million are enrolled.
Financed by beneficiary premiums and federal general revenue. Current monthly premiums are $93.50. Starting this year, individuals whose taxable income is more than $80,000 will pay a higher premium.

Part C Medicare Advantage managed care plans provide health care normally covered by Medicare Parts A and B. They may also provide some other benefits, including prescription drugs, not covered by traditional Medicare. Oart C is voluntary; about 7 million beneficiaries are enrolled.
Financed by Medicare and beneficiary premiums, which vary among plans.

Part D Medicare prescription drug plans come in two types, those that just cover prescription drugs and those that cover drugs as part of a broader managed care benefit. Part D is voluntary. About 9.2 million beneficiaries are in stand-alone drug plans and about 5.1 million are in managed care drug plans.
The plans are private and financed by Medicare and beneficiary premiums, which vary among plans.
-- Larry Lipman

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Home > Medicare Monitor > Archives > 2007 > September > 27 > Entry

Satisfaction with Medicare call line drops

By Larry Lipman | Thursday, September 27, 2007, 04:30 PM

Customer satisfaction with Medicare’s toll-free hotline has dropped 13 percentage points to 71 percent in the past three years, according to a report released today by the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general’s office.

The hotline number, 1-800-MEDICARE, received nearly 50 million calls last year, compared to nearly 30 million calls in 2004, its first full year of operation.

Callers hung up without getting a satisfactory answer about 21 percent of the time, nearly twice the 12 percent rate in 2004, the report said. Two-thirds of those who hung up told the inspector general’s office that they considered the wait time to talk to a customer service representative too long.

This year, as in 2004, 44 percent of callers said they had difficulty accessing information: 31 percent complained that the automatic voice system was difficult to navigate; 19 percent said they felt they had not received the information they needed.

Of those who completed their calls, 12 percent said they did not get answers to their questions as quickly as they desired.

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