You’ve had the ability to sign up for the Medicare drug plan since November of last year. The phone lines have been open, at least six days a week, at least 12 hours a day. We’ve had entire weeks go by where operators have taken maybe ten calls each in an eight hour shift. You’ve had plenty of time.
Now the deadline is looming. Everyone who, like you, couldn’t be arsed to make a phone call any time in the last six months is trying to get through all at once. We’re answering your calls one right after the other with literally no time in between.
Yes, you’re holding a long time. Yes, it’s taking longer then you would like to get through. Yes, we’re all very sorry about it. But you know what? If you’d gotten up off your old wrinkled asses six months ago, or a month ago, or even a week ago, you’d have gotten right through and you’d be all set. So instead of wasting your time and my time, not to mention the time of the person on hold behind you, bitching about how long you’ve been holding or how hard it is to get through, try shutting the fuck up, figuring out that it’s your own goddamn fault for waiting until now to call, and getting the fuck on with it?
Procrastination is an art form in America. Go check out the lines at the post office any April 15th – most of those people don’t even have Alzheimer’s.
I have a number of former clients (not elderly Medicare recipients, but people with significant psych disabilities) who didn’t make these phone calls for a long time. Not because they were lazy, but because they were overwhelmed and confused by the upcoming changes. Yes, you and I know that the way out of confusion is to call for answers and explanations, but sometimes people put things off because they just can’t deal with trying to straighten out what seems to them to be a large amount of confusing information. I’m sure there are those, too, who just dislike the new changes and were hoping they could use the “ignore it and it will go away” approach.
Let me say again, though, that I agree with you that those who leave these things until the last minute have no right to bitch about the amount of time it takes to get through, etc.
It’s not the procrastination. We all knew we were going to get crushed this week. It’s the pissing and moaning about hold times that’s ridiculous. Wait until the last minute, fine, but don’t get pissed off at me because you chose to wait until three days before the deadline and then don’t get instant service.
Corollary: if you’re going to do your tax return on the internet, do not wait until the absolute last minute. If you do wait and run into a technical problems that requires you to call tech support, don’t call five minutes to midnight on the last day, be put on hold for ten minutes, and then start bitching that it’s now too late to do your tax return. It’s not my fault that the IRS closes shop when the law tells it to. It’s not my fault that you waited until 120 seconds before the deadline. It’s not even my fault that enough other people chose to do the same dumbass thing, which created the queue in the first place.
I feel for you Otto, my father’s a Pharmacist. I’ve heard about the horrors for a year now.
Question for you though.
Are you for or against photo ID for voters? The same tired argument is trotted out every time a plitician suggests we switch to voter photo ID, that the guys who wait 'till the last minute won’t be able to vote.
I feel for you too. It reminds me of the Onion article about how the vast majority of Americans are missing the point - one example being the shopper who goes to the supermarket at the busiest time on the busiest day, then complains to the clerk that there aren’t enough people on the checkouts.
I tried to wade through the bullshit with my MIL a few times and it is simply hideous. She already has another plan (Humana) and gets prescriptions through the AARP plan. A number of us in the family looked through it and decided we THINK she’s ok where she’s at. However, I will never know. It’s too hard. I can only imagine what people who are truly alone must’ve gone through.
Though they shouldn’t complain about the hold time.
Good grief, Otto! First, do you know very many elderly people experiencing the anxiety of the medicare change? I mean, personally, or enough to observe their circumstances? My mom is almost 90, and I’ve been caring for her nearly 2 yrs now (btw, she doesnt need to subscribe to Part D), and she can’t read across a page without her concentration drifting, followed by confusion, anxiety… and other elderly people in her complex have far worse conditions, I’d be surprised if their caregivers (mostly paid professionals) care enough to inform them or aid them in getting clarification about their existing coverage… I’m sure there are many as you’ve described that intentionally procrastinate, but having been one of those persons c/o mom, who has had to wait for long periods through one teleprompt to another, it can be very frustrating… and for elderly who are on a fixed income, they worry about the phone charges, my mom phoned her sis and both live in metro area of major city but it was considered a long-distance call and mom was charged accordingly, $8.90… and trust me, to the elderly, every single penny is budgeted for, and if $8.90 is chump change to you and me, to them, it’s what they’d contribute to their prescription meds or groceries. Now Medicare is making this big change, which’ll require a monthly premium… well, it wouldn’t surprise me if alot of the lonely elderly (no one caring for them at all) out there have already resigned themselves to avoid the continued frustrating ambiguity from those who are suppose to provide clarification, and simply go without some of their meds.
I can understand your frustrations regarding the onslaught of calls at this point, but I suspect part of the rush now, is due to frantic feelings that hopefully this time someone will offer the SIMPLE clarification they’ve been waiting for. Even doctors are confused.
My response is within the context of the elderly I’ve described above… I worry for them–not just for my mom.
May I add that everyone responsible for thinking up, voting for and implementing this horrendous, unworkable “plan” seriously needs to fry in hell? No, better yet, they all seriously need to come down with Alzheimer’s or a stroke and wind up in a state-run nursing home.
I don’t want to tell you what my sister and I have gone through trying to arrange a plan for my mother, who can no longer do these things for herself. And despite the fact that I am her legal and medical power of attorney, Medicare will not let me enroll her, I have to go to Philadelphia and try to get her to answer questions over the phone!
Eve,
If your mother can enroll over the phone, why can’t you just pretend to be her. I do not avocate breaking laws or committing fraud, but in this case I can’t possibly see how any fraud could be committed. It sounds like bureaucratic stupidity at work.
Please understand that I’m not endorsing the plan. It was stupid not to just add prescription coverage to the existing Medicare instead of farming it out to private insurance companies. It’s ridiculous to try to have people choose from 45 or more plans. I’ve said from the start that this plan is just a giant giveaway to the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.
And I understand that it can be frustrating to try to figure out the best course of action, and getting through phone trees, and whatever else. I’m not saying these people shouldn’t be frustrated. All I’m saying is that they really can’t expect, if they’re going to wait until almost literally the last minute, that they’re not going to have to hold on the line for a while, maybe even a long while. And that instead of bitching about it to the people who are doing everything in their power to get to them as quickly as possible they should knock it off and get on with it. You have no idea how tempting it is to tell these people who bite my head off about their hold times, “let’s see how long another trip through will take” and hanging up.
Whoever is telling you that is flat-out wrong, and I wish I’d known sooner so I could have told you to demand a supervisor. As long as you can “authenticate” her by giving her Medicare number, effective dates, date of birth and ZIP code you can enroll her.
All I can think about is the wrath of a demographic that 1. votes and 2. has difficulty (in general) with change and 3. already feels at risk re health and health care d/t age, and 4. has limited financial resources (some) to boot.
This is not a formula for political success–I also hope there is political retribution for this. I work with alot of poorer older pts–I think I’ve had maybe one pt who felt comfortable with their plan and their choices. Most of the older folks that I have seen have resigned themselves to getting screwed.
And this plan was supposed to be good, how?
But I also hate when I have to bear the brunt of someone else’s impatience–I think that (rightly or wrongly) the folks bitching are just venting their spleen at the whole damned balls-up. And since the OP is the other one on the end of the line, he gets it. Don’t take it personally.
The guy I talked to was very nice and apologetic, and no bitching went on . . . He did talk to his supervisor, and said he was very sorry, but that I have to have my mother give him the info herself on the phone–despite the fact that she can’t read anymore and I’ll be amazed if she can even repeat the info that I’ll be telling her.
(And by the way, I have been nagging my sister for months to get this done, as I do everything else, and she waited till this weekend, and yes, I have bitched at her.)
In the alternative, if you know the name of the plan you want her on, go to the website and you can sign her up without having to talk to anyone. You can also search for plans and compare them if you haven’t decided yet.
