BUSH ADMINISTRATION : COMPETENCE :: SUPERMAN : KRYPTONITE

Insurers offering prescription drug coverage through Medicare routinely failed to provide accurate and complete responses to questions posed over the telephone by federal investigators....

Investigators made 900 calls to 10 of the largest drug plan sponsors. They got a complete and accurate answer only a third of the time. The overall accuracy and completeness rate for the centers ranged from 20% to 60%. Only one insurer gave the proper, full answer more than half the time.

The investigators said that insurers ... were unable to answer 15% of the questions posed. Further, operators within the same call center sometimes provided inconsistent answers.

"Our calls to 10 of the largest (drug plan) sponsors' call centers show that Medicare beneficiaries face challenges in obtaining the information needed to make informed choices," concluded the Government Accountability Office in a report released Monday....

--AP

(Via Democratic Underground.)