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# Medicare changes confuse many seniors
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/medicare-changes-confuse-many-seniors/
- Published: 2005-10-22T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:01:22.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Community, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Senior services offer some WISE advice*

*By JASMIN PERSCH Special to the Daily Press*

KEN EDWARDS CENTER — When Louisa Fish, 68, showed up this week for a meeting organized by city officials about changes to her health care, she was confident she’d walk out more educated on the new Medicare prescription plan.

Instead, she left more confused. As Fish waited for the presentation on the plan to begin, she gossiped and speculated with Betty Mueller, 79, about their new health care options.

“It was passed in the dead of the night, written by the pharmaceutical companies,” Mueller whispered.

President George W. Bush signed in December 2003 a law that will require Medicare to offer a prescription drug plan. It will offer prescription drug coverage for the first time in the history of Medicare, starting Jan. 1.

Fish wondered how much the premium would increase if she doesn’t sign up early enough.

“There is more misinformation than anything around,” Fish said.

As Fish soon figured out, the nuances of the plan didn’t prove comprehensible in one sitting.

She’s not alone. Thousands of seniors have called the Center for Health Care Rights, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, seeking to understand Medicare, said Aileen Harper, the center’s director, who presented the new plan to about 30 senior citizens on Wednesday at the Ken Edwards Center in downtown Santa Monica.

Most senior citizens are struggling to understand the changes because they are overwhelmed by the many choices they have now, Harper said. And it’s also because most seniors on Medicare don’t have access to the Internet, which is the best way to learn about the new plan.

“People have to try to place it in the context of their own coverage,” Harper said.

She said the center is focusing on helping people who need to make decisions fast. Those are people on Medi- Cal/Medicare who will be stripped of their prescription drug coverage at the end of the year. That’s because the new prescription plan, called Medicare Part D, will replace Medi-Cal’s drug coverage.

Seniors have a six-month window to enroll in Medicare Part D starting Nov. 15, Harper said. After May 15, premiums will rise 1 percent each month, Harper said.

People like Norton Levine, 77, who aren’t on any prescription drugs have to decide whether they want to enroll in the plan before premiums go up.

“As you get older, you stand a greater chance of needing medication,” Levine said.

As Harper spoke, Fish tried to make sense of it all. She blurted out questions and would then go back to sipping her coffee.

Mueller also appeared frustrated. “God, I can’t follow this,” she said as she turned to Fish. “Do you understand what she’s talking about?”

“Somewhat,” Fish replied. “I don’t understand,” Mueller said. By the end of the presentation, Fish wasn’t sure what steps she needed to take to ensure her heart medication was covered.

She is on a $78-a-month Medicare plan that covers outpatient medical costs and doctor visits, as well as a $300-per-month Medigap program that covers her prescription drugs. But now, she has to weigh whether Medicare Part D has better coverage. The costs for Medicare D vary based on the level of coverage.

Fish has relied heavily on Medicare. When she was 64, she learned that she needed a heart-valve transplant but could-n’t afford the $100,000 procedure, she said. So she waited. She finally had surgery when she turned 65, months past the time doctors had given her to live.

Fish was determined to understand what the new plan would mean for her.

“I am smart, I will figure this out,” she said before the meeting. Now, she’s determined to study and understand the finer details of the plan before she makes any decisions.

Harper said seniors can make appointments with Phyllis Weintraub, a counselor at WISE Senior Services, for help with their concerns about the new plan by calling (310) 394-9871.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 22, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102205.pdf?ref=smdp.com)