Bush Opposes Extending Medicare Deadline

[Judi Lynn]

Bush Opposes Extending Medicare Deadline

By Cameron W. Barr and Bill Brubaker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 15, 2006; 3:51 PM

President Bush said today that the government should not extend the May 15 deadline for senior citizens to sign up for the Medicare prescription drug plan, a program that has been strongly criticized because many senior citizens find it confusing and much too complicated to use.

Seniors who join the voluntary program after May 15 face higher premiums -- 1 percent higher for every month they delay signing up. Many Democrats and health care advocacy groups say millions of seniors have not signed up because they are unable to sort through the dozens of choices that are available.

"There's got to be fixed time for people to sign up," Bush said today after a speech in Silver Spring, responding to a question by a woman who said her mother was having trouble signing up for the program. "Rolling back good deadlines is not going to help your mom make a good decision."

The comments marked Bush's second attempt in two days to assure Medicare enrollees that problems plaguing the 10-week-old drug program are being addressed and that seniors are already saving money on their prescriptions.
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