I'm a Pill Popper
From FDL.
Link.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tens of thousands of procrastinating seniors kept Medicare's operators busy Monday during the final hours of enrollment for the government's new drug benefit.
First lady Laura Bush and top administration officials attended an afternoon registration drive at a local church, while critics of the program met at a pharmacy near the Capitol and urged the administration to extend the midnight deadline and waive a financial penalty for late enrollees.
At the District of Columbia's Shiloh Baptist Church, Mrs. Bush met volunteers and some last-minute enrollees. She told people with little need for medicine now to still consider signing up for a private insurance plan, warning, "As you age, it's likely you'll add medications to your health care."
Mark McClellan, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said about 40,000 to 50,000 people were on the agency's website —http://www.medicare.gov— at any given moment Monday. Operators at 1-800-Medicare were also experiencing a rush of calls, and most callers were having to wait a few minutes to reach an operator.
"We've seen a real surge," McClellan said. "The deadline is making a difference."
This one's gonna be just like the Katrina response, just like the Iraq war, just like pretty much anything they touch: boatloads of cash delivered to their contributors and cronies, little to nothing--or less--in actual accomplishment...
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