Cunning Plan

[akirlu]

Today is the last day for senior citizens to sign up for the new "drug benefit" plan if they want it, and so NPR is doing a piece on it, and I hear, for the first time in my recollection, this fascinating little facty nugget: the only way you can do a full benefits comparison between the available plans is via the internet. Let me repeat that. This is a program that's aimed at seniors. And the only way they can fully inform themselves is via a technology that, statistically, they are the least likely age cohort to be conversant with? Apparently they could also phone up a helpline and someone at the other end could get online and do the research *for* them, but other than that, too bad, so sad folks.

Who thinks this shit up?

Comments

[thatwordgrrl.livejournal.com]

People who assume that seniors all have:

1. enough disposable income to have a computer

and

2. the know-how to use said computer in an intelligent fashion

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

or 3. someone to help them.

[the-gardener.livejournal.com]

More likely:

4. People who want to make it as difficult as possible to make such comparisons, in order to continue driving down public expenditure, because they are fundamentally selfish.

[thatwordgrrl.livejournal.com]

True, that...

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Well, there is also, in some places, a good chance that they could use a computer at the local library, but even this makes a number of assumptions about the mobility and technical savvy of a group of people who are most likely to have limitations on both those traits. And at least at my local library, computer time per day is limited by a gatekeeper software that shuts you out when your time is done. So ya also gotta be speedy with the net-browsing, comparison shopping, evaluating thing, or you'll have to start over again the next day. And even my entirely net-savvy mother-in-law is not so speedy when it's time to comparison shop. Luckily, she has her own computer.

[thatwordgrrl.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

I'm actually surprised that the GPO isn't sending out a mailing to all citizens age 65 or over.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I'll go surprised one better. I'm shocked. Even if it was only a post-card mailing to offer to mail a hardcopy version of the full run-down and cost comparison to those who preferred to receive it that way, they certainly should have offered an alternative for the net-disabled.