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Hi Dave and many of us! I'm sure you saw this but, if not....
This week the CMS launch of the Plan Finder fell flat on its face. The most important function of the plan finder was that it would allow patients to enter medications they need into the plan comparison tool to see which plans best cover those drugs.
Surprise: it doesn't work.
The Plan Finder is full of inconsistencies, footnotes and fine print.
* At least some data is incorrect. Several of the stand-alone plan formularies are incorrect. For example, while the Plan Finder shows one plan's formulary as having two tiers-where consumers pay different coinsurances for different drugs-the web site of the company offering that plan shows its formulary has no tiers. Information in the plan-finder tool even conflicts with CMS's own " Landscape of Local Plans ( http://www.medicare.gov/medicarereform/map.asp) " charts, also available on the Medicare.gov web site.
* State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs (SPAPs) are not listed as a type of drug coverage. When consumers select from among the different types of current prescription drug coverage available, SPAPs are not listed as an option. In some states, SPAPs have been designated as creditable coverage, which means those SPAP members do not have to, and perhaps should not, enroll in Medicare prescription drug coverage.
* "Additional Help" provides little help. The "Additional Help" question about Extra Help, Medicare's low-income subsidy program for Part D, paying for Medicare prescription drug plan costs does not explain the low-income benefit, indicate what income limits are necessary to qualify or provide any link or further information so that people can apply for Extra Help.
* Data is incomplete. When consumers view the plans available to them in their zip code, the number of plan options does not correspond to the plans listed.
If the Plan Finder can't accurately navigate the myriad of plan options available to the 43 million Americans with Medicare, then how are people with Medicare and their families supposed to figure it out? | 
