By Kate
Health and Human Services, realizing enrollment numbers are dismal, decided a little Valentine's Day plea might give seniors the extra kick they need to sign up for Part D. That's right, HHS sent Valentines out to families asking them to pass the cards on to their elderly family members.
The Valentineflier starts with the headline "Because there isn't a 'HappyValentine's Day! Made Up Your Mind About Medicare Prescription DrugCoverage?' card section." Wow. That strikes me as a bitcondescending. Families are then supposed to take the actual card,which contains such ridiculous phrases as, "I love you. I love you alot. I love you like kids love cookies. I love you like fish lovewater. Let's talk about Medicare prescription drug coverage," and sendthem on to their ornery members.
Talkabout a brilliant strategy to get seniors to enroll. But it getsbetter. Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) released his own no-nonsense mock-valentine urging constituents to complain to the Administration about the shoddy bill. It's really quite funny. Stark's envelope says, "I know you are confused and frustrated about the new Medicare drug program. I'd like to help you contact Congress if I can. Because I plan on sending you silly Valentines for a long, long time." Bingo.
Go check out both the original and mock Valentines. It's heartening that while 46 million people sit around uninsured our federal health agency spends its time (and your money) designing ridiculous cards.
