Free Republic

When Mike Leavitt first came to Rhode Island last summer to promote the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, the feeling across the country was that the new program was so complex, that millions of seniors would just avoid it. Flanked by local officials at a Warwick senior center, the Health and Human Services secretary tried to assuage everyone’s concerns in advance. “If you’re a senior, don’t worry,” he said. “There will be plenty of people to help you.” It turns out that despite all the confusion, and all the bad publicity at the beginning of the year when some...