If you mix an awfully complex decision tree with senior citizens on fixed incomes who have to make financial decisions under deadline using a computer, you’ve got a recipe for confusion, frustration and finger-pointing. Predictably, a GAO report cataloged the problems and made recommendations for improvement. The report was picked up by the mainstream press that highlighted the program’s flaws – see the Washington Post’s Study Finds Medicare Operators Often Give Bad Information, for example. So far, a typical day around the Beltway.
What I wouldn’t have predicted was the White House response to the GAO report. On May 4, the White House Office of the Press Secretary released this detailed statement: Setting the Record Straight: GAO's Inaccurate, Incomplete, And Outdated Medicare Report. There are point-by-point refutations to the GAO report, but here’s a summary statement by Scott McClellan:
Well, first of all, let me point out that this report that you are referring to was a snapshot of one aspect of all efforts being used to communicate and sign seniors up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. It was a snapshot that was taken three months ago, in the January and early February time frame. And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has continued to take steps to make improvements to their communications tool. ... But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also has an ongoing monitoring program which takes a random sample of the calls coming in to make sure that they are being answered accurately. And they have found that 93 percent of the time, those calls from people wanting to sign up are being answered accurately.
I’m sure there are many program managers who believe that their projects may have been unjustly criticized by GAO. But this is the first time I’ve ever seen the examinee turn and fire both barrels at the examiner. Have you ever seen the like?
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