Part D: Inflated Enrollment Figures?

In February, the numbers of those who enrolled in Part D have been adjusted to portray the program as a success.  

As previously stated by Senator. Debbie Stabenow,

“The enrollment numbers for the new Medicare prescription drug program are inflated and misleading…This is just one more indication that the drug benefit is not working as it was intended or as it is being portrayed.”

and Rep. Sander Levin re:  ealier claims by CMS,

“That’s my objection. They’ve tried to downplay the problem of so many people not enrolling and so many people who have had gargantuan problems.“

continued

Now, AP is reporting critics of the program had said that they believed the federal government was overstating drug coverage by double-counting some groups.

The AP report also mentions that veterans are being included in the tally as being signed up for Part D prescription coverage.  Specifically,

3 million beneficiaries being counted as getting coverage through the Veterans Affairs Department had switched over to a private plan under Medicare Part D, so they were being counted twice

according to Mark McClellan, CMS administrator.

On another note, some of the private plans are also double counting, as, many dual-eligibles have discovered that they have been enrolled in two plans, if they have made the decision to change the original plan that they were assigned to.

So what are the actual enrollment figures?