Strategy

1. Create a dizzyingly complex if not completely incomprehensible prescription drug plan.
2. Create a subsidy program to help poor people pay for the dizzyingly complex if not completely incomprehensible prescription drug plan.
3. Estimate that 7 million people will be eligible for your subsidy.
4. Send out, unsolicited, 19 million applications for your subsidy to people. Carpet-bomb the fuckers with applications.
5. Start processing applications and reject three out of four.
6. Don’t worry that 24 short days before your drug plan begins only 661,000 of those eligible for your subsidy have been enrolled.
7. Leave it to private advocacy groups, the press and blogs with less than five readers* to try to get the word out about your subsidy.

Now it will be The Poor’s own fault if they can’t afford drugs. Mission accomplished!

*Seriously, if you know anybody who meets the following criteria tell them about the subsidy:

To qualify for the low-income subsidy, beneficiaries must have incomes below 150 percent of the federal poverty level — $14,355 for a senior living alone, $19,245 for a couple. There also is a limit on assets: $11,500 for an individual and $23,000 for a couple. The actual amount of the drug subsidies provided to these beneficiaries varies based on their income and assets, but it averages $2,100.

Poor Not Buying New Drug Benefit Yet