The whole purpose of this drug benefit was to get drug coverage in the hands of all Medicare beneficiaries. Where are the people? That's the question.

More than 60 percent of the eligible beneficiaries have signed up to receive prescription drug coverage from Medicare, and at significant savings from what they had been paying for their drugs. In the past month alone, about 380,000 Americans signed up each week. Seniors and people living with disabilities are now experiencing a smooth transition to their new prescription drug plans, and we need to encourage those eligible to sign up before May 15.

That will serve as a disincentive for some beneficiaries to enroll in a plan. It is a way to ensure some plans attract healthier people.

Every Medicare beneficiary can choose whether they want prescription drug coverage or not,

The conventional view on Wall Street is that the Medicare formularies mimic commercial formularies, and that's incorrect. These formularies are more stringent than what you see in the private sector.

The break for me was the Medicare drug benefit in 2003. It's just grossly expensive, bad policy. After that, I no longer gave them the benefit of the doubt and started seeing the glass as half-empty.