Making Medicare+Choice Real: Understanding and Meeting the Information Needs of Beneficiaries at the Local Level.

Focuses on implementation in six communities: Albuquerque, Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, Orlando, and Orange County, CA. Examines (1) what choices actually exist; (2) how well beneficiaries understand their choices; (3) what information beneficiaries want and need to make choices; (4) how well the infrastructure supports these needs; and (5) how vulnerable subpopulations--including people with disabilities, low literacy levels, and ethnic and racial minorities--are faring. Finds that the volatility and complexity of choices in Medicare+Choice, combined with beneficiaries' low level of knowledge about Medicare, create greater implementation difficulties than national policymakers have considered.