Most people weren’t likely surprised that the state and federal government bungled the switch to the new federal prescription drug plan.

Big government doesn’t usually have a reputation for doing things smoothly and efficiently. And with a plan this big – converting drug plans for approximately 80,000 elderly Mainers – something is bound to go wrong.

Nonetheless, both entities had a responsibility to make sure this transition went smoother because this new program has a direct affect on whether and how the elderly get the prescriptions they need. This transition should have been a particularly important priority because the first group to convert to the new program were the elderly poor, who had been getting coverage under Medicaid or state assistance programs like Drugs for the Elderly in Maine.

As one frustrated senior, Loretta Parker, put it this week, “These are all things we absolutely have to have. It really makes you angry with the government.”

On New Year’s Day, the new Medicare Part D program went into effect. That’s when federal subsidies for drug programs run by the state dried up. But most seniors didn’t head to the pharmacy until after the holidays on Tuesday. That’s when the chaos hit.

What went wrong? Well, for starters, Mainers enrolled in the program, like many seniors across the country, hadn’t received their benefit cards by Jan. 1. Loretta’s husband, Lloyd, for example, had called weeks prior to the day the program was supposed to start but still hadn’t received their cards by this week.

Most seniors had to head to the pharmacist with a letter that detailed what their new plan was. Those without letters had to get help from the pharmacists, who in turn had to call insurers to figure out what plan people should be enrolled in. Those pharmacists were no doubt getting plenty of busy signals.

All of the people enrolled in the new program were supposed to be enrolled in a new federal database. The problem was that database was nowhere near complete by the day the program was supposed to start.

Approximately 80,000 people had been enrolled in the state programs, and the state had been enrolling them in the Medicare Part D program. But as of last Thursday only about 22,000 seniors were enrolled in the new federal database.

It’s hard to know whom to blame for all of this mess. The state this week was pointing a finger at the federal government.

“The federal government is not ready to turn this thing on. This is irresponsible. It’s no way to run a pharmacy benefit,” said Jude Walsh, the head of drug benefits in the governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance.

The feds certainly should have had those cards out to people and the database up and running before they forced the elderly to switch to the new program. The feds were apparently prepared to enroll seniors who had been getting drug coverage under Medicaid automatically and randomly. However, the state decided to take over the enrollment process to ensure the plans seniors enrolled in fit the medications they were taking.

What the state did makes sense. Seniors deserve the plan that fits their medications best. But neither the state nor the feds got the job done.

This elderly of this state and this country deserve better.

Brendan Moran, editor