“It's so individualized," Holmes said. “The plan that's right for me may not be right for you, even if we're in similar situations."

“It's a complicated situation," said 84-year-old Field Utter of DeKalb. “I worked in county government most of my life, and I'm familiar with how these programs are handled, but this particular legislation just has too many unanswered questions."

While Utter has prescription coverage through the Veterans Administration, he said he's been looking into the Medicare program for his mentally handicapped daughter, who is supported by Social Security disability payments.

“I've had a supplement with a private insurance company for the 20 percent (in medical bills that) Medicare doesn't pay for her, and I think I'm just going to go with her insurance company for the whole thing," he said, including prescription drugs, instead of bothering with the new Medicare drug program.

“I've read a lot, but you get an awful lot of conflicting answers, even from the people in Washington who came up with this legislation," he said.

Zaeske said his agency has held general-information seminars to explain the basics of the program, and also walks individuals through the process of narrowing their options and enrolling in a plan.

“I created a form for seniors to fill out with their information, and then my staff can input that data and come up with a list of plans those people should consider," he said.

Marshall Hayes, executive director of Elder Care Services, said his organization also has reached out to seniors through group seminars and individual enrollment help.

“We'd like to do more big group sessions, because trying to do it one individual at a time is very time-consuming," he said. “But the nature of the program is so individualized, it doesn't lend itself to big groups."

Though benefits will begin Jan. 1, enrollment will remain open through May 15. Medicare beneficiaries who have not enrolled by that deadline will be automatically assigned to a plan that may or may not cover their medications or allow them to get their prescriptions at their local pharmacies. Seniors on state prescription drug-assistance programs like Circuit Breaker and Senior Care also have to fill out an extra help form in order to maintain those benefits in 2006, Hayes said.

“They have to make some decision," he said. “They don't have to actually enroll if they don't want to, but they have to look at it and decide, ‘Yes, this is for me,' or ‘No, this is not.' I don't recommend people just take a wait-and-see attitude toward this."

“We see a lot of people who saw this or read that and they think they know what's going on, but it turns out they don't," he said. “It could cost them a lot of money."

Last week, the county allocated an additional $2,000 to Fox Valley Older Adult Services and $11,000 to Elder Care Services to help them in their efforts to educate the county's more than 9,000 seniors. The money, raised through the county's senior services tax, is likely to be left over at the end of the county's fiscal year on Nov. 30. The agencies will use it to temporarily increase manpower.

“I tried this (enrollment) for myself on the government Web site," said Bob Rosemier, D-DeKalb, chairman of the health and human services committee of the county board. “It took me over 25 minutes, and I got stuck twice and had to call someone at Elder Care to talk me through it. ... And I'm computer literate. I have a computer, I'm familiar with the Internet. A lot of our seniors don't have that."

“Insurance is always difficult for a layperson to understand," he said. “Most people's first reaction to the word ‘insurance' is to shut down and say, ‘I can't do it.' We try to help them past that first aversion."

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