An incredibly complex Medicare drug plan is due to go into effect on Jan. 1. More than 60 percent of seniors polled say they can’t make head or tail of it. Only 20 percent say they’ll enroll by the first of the year, despite insurance companies warning that they will pay a penalty for enrolling later. “I have a Ph.D., and it’s too complicated for me,” says William Beard, 73.

And no wonder there is confusion. The plan contains few specifics about what it will cost the consumer. Those “details” can only be ascertained by investigating the many different private plans that may be available in your area—and may not.