03:06 PM CST on Friday, January 6, 2006

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV

WFAA.

Seniors can save cash but certainly not time.

Some 42 million Americans now have access to Medicare's new prescription plan. Millions are apparently trying to fill prescriptions at the same time, with chaos often the result.

At Dougherty's Pharmacy in Dallas, customers have countless questions about the cards they've only just gotten in the mail.

"Can you tell me if you take this?" asks one customer.

At this pharmacy and many others, a huge surge in last minute enrollees in the drug program has backlogged computer sites and Medicare phone lines.

"Overloaded is the response that we're getting when we call in to verify benefits and such," says pharmacist Milton Chapman.

Some pharmacists here have spent nearly an hour waiting to verify a single claim.

The result is prescriptions could take days to fill.

"We usually advance them a little bit of the medicine to get them started," said Chapman.

Seniors can pay out-of-pocket for the drugs they need now.

But some people are complaining that drugs they are taking are excluded.

It's not what many seniors expected.

"One might almost say it was designed to frustrate the elderly and create a very negative feeling towards Medicare," said a senior Murray Hilibrand.

Peter Hirschfeld reckons he is going to save up to $3,000.

But he says saving time when it comes to the Medicare drug program is another issue.

Here are some tips to help those over 65 get their meds while the feds work out the kinks:

- Those who haven't received their cards should bring in a letter stating their Medicare drug plan enrollment, along with the name of the plan, or a copy of the plan application.

- Seniors who have their card should bring it by their pharmacy to get verified before they run out of medicine.

- Nearly every pharmacy is having problems with the overload right now, so don't forget to bring patience too.