After all the barnstorming by administration officials, after scores of local information sessions run by community groups, most seniors still don't understand the new Medicare prescription drug benefit.

After months of buildup -- and much confusion -- seniors may begin signing up for the Medicare prescription drug benefit Tuesday. This is not a day to celebrate.

This is not, as President Bush has said, a promise fulfilled to senior citizens. This is a runaway government entitlement of mind-numbing complexity, rammed through Congress with cooked numbers, launched at a time when the country can least afford it.

Likely to Take a Pass

The benefit is so confusing and so ineptly constructed that many seniors are likely to take a pass, at least initially. They've been bombarded with information, urged to navigate through impenetrable Web sites and been given incomplete or wrong advice on the Medicare telephone hot line.

After all the barnstorming by administration officials, after scores of local information sessions run by community groups, most seniors still don't understand the benefit.

A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health found that more than six in 10 seniors don't understand the drug benefit at all, or not too well.

We'd be willing to bet that the confusion isn't only among seniors but most of the rest of the population too.

No Rush

There's a lot of fine print to be puzzled over and a lot of figures to be calculated. In most states, seniors face dozens of different plans from a wide array of big-name insurance companies.

Each plan will have a list of drugs for which a company will pay. Most plans will cover most of the top 100 drugs taken by seniors. After that, there are lots of differences among the plans, including what they charge for premiums, co-payments and deductibles.

There's no rush for most seniors to sign up. The initial enrollment period lasts through May 15; after that, most will pay a penalty if they want to sign up. Those who want coverage by Jan. 1, however, must sign up by Dec. 31. Our best advice: Take your time and try to understand the details before you sign.

There's more help at www.chicagotribune.com/medicaredrugs.