To the Editor:

Buried in all the bad news about long-term deficits in Medicare is a little talked about success story – Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit signed into law by President Bush.

A survey of enrollees reported in USA Today showed that about 90 percent are satisfied with the program. In addition, the premiums seniors pay average $30 per month, well below the $60 estimated when the law went into effect in 2006, according to www.Forbes.com. The cost of the program to Medicare is 46 percent lower than when Congress created the benefit in the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003, states www.Forbes.com. (How many entitlement programs can say that?) And because seniors can afford to take their prescriptions, they are staying out of the hospital and skilled nursing facilities saving Medicare $12 billion annually or about $1,200 for each enrollee.