Medicare-endorsed Rx discount cards off to slow start.(Brief article)

WASHINGTON -- Despite yesterday's kickoff of a national card-based discount drug program for seniors on Medicare, the pace of enrollments has been slow, card sponsors report.

June 1 marked the launch of phase one of Medicare drug benefits, as seniors began to take advantage of discounts offered through 73 local and national cards. But sponsors report no rush to sign up, as yet.

"We didn't know what to expect, so we prepared for ... seniors [to] flood our stores," said Michael Polzin, a spokesman for Walgreens, one of 28 government-approved sponsors.

As yet, that hasn't happened, Polzin said. "What we have seen is a steady flow of seniors into our …