LEWISTON – So you’ve got 40 cards to pick from. Each one gives a different discount on different prescription drugs. And they don’t all work in all pharmacies or in all states.

Once you pick a card, you can’t change it until December. Card companies, meanwhile, can change their discounts, or drop drugs entirely, any time they want.

More drug card vendors coming to Maine could offer better discounts than the ones already here. And maybe, the state’s MaineRx, for free, is a better deal.

Got it?

“Kind of clear as mud, right?” one gray-haired woman said to a stranger sitting behind her. The two were listening to Anita Wiles and Madeleine Cote from SeniorsPlus rattle off the pros, cons and complications in the new Medicare-approved prescription drug cards.

Wiles is coordinator of SeniorsPlus’ Maine Medicare Education Partnership. Their talk on the new drug cards for Horizons/55 at Central Maine Medical Center was the second of the day.

“You wouldn’t think the government would keep things simple, right?” quipped Cote, a volunteer from Greene. She got several appreciative nods.

New Medicare-approved cards became available May 1, but can’t be used until June. In the interim, thousands of Maine seniors have to decide which card, if any, is right for them. The purpose of the cards, approved by Congress last year, is to help seniors pay for often high-cost prescriptions until the new Medicare plan kicks in in 2006.

But for many it’s creating headaches.

Making things more confusing here: Maine’s own progress on the low-cost drug scene.

About 61,000 people in Maine are part of MaineRx, a discount card based on income, not age. Another 42,000 seniors and disabled people are in the Drugs for the Elderly program, treated to 80 percent discounts.

“Quite honestly the Drugs for the Elderly cards offer a better discount than the new Medicare cards,” said Jude Walsh, director for the state division of health care management.

Department of Human Services spokesman Newell Augur said the state is recommending seniors call the Legal Services for the Elderly hotline or their area agency on aging for advice. SeniorsPlus is the agency in the tri-county area.

The new Medicare-approved cards cost up to $30 a year.

Margaret Ross is a retired registered nurse from Lewiston. She takes medication for diabetes, but given her income and current coverage, the new cards aren’t of any use.

She’s one of a dozen people SeniorsPlus has trained to walk others through the process.

“It’s OK to say no, you don’t want that little card,” Ross said.

Neena Quirion, executive director of the Maine Council of Senior Citizens, said her group has been hosting forums around the state on the new cards. The next are in Winslow and Oakland May 25.

“It’s so confusing and complicated,” she said.

As for the ability of the card-issuing companies to change their benefits with little notice, “That’s ridiculous, frankly, it doesn’t make sense.”

For some Mainers – about 5,800 people with very low incomes – the cards are a good deal because they will offer an extra $600 in prescription assistance annually in addition to discounts.

For others, the value is unclear. Some people in Maine already receiving discounts won’t save more money with the cards, but experts say it’s still worth taking a look at them because MaineRx and Drugs for the Elderly don’t cover all drugs.

While seniors decide what’s best for them, Cote cautioned to beware of scams. She said someone in northern Maine got a call saying they’d been picked for a $600 credit, but the caller needed their Social Security and bank numbers. They didn’t give it.

Wiles is scheduled to talk about the new cards to Club 50 at St. Mary’s on June 15 at 6:30 p.m.

[email protected]