U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt came to Maine last week with promises to sort out the mess caused by the new Medicare Part D drug program.

Next time he comes, we’d suggest he bring a check instead of a promise.

Leavitt answered questions from the media after meeting with Gov. Baldacci on Wednesday. He described the meeting as being very productive and said that Medicare would send experts to the state to sort out why so many people who should have been enrolled in Medicare Part D were unable to get their medicine. Leavitt has also said that the federal government would work to make sure the state is reimbursed by insurance carriers for money spent to provide Medicare recipients with their drugs when the transition to Part D failed.

That’s all good news, but why did it take so long for the federal government to react?

In the weeks before Part D launched, the Baldacci administration warned Washington of potential problems. Maine was assured everything would work out just fine. It didn’t.

Luckily the state was prepared and stepped in to fill the holes created by Part D.

The state has spent more than $3 million. Initially, the federal government refused to get directly involved in making sure states were reimbursed. Medicare and Bush administration officials said it was a matter states would have to work out for themselves, in court if necessary, with individual insurance companies.

Now, Leavitt is saying that the federal government will use its influence with insurance companies to make sure states get their money back.

More than two dozen states have had to step in to protect senior citizens who faced problems getting their medicine.

The fix won’t work forever, and unless problems are ironed out soon, seniors could face the same problems next month getting their medicine.

Maine Rep. Tom Allen, who appeared at a media event with the governor last week, plans to introduce legislation that could make the prescription drug plan simpler and more effective. Similar to a bill sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe, Allen would require the federal government to repay states for the bungled beginnings of Part D. It would simplify the process for people who qualify for both Medicare and MaineCare, make transitions into the plan easier to navigate and ensure that people are able to get a temporary supply of their medicine during the process.

Other fixes are necessary. The cost of the program is expected to grow beyond $1 trillion in the first 10 years and doesn’t take advantage of Medicare’s purchasing power to negotiate lower drug costs for senior citizens. Financial reality demands that Medicare get a better deal. Sooner or later, the cost question must be addressed.

Leavitt’s visit to Maine offered reassuring rhetoric.

The real test will be in the follow-up. If the problems are sorted out and the state is reimbursed, then we will chalk up the problems to working the kinks out of a massive new program.

If, come February, large numbers of seniors face the same problems again, then we will know that it’s indifference or ineptitude on the part of the federal government that’s leaving people without their prescription drugs.