Hard as it is to believe in the face of the chaotic Medicare drug-plan overhaul, someone actually deserves to be thanked.

Lo and behold ... it's our very own state Department of Human Services officials. They appear to be among the very few nationwide to have anticipated and prepared for the train wreck we're all witnessing at pharmacies.

That collision occurred when seniors' old drug plans lapsed and they ran into the bureaucratic brick wall of the new program when trying to figure out the new scheme.

Many of those suddenly without drug coverage are the poor, and the Bush administration now has to scramble. The feds are pressing insurers to provide a 30-day supply of medications, at a nominal cost to the poor, while they finish making the switch to the new program.

In Hawai'i, some of the mess has been averted: The state had plans in place to pick up the cost of prescriptions for the poor and disabled who formerly were eligible for both the federal Medicare and Medicaid benefits.

This is a temporary fix, of course. More customer service is needed to help beneficiaries make the transition.

To its credit, Medicare had established telephone and Web support for family members helping their loved ones choose the most suitable plan for their needs.

And perhaps some confusion is unavoidable when millions of citizens are having an important element of their healthcare upended. Perhaps a lot of confusion. Certainly, better planning could have helped.

No matter. It's going to take a combined push from states and federal authorities — as well as from the insurance companies that will profit from the new plan — to put up more signposts. We need to make sure that growing pains don't morph into something crippling.