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Pittsburgh Debuts New Major National Campaign to Help Educate Medicare Beneficiaries About New Prescription Drug Benefit

Posted on: Thursday, 26 January 2006, 12:00 CST

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- My Medicare Matters(TM), a comprehensive national education program to assist people with Medicare and their families understand the new Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage, made its presence known in Pittsburgh today at the Waterworks Giant Eagle, 910 Freeport Road, with an event sponsored by the National Council on the Aging and the Pennsylvania Department of Aging's APPRISE Program. Dozens of seniors received personal counseling to have their questions about Medicare Part D answered and were given tools to help make informed decisions about their prescription drug coverage.

This program is an unprecedented effort to help people with Medicare assess their personal situation, compare plan options and make the enrollment decision that is right for their health and their financial situation. It is sponsored by The National Council on the Aging and the Access to Benefits Coalition.

"Access to prescriptions can have a significant impact on health and quality of life for older adults so it's important that seniors and their families become informed, understand their options and make the best choices for their individual needs," said Bob Kubit, coordinator, APPRISE Program of Allegheny County. "This is especially true for seniors with limited incomes. We want them to be aware that they may qualify for extra financial assistance."

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging's APPRISE Program offers free health insurance counseling to people with Medicare and has been educating beneficiaries for over 11 years. According to Jack Vogelsong, State Director of APPRISE, this new drug benefit can be complicated as it offers a myriad of choices. "It is important our beneficiaries understand what options are available to them and to make informed decisions about how they receive this new benefit. By partnering with My Medicare Matters(TM) at events like these, it is our hope we can reach more individuals and walk them through their choices."

My Medicare Matters(TM) provides the ideal combination of technology and mobile education teams that provide one-on-one assistance for seniors and others with Medicare. The mobile education teams will be traveling to events sponsored by trusted community-based organizations in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties in the Pittsburgh area for the entire enrollment period ending in May 2006. A schedule of events will be posted on http://www.mymedicarematters.org/.

At these events, seniors can sit down with benefits educators who will provide them individualized, personal attention and guidance about the new coverage and their options. The educators will use the latest technology via Web-enabled computers to help seniors learn about the new prescription drug coverage, use Internet-based tools such as NCOA's BenefitsCheckUpRx or the Medicare Plan Finder to assess their situation, and find and compare plans. If and when seniors are ready to join a plan, the educators may assist them in completing the online enrollment process or advise them about other methods for joining a plan.

"Our goal with My Medicare Matters is simple," said Rennie Cohen, regional manager, National Council on the Aging. "We want seniors to feel confident they are making the best possible choices for their prescription coverage. By providing personalized assistance, we can help them become educated about Medicare Part D and understand their options."

The Web site, http://www.mymedicarematters.org/ will be available for use by people with Medicare, by their family and friends, or by professionals and organizations. The Web site will provide both educational materials, and the same tools that can be used to learn about Part D, assess an individual's rights and options and find and compare plans by linking to CMS' Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder. They will also be able to enroll online or request Extra Help from the Social Security Administration.

Nationally, My Medicare Matters(TM) is deploying a fleet of 37 mobile education vans that will bring trained staff and technology to 27 states and the District of Columbia (44 metro areas and nearly 300 counties). In addition to the grassroots community based initiative in 27 states and the District of Columbia, My Medicare Matters(TM) will donate 700 wireless laptops with pre-loaded software to organizations that assist people with Medicare Part D in 23 additional states.

My Medicare Matters(TM) is being supported by AstraZeneca because "as a company committed to improving patient health, we think the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit can make a tremendous contribution to millions of Americans. We commend the NCOA and the ABC for bringing this crucial educational program to people across the country," said Tony Zook, President and CEO Designate.

"We think it is important for seniors to be able to access to the medicines they need to help maintain their health. By treating diseases and medical conditions, they may be able to prevent more serious health problems, and that's a great thing for our families' health and the health of our communities," said Zook.

About My Medicare Matters(TM)

My Medicare Matters is a new, comprehensive community-based education program to help people with Medicare and their families understand the new Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage, assess their personal situation, understand their choices, compare plan options and make the enrollment decision that is right for their health and their financial situation. It is sponsored by the National Council on the Aging and the Access to Benefits Coalition, with support from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP.

About The National Council on the Aging

Founded in 1950, the National Council on the Aging is a national network of organizations and individuals dedicated to improving the health and independence of older persons and to increasing their continuing contributions to communities, society and future generations.

About APPRISE

The APPRISE Program is a free health insurance counseling program for people with Medicare. There is an APPRISE Program in every Area Agency on Aging in Pennsylvania. APPRISE Counselors are trained to help people make informed decisions on Medicare, Medicare Supplemental Insurance, Medicare Managed Care and Long Tern Care Insurance. APPRISE also assists beneficiaries in filing Medicare Appeals, PACE and PACENET applications, Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs applications and Medicare Savings Programs applications. The APPRISE Program has a statewide hotline, which is manned Monday through Friday from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm and can be reached at 1-800-783-7067.

About The Access to Benefits Coalition

The Access to Benefits Coalition is dedicated to ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries with limited incomes know about and can make the best use of all available resources for reducing the costs of prescription drugs, including the extra help available thorough the Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage.

First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact:

My Medicare Matters

CONTACT: Amy Grossman, My Medicare Matters Media Coordinator,+1-215-493-1045, or cell, +1-215-805-0299

Web site: http://www.mymedicarematters.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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