Drug Plan Enrollees Get Help at Mall
Posted on: Thursday, 20 April 2006, 12:00 CDT
By Emily Berry, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.
Apr. 19--Medicare officials joined local enrollment counselors Tuesday at Hamilton Place mall to help people get more information about and enroll in the new Part D prescription drug plan.
The enrollment deadline for Medicare's new drug coverage plan is May 15. "We feel like the lower-income folks are taken care of for the most part, so we're trying to reach different demographics," said Bob Foster, a health insurance specialist with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Medicaid recipients automatically were enrolled in the program, and recipients of Supplementary Security Income will be enrolled May 1 if they have not signed up.
Mary Sheetz, of Chattanooga, brought information about her 87-year-old mother's medication and income to the mall Tuesday. She said she hoped to find the best plan for her mother and determine if she is eligible for help with her monthly premium and deductible.
"I don't know how older folks can do it without an intermediary," Ms. Sheetz said.
She said she hoped the drug plan would reduce her mother's drug costs.
"She's got a pretty good list of medications," Ms. Sheetz said.
Most Medicare recipients who do not enroll before May 15 will not be able to sign up until Nov. 15, and it will be for coverage that kicks in Jan. 1. Those eligible for Part D who do not sign up will be penalized with higher premiums if they enroll later, officials said.
Chattanooga resident Cynthia Owens, 68, said she enrolled herself and her husband, Alfonza Owens, 69, in a plan after one of five counselors at the mall helped answer her questions.
She said she and her husband aren't on many prescription drugs, but she hoped enrolling in Part D would save them money. "It was really a blessing for us," she said. "We really needed to come."
Low-income Medicare recipients are eligible for financial assistance with Part D plan premiums, deductibles and copayments, officials said.
Katherlyn Geter, state health insurance program regional coordinator for Southeast Tennessee, said events such as the one Tuesday have been successful because it's often easier for people to talk in person with an enrollment counselor than over the phone.
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Source: Chattanooga Times/Free Press
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