Chubby Checker Making Senior Citizens Aware It’s
Easier to Get Help Paying for Medicare Drugs
The old twister joins Social Security in announcing
new “twist” in law making it easier to qualify for Extra Help with
Medicare prescription drug plan costs
Jan. 11, 2010 - The Social Security Administration
says there is a “new twist” that makes it easier for senior citizens to
qualify for extra help with Medicare prescription drug costs, and they
have the old twister – Chubby Checker – helping to spread the word.
The extra help program currently provides
assistance to more than nine million senior and disabled Americans --
saving them an average of almost $4,000 a year on their Medicare
prescription drug plan costs.
For 7 of 11 expensive cancer drugs, British
patients pay no out-of-pocket costs; U.S. patients, even with Medicare,
pay out $1,200 to $24,000 – uninsured pay even more
By Amy Sutton, Contributing Writer, Health Behavior News Service
“The changes in the Medicare law that take effect
this month will allow hundreds of thousands of Americans who are
struggling to pay their prescription drug costs to get extra help during
these tough economic times,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of
Social Security.
“I am thrilled that Chubby Checker has volunteered
to help us spread this important message through a new television,
radio, and Internet spot as well as pamphlets and posters.”
Checker is a Grammy Award winner and rock and roll
legend that is well-known among today’s senior citizens.
“Listen up, America! For 50 years, people of all
ages and backgrounds have danced the Twist,” Chubby Checker said. “Now
it’s important everyone learn about this new twist in the law. Check it
out at
www.socialsecurity.gov.”
To apply for extra help, there is an easy-to-use
online application available at
www.socialsecurity.gov.
To qualify for the Extra Help, a person must be on
Medicare, have limited income and resources, and reside in one of the 50
states or the District of Columbia.
The new Medicare law eases those requirements in
two ways.
● First, it eliminates the cash value of life
insurance from counting as a resource.
● Second, it eliminates the assistance people
receive from others to pay for household expenses, such as food, rent,
mortgage or utilities, from counting as income.
If you already receive Extra Help, you will not
need to reapply in 2010. Social Security will see if you are entitled to
any additional Extra Help because we no longer count your life insurance
or help with household expenses.
There also is another important “twist” in the
law. The application for extra help can now start the application
process for Medicare Savings Programs - state programs that provide help
with other Medicare costs. These programs help pay Medicare Part B
(medical insurance) premiums.
For some people, the Medicare Savings Programs also
pay Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) premiums, if any, and Part A
and B deductibles and co-payments, according to the announcement from
Social Security.
To learn more about the extra help program and to
view the new TV spot featuring Chubby Checker, go to
www.socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp.
New Law Expands Access to Affordable Prescription
Drugs in Extra Help Program
New York, NY - Effective January 1, 2010, several
changes to the law make it easier for older people and people with
disabilities to qualify for Extra Help, the federal program that helps
people with Medicare pay for their prescription drugs, according to the
Medicare Rights Center, an advocacy group.
Under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and
Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA), people who apply for Extra Help will no
longer be required to count life insurance policies as an asset, and
money and services they receive from family and friends to help cover
their living expenses will not count as income. The law will make an
additional 1 million people with Medicare eligible for Extra Help.
"These changes will greatly simplify the
application process and broaden access to the Extra Help program," said
Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center. "All too often,
older adults and people with disabilities have to split pills or skip
doses to afford their prescription drugs. These changes will ensure that
more Americans have access to the drugs they need."
A third change to the program links the Extra Help
application to the application process for Medicare Savings Programs (MSP),
which help people pay Medicare premiums, coinsurance and deductibles.
Effective January 1, the Social Security Administration will forward
verified income and asset information from Extra Help applications to
state agencies, which will use the data to initiate applications for MSP.
This change will help coordinate enrollment in the
two programs, and leverage the outreach efforts for Extra Help by the
Social Security Administration to improve enrollment in MSP. Currently
only about one-third of people with Medicare who are eligible for MSP
have enrolled in the program.
The Medicare Rights Center offers free resources
for people who want to learn more about enrolling in Extra Help and MSP.
Visit Medicare Interactive, a free, web-based counseling tool, at
www.medicareinteractive.org <http://www.medicareinteractive.org/> . To
speak with a counselor, call the toll-free hotline at 1-800-333-4114.
Counselors are available Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
(Eastern Time).
Medicare Rights Center is a national, nonprofit
consumer service organization that works to ensure access to affordable
health care for older adults and people with disabilities through
counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy
initiatives.
The old twister joins Social Security in announcing
new “twist” in law making it easier to qualify for Extra Help with
Medicare prescription drug plan costs
‘Health care spending as a percentage of GDP is
rising at an unsustainable rate’
Extensive study finds cancer patients can fall in
drug program’s ‘donut hole’ almost immediately
For 7 of 11 expensive cancer drugs, British
patients pay no out-of-pocket costs; U.S. patients, even with Medicare,
pay out $1,200 to $24,000 – uninsured pay even more