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New Web Tool To Help Low-Income Seniors Enroll
Faster for Medicare Drug Card
Deadline is Dec. 31 for $1,200 cash savings for those
most in need
Dec. 20, 2004 - With less than two weeks remaining
to receive $1,200 in savings from the government, the national Access to
Benefits Coalition (ABC) and many local non-profit and government
agencies are urging people with Medicare who have low incomes to enroll
in a Medicare-approved discount card before Dec. 31. ABC says they have
made the process easier with their new streamlined Medicare Card
Finder.
To make it easier and faster for people to find and
enroll in the Medicare-approved discount card for their personal needs,
the Coalition has just added a streamlined Medicare Card Finder to its
Web site (http://www.AccesstoBenefits.org).
The new feature is the result of a partnership with the Centers for
Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS), combining the Coalition's decision
support tools with CMS' new enrollment capabilities. In just a few
minutes, people with Medicare or people assisting them lower their costs
can find the best cards for them and then enroll on-line.
"Time is running out. Because of the December 31st
deadline and the heavy volume of holiday mail, on-line filing is
especially timely and needed," said James P. Firman, chair of the Access
to Benefits Coalition. "This is a real opportunity for those who need
help the most to lower the costs of their medications. If you have
access to the Internet or know someone you trust who can help, go online
and use our new features to enroll in a card today. And, if you don't ,
our local partners are standing by to help enroll as many people as we
can between now and the end of the month."
According to Firman, for those people with incomes
below $12,569 if single (or $16,862 if married), they may be eligible to
save at least $1,200 on their medications through a Medicare- Approved
drug discount card. But, they need to apply for a card by December 31,
2004 to get the full $1,200. According to Firman, many consumers will
save a lot more than $1,200 if they select the cards recommended by ABC.
"There's more than $6 billion in savings available for 5.3 million
people with Medicare who have not already signed up for a
Medicare-approved card," Firman added. "What better holiday gift can you
give a person than save them $1,200 or more on their medicines in 2005?"
Some 1.7 million low-income beneficiaries have
already signed up for a Medicare-approved discount card in 2004 and have
already been using the $600 annual "credit" to help pay for their
medications. Local ABC organizations report that call volume has been
particularly heavy in recent days and many of them are gearing up for
this last-minute push.
ABC's objective is to help as many eligible people
as possible learn about and sign up for the best combination of public
and private prescription savings programs to help them lower the cost of
their medications.
The new Medicare Card Finder can be found at
http://www.AccesstoBenefits.org. For more information on the ABC
program or to find a list of local ABC organizational contacts, please
visit the site's Press Room
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