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New Website Helps Low-Income Seniors Find Drug
Assistance
Online service aids enrollment for Medicare subsidy
as well as state, private programs
July 12, 2005 – There is a new spin on the Website
that has been helping seniors find help with drug coverage.
BenefitsCheckUp.org has now added BenefitsCheckUp.org/rx, which
is designed to help the one out of three Medicare participants that
qualify for the low-income subsidy offered under the Medicare drug
program that becomes active in January.
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The service, which will also help senior citizens
enroll in other health care and prescription drug assistance programs,
was developed by the Administration on Aging (AoA) with the assistance
of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National
Council on the Aging (NCOA).
Available at
http://www.BenefitsCheckUp.org/rx, BenefitsCheckUpRx will help older
adults, caregivers and advocates who work with them take advantage of
the Medicare low-income subsidy, which the government says covers 95
percent of drug costs on average for people with Medicare who have
limited means.
Applications are available now, according to the
AoA. The new service screens beneficiaries for eligibility and then
provides a quick link to applying online for the extra help through the
Social Security Administration’s Web site. At the same time, it helps
seniors and those who work with them apply for other needs-based
government programs including the Medicare Savings Programs and other
federal, state and private programs that can save seniors money.
Using BenefitsCheckUpRx, people with Medicare can
get help learning about and applying for the Medicare low-income
subsidy, as well as learn about how to enroll in various programs,
including state pharmacy assistance programs, private company patient
assistance programs, veterans and TRICARE benefits, Medicaid, Medicare
Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, QI), Supplemental Security Income, and the
Medicare-approved drug discount cards can be obtained through December
2005. The online tool is confidential: no one is required to enter their
name, address, phone number, or Social Security number until they
enroll.
Next year, Medicare beneficiaries who receive full
Medicaid benefits or who are enrolled in a Medicare Savings Program (MSP)
will automatically receive the extra help with their prescription drug
costs. That extra help provides comprehensive drug coverage with no
premiums, no deductibles, very low copays and no gaps in coverage.
States have the flexibility in deciding what rules
to use when determining eligibility for their Medicare Savings Program
beneficiaries, which means that these requirements can vary considerably
from state to state. To help clarify the differences among states'
eligibility criteria, CMS has information showing how those criteria
differ from state to state and how beneficiaries can use that
information to determine their eligibility for extra help at
www.cms.hhs.gov/medicarereform/states/whatsnew.asp
In addition, the new BenefitsCheckUpRx incorporates
state-specific income and asset eligibility requirements into its
on-line screening tool.
“This new resource helps bring together many
assistance programs available to seniors who need the most help– and
that includes the comprehensive extra help with drug costs that will
soon be available for up to one third of Medicare beneficiaries through
the new Medicare drug benefit,” said Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D.,
administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Josefina Carbonell, assistant secretary for Aging
at the Department of Health and Human Services, said, “We see a national
network of community-based organizations using BenefitsCheckUpRx to help
people with limited incomes enroll in the new Medicare Prescription Drug
coverage and to ultimately enroll in other federal benefits programs.”
“Through this unprecedented partnership, we expect
to be able to reach and enroll many more seniors in both the extra help
available from Medicare and with other needed benefits,” said James
Firman, Ed.D., NCOA president and CEO. “For NCOA and for BenefitsCheckUp,
this is major milestone. Everyone with Medicare who may be eligible for
the extra help with drug coverage should enroll as soon as possible, and
this new tool will help make that happen.”
The NCOA has also created a special organizational
version that will provide training and ongoing customer support for Area
Agencies on Aging, State Health Insurance Assistance Programs, State
Units on Aging, and other local agencies that serve seniors and persons
with disabilities.
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