– by Anne Gargano
Medicare Part D open enrollment for 2008 begins November 15 and ends December 31, 2007. If you are a Medicare beneficiary, you are probably being flooded with mail and phone calls from insurance companies trying to sign you up for their plans. These calls can often be very misleading, as Medicare Task Force member Shirbie Faulkner, experienced firsthand.
“When a salesperson called from Plan Plus, I asked them to send me more information and they told me that I had to give them my credit card number to get it.” These deceptive marketing ploys, along with changes in premiums and co-pays for 2008, make finding the right prescription drug plan a confusing and frustrating process.
To help Medicare beneficiaries in our community make an informed choice this month, CCHCC’s Medicare Task Force will be hosting a Medicare Part D Community Meeting on Tuesday, November 29 at 10:30 a.m. at the Urbana Civic Center. Former CCHCC Medicare Task Force organizer, Katie Coombes, will be presenting the “Cautious Consumer Guide” that provides tips for avoiding the many pitfalls of Part D. Katie said, “The CCHCC Medicare Task Force has an amazing history of working for Part D reform. I am so excited to be invited back to speak about Part D in 2008 and continue working for long overdue legislative reform.” A caseworker from Family Service Senior Resource Center will also offer local resources for help. Representatives from the Medicare Task Force will be discussing the current problems with Medicare Part D and how community members can get involved in the Campaign to Fix Part D.
If you, or someone you love, will be signing up for a Part D plan, you won’t want to miss this meeting!