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Looming
deadlines,
information
overload have
seniors stressed
By Kathleen Manwaring
kmanwaring@barnstablepatriot.com
1 As if taxtimewasn't stress-
ful enough, now seniors have
two more deadlines to be
concerned with. Just like tax
time, ignoring them won't
make them go away.
On April 28, open enroll-
ment for the state'sPrescrip-
tion Advantage program will
close.Twoweekslater,May15,
enrollmentclosesforMedicare
Part D. With both deadlines
looming, many seniors are
scrambling for assistance.
Medicare officials encour-
age people not to worry. They
believe that enrolling in the
program ismuchless compli-
cated than may be assumed.
AccordingtoMedicare doc-
umentation, as of March 20
more than 27 million people
had already enrolled in Part
D. Charlotte Yeh, regional
administrator for Medicare's
Bostonoffices, said that Mas-
sachusetts is doing well. "We
areclearlyonthe waytomeet-
ing our target," she said.
Rebuffing rumors of con-
fusion, Roseanne Pawelec ,
spokesperson for the Boston
offices, said people feel fine.
"People may walk in feeling
overwhelmed, but they are
leaving with a clear sense of
what their options are," she
said. "With the level of assis-
tance out there, they aren't
remaining confused."
There are some, however,
who disagree. U.S. Rep. Bill
Delahunt , a staunch opponent
of Part D, has held forums-
discussing front-line views on
now beneficiaries are dealing
with their new options. "On
April 5, we had a meeting in
Harwich,"saidKimAruca, who
isinchargeofhealthcareissues
in Delahunt's district. "It was
raining, snowing and sleeting.
Twenty-eightpeoplecameoutin
spiteofthebadweather,letting
us know that there are a good
numberofpeopleouttherewho
arevery confused."
Delahunt,freshfromaforum
in Kingston Wednesday,said
hfe heard from organizations
attemptingtoassistseniorsin
navigatmgfffio llrnent. "The
range of eslotions that have
been expressed by seniors
has varied from confused to
anger,"hesaid. "Peoplewith-
out assistance couldn'tmake
anintelligent choice."
Peter Pitts, director for the
Center for Medicine in the
Public Interest, has similar
feelings butfeelsthatpolitics
hasclouded theissue."Politi-
cians and pundits have con-
veyed the message that this is
bad ," he said. "They assume
that seniors aren 't smart
enough to handle the informa-
tion. This is a significant dis-
service to this very important
population."
Pitts feels politicians should
doasDelahunthas and encour-
agepeopletoseek assistance in
understandingtheir options.
Claudia Borden-Brierly, an
outreach coordinator for the
Barnstable Senior Center and
local SHINE representative ,
hasseenmorepeople comingin
forhelpnowthat the deadlines
are close. "It's sad," she said.
"It'sso confusing for them."
An issue many seniors have
struggled with, according to
Borden-Brierly, is the "gap."
UnderMedicare Part D, there
willbeacertain amount of out-
of-pocket expenseforprescrip-
tions and medical care.
In Massachusetts the Pre-
scriptionAdvantageprogram
will help allevi||#.thesecosts
but only for those who have
signed up for the programby
April 28. "If they don't have
PrescriptionAdvantage,they
will pay the full amount of
drugs out of pocket in the
gap,"saidBorden-Brierly. "It's
going to be a nightmare come
July, August , September *
because most people sign- t
ing up for Part D didn't /
understand the gap and I
didn't sign up." I
Then there isthe mat- 1
ter of choosing the ap- l
propri ate plan , which \
varies greatly from state V
to state. In many areas,
folks alreadyhaving an HMO
can only utilize that compa-
ny'sPart D plan. For example,
if aperson is enrolled in a Blue
Cross/Blue Shield HMO plan ,
that person can only enroll in
a BCBS Part D plan.
Those who have no coverage
restrictions face the daunting
task of choosing the plan that
best suits their needs. Fortu-
nately, notes Borden-Brierly .
several plans have proven
moreworthy. "There are three
orfourplansthat alwayscome
tothetop,"she said."Thenit's
a matter of thinking it over.
One is backed by [a retail
corporation]; one is backed
by a pharmaceutical corri-
pany: and then there is one
backed by a senior
advocacy group. Which one
will be there for you in the
long run?"
Another problem involving
Part D enrollment is the as-
sumption by Medicare that
many seniors have access to
computers. In reality, nearly
70 percent of seniors do not
have computers and those
that do lack the computer
skills necessary to navigate
Medicare's highly involved
Web site.
CONTINUED ON PAGE B:4
Medicare mayhem
Out advantage
The benefits
of Prescription
Advantage
Here in Massachusetts se-
niors have the option ofjoining
a plan known as Prescription
Advantage, administered by
the Commonwealth of Mas-
sachusetts Executive Officeof
Elder Affairs. It is a prescrip-
tion drug insurance plan that
Massachusetts seniors age
65 and older are eligible for,
as are younger citizens with
disabilities who meet certain
employment criteria.
Prescription Advantage will
work with Medicare by provid-
ing supplemental assistance ,
based on income,for members
with Medicare Part D. The
prescription drug coverage
provided through Part D will
be the primary druginsurance.
However,Prescription Advan-
tage will become a secondary
payer and may help pay all
or part of Medicare Part D's
monthly premium, deductible
and co-payments.
Prescription Advantage will
also provide an out-of-pocket
spending limit to further ensure
cost coverage. "We're so lucky
to have Prescription Advan-
tage ," said Kim Deluca, who
oversees health care issues in
U.S. Rep. Delahunt's district.
For more information on Pre-
scription Advantage, contact
SHINE (Servicing the Health
and Information Needs of El-
ders) at 1-800-AGE-INFO or
visit www.mass.gov. For more
information about Medicare
Part D, visit www.medicare.
gov or call 1-800-633-4227. TTY
users call 1-877-486-2048.
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From the Director
By Elyss DeGroot
I know I have been telling
you the Boomers are coming
for months now. In fact , I be-
lieve they have arrived! And
the Barnstable Senior Center
is almost ready for them.
Since I started two years
ago (can you believe it?) we
have asked a lot of questions
and listened carefully to your
responses. I am very proud of
the changes we have put in
place and hope you are find-
ing the time to enjoy them
as well.
If you have driven by the
Senior Center after 5 p.m.,
you know we are now open
two evenings a week, ands
sometimes more.
During our focus groups ,
people repeatedly asked for
classesthat were more strenu-
ous than our daytime classes.
Now you can choose between
beginner and advanced Pi-
lates, or beginner or advanced
Yoga, as well as Aerobics ,
advanced computer classes
and art classes.
We are preparing to launch
our new look.
Again, members ofthe focus
groups, as well as people in
the community, on the board ,
at the Center and everywhere
else we have asked, told us we
needed to update our look.
This was also a hot topic of
conversation at the National
Council on Aging conference I
attended inCalifornia. Iwould
say the vote is fairly evenly
split between remaining a
Senior Center and calling our-
selves something different.
Stay tuned for more details.
Our first Third Age Chat
was a huge success.
Don't know what a Third
Age Chat is? It's a chance to
sit with other like-minded
and -aged people to talk
about future plans and
dreams. Erin Healy from
PrimeTime magazine and I
are co hosting the chats here
at the Center the second
Wednesday of the month
from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The first
one was April 12 and we had
almost two dozen people.
The conversation ranged
from second families to sav-
ing for retirement. I am not
sure if it was the birthday
cake and sparkling cider that
drew the crowd , but we are
counting on even more new
Boomers joining us on the
10"' of May. If enough people
are interested , I am hoping
the groups will take on a life
of their own and become self-
directed and topic-focused.
Got an idea you want to
share? A dream you need
help in pursuing? Maybe you
just want to know what your
fellow Boomers look like.
Please come join us.
The Garden Level at the
Senior Center is complete.
Whoops. I guess that' s
called wishful thinking. Actu-
ally,the Campaign of Comple-
tion isalmost over.Thanks to
the guidance of The Friends
of the Barnstable Senior
Center and with never-fail-
ing support from members
of the community, we have
more then $300,000 to finish
the lower level. As I am sure
you are aware by now, we are
requesting additional fund-
ingfrom the Town of Barnsta-
ble's Capital Improvement
Budget Fundto make up the
difference. Once the budget
is approved , we will be able
to move forward on this long
overdue and very necessary
project. No more waiting
lists for exercise classes. No
more juggling demands for
space and lack of rooms. You
can help ensure that this be-
comes a reality. Please call ,
e-mail or write your town
councilor and remind him
or her to support the Senior
Center request.
As always , there is still
plenty to be done. But for right
now, I am going to take a deep
breath and pat my staff, my
board and myself on the back.
Come by and see for yourself
what we are so proud of.
Elyse
THE BARNSTABLE SENIOR CENTER