This year is a significant milestone for the Medicare Rights Center as we celebrate our 30th anniversary!
Thanks to our dedicated supporters, we have worked to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities for three decades—and we will continue this critical work into our 30th year and as long as our services are needed.
There are changes to Medicare costs and coverage options every year, and it’s difficult for consumers and professionals alike to keep up with what’s new and how it will affect them or their clients. As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rolls out these changes, the Medicare Rights Center’s education team gets to work right away translating complex legal language into consumer-friendly resources.
People with Medicare who need help accessing mental health care and addiction services can look to the Community Health Access to Addiction and Mental Healthcare Project (CHAMP) as a new source of support. The Medicare Rights Center is participating in CHAMP, a new ombudsman program launched to help New Yorkers access insurance coverage for behavioral health services and understand their rights and options.
The Medicare Rights Center’s educational resources include an annual series of webinars which are available to everyone through Medicare Interactive (MI), but typically attended by professionals to help them better assist their clients, patients, employees, retirees, and others navigate Medicare. The 2018 webinar series dives into specific Medicare topics, including how Medicare covers people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and how Medicare coordinates with job-based insurance.
Medicare Rights continues to support efforts and advance policies that make prescription drugs more affordable and do not otherwise increase costs or reduce access to care for older adults and people with disabilities.
This summer, Medicare Rights President Joe Baker was a panelist at a Capitol Hill briefing, “Tackling Prescription Drug Prices: An Examination of Proposed Medicare Part D Reforms,” an educational event hosted by the National Coalition on Health Care to shed light on proposed reforms to Medicare Part D, identify the trade-offs involved, and explore the impacts on people with Medicare.
Mr. L, a 71-year-old New Yorker, contacted the Medicare Rights Center because he realized he needed Medicare coverage but could not afford it. He did not enroll in Medicare when he became eligible due to the costs. Medicare Rights determined that Mr. L’s low income qualified him for a Medicare Savings Program that would pay both his Part A and B premiums; eliminate his late enrollment penalty; and pay his Medicare deductibles, coinsurances, and co-pays, providing him with the affordable coverage he needs.
The staff and volunteer counselors on the Medicare Rights Center’s National Consumer Helpline answer Medicare questions from consumers, caregivers, and professionals every day. Yet there are times when a counselor will come across a complex situation where a client needs more assistance than a helpline call can provide. That’s when Medicare Rights’ lawyers step in with their expert knowledge of Medicare rules and regulations.
Trish Sneddon is a financial services representative and certified senior advisor at a faith-based nonprofit organization. Since she started this work in 2001, Trish has been an avid user of the Medicare Rights Center’s educational resources and has also become a monthly donor.
In March, the Medicare Rights Center released its annual helpline trends report outlining ongoing challenges facing people with Medicare, heard through nearly 17,000 calls to the National Consumer Helpline. The report, Medicare Trends and Recommendations: An Analysis of 2016 Call Data from the Medicare Rights Center National Helpline, re-examines the top three recurring issues heard on the helpline in prior years.
Part B enrollment confusion, Medicare Advantage plan denials, and prescription drug costs continue to pose problems for people with Medicare. Samantha Morales, associate director of client services, and Julie Carter, federal policy associate, who authored the report, illustrate these trends with client stories. The stories and data highlight how helpline counseling informs Medicare Rights’ work with partners, policymakers, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to address persistent issues and create change.
Now a helpline volunteer and a donor, Beth Abbott started her engagement with the Medicare Rights Center through a summer internship while pursuing a graduate degree in health advocacy from Sarah Lawrence College. After she finished her degree, she continued with Medicare Rights as a helpline counselor. While dedicating volunteer hours to answering Medicare questions, Beth learned about a matching donation program through Bank of America, her husband Ray Abbott’s employer.
This year is a significant milestone for the Medicare Rights Center as we celebrate our 30th anniversary!
Thanks to our dedicated supporters, we have worked to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities for three decades—and we will continue this critical work into our 30th year and as long as our services are needed.
There are changes to Medicare costs and coverage options every year, and it’s difficult for consumers and professionals alike to keep up with what’s new and how it will affect them or their clients. As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rolls out these changes, the Medicare Rights Center’s education team gets to work right away translating complex legal language into consumer-friendly resources.
People with Medicare who need help accessing mental health care and addiction services can look to the Community Health Access to Addiction and Mental Healthcare Project (CHAMP) as a new source of support. The Medicare Rights Center is participating in CHAMP, a new ombudsman program launched to help New Yorkers access insurance coverage for behavioral health services and understand their rights and options.
The Medicare Rights Center’s educational resources include an annual series of webinars which are available to everyone through Medicare Interactive (MI), but typically attended by professionals to help them better assist their clients, patients, employees, retirees, and others navigate Medicare. The 2018 webinar series dives into specific Medicare topics, including how Medicare covers people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and how Medicare coordinates with job-based insurance.
Medicare Rights continues to support efforts and advance policies that make prescription drugs more affordable and do not otherwise increase costs or reduce access to care for older adults and people with disabilities.
This summer, Medicare Rights President Joe Baker was a panelist at a Capitol Hill briefing, “Tackling Prescription Drug Prices: An Examination of Proposed Medicare Part D Reforms,” an educational event hosted by the National Coalition on Health Care to shed light on proposed reforms to Medicare Part D, identify the trade-offs involved, and explore the impacts on people with Medicare.
Mr. L, a 71-year-old New Yorker, contacted the Medicare Rights Center because he realized he needed Medicare coverage but could not afford it. He did not enroll in Medicare when he became eligible due to the costs. Medicare Rights determined that Mr. L’s low income qualified him for a Medicare Savings Program that would pay both his Part A and B premiums; eliminate his late enrollment penalty; and pay his Medicare deductibles, coinsurances, and co-pays, providing him with the affordable coverage he needs.
The staff and volunteer counselors on the Medicare Rights Center’s National Consumer Helpline answer Medicare questions from consumers, caregivers, and professionals every day. Yet there are times when a counselor will come across a complex situation where a client needs more assistance than a helpline call can provide. That’s when Medicare Rights’ lawyers step in with their expert knowledge of Medicare rules and regulations.
Trish Sneddon is a financial services representative and certified senior advisor at a faith-based nonprofit organization. Since she started this work in 2001, Trish has been an avid user of the Medicare Rights Center’s educational resources and has also become a monthly donor.
In March, the Medicare Rights Center released its annual helpline trends report outlining ongoing challenges facing people with Medicare, heard through nearly 17,000 calls to the National Consumer Helpline. The report, Medicare Trends and Recommendations: An Analysis of 2016 Call Data from the Medicare Rights Center National Helpline, re-examines the top three recurring issues heard on the helpline in prior years.
Part B enrollment confusion, Medicare Advantage plan denials, and prescription drug costs continue to pose problems for people with Medicare. Samantha Morales, associate director of client services, and Julie Carter, federal policy associate, who authored the report, illustrate these trends with client stories. The stories and data highlight how helpline counseling informs Medicare Rights’ work with partners, policymakers, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to address persistent issues and create change.
Now a helpline volunteer and a donor, Beth Abbott started her engagement with the Medicare Rights Center through a summer internship while pursuing a graduate degree in health advocacy from Sarah Lawrence College. After she finished her degree, she continued with Medicare Rights as a helpline counselor. While dedicating volunteer hours to answering Medicare questions, Beth learned about a matching donation program through Bank of America, her husband Ray Abbott’s employer.
