With the registration deadline six weeks away, only about half of the eligible people in Snohomish County have signed up for the new Medicare prescription drug plan.
“The clock is ticking,” said Shirley Hauck, a Medicare prescription drug specialist with Senior Services of Snohomish County. “We’re about halfway there.”
Some people already have prescription insurance through Medicare health management organizations, retirement plans from their former employers or the military.
That still leaves an estimated 32,000 people to sign up, she said.
If those now eligible for the new drug plan don’t sign up by May 15, and choose to do so later, they will pay a lifetime penalty, or extra charge, when they do sign up, said Bob Quirk, who works at the county’s Senior Information and Assistance.
The penalty will be added to whatever the average national monthly premium is at the time of signup. If that amount is $50, the penalty is an extra $10, he said.
That’s why some seniors are choosing to sign up now for an inexpensive plan, even if they currently get their prescriptions in other ways, such as going to Canada, said James Pham, a coordinator with Snohomish County’s Senior Information and Assistance.
A series of workshops have been scheduled around the county to help people register. Appointments for help are available on Tuesday and Thursday at Senior Information and Assistance in Mukilteo.
In addition, two big local registration events also are planned. The first will be from noon to 5 p.m. April 22 at the Lynnwood Convention Center. The second will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 4 at the Everett Events Center.
During a recent workshop in Snohomish, people’s reactions varied from being “totally confused and nervous about the whole thing to people who are working the angles: ‘Which is really the best thing for me?’ ” Hauck said.
One of those who attended the workshop was retired school teacher Marylyn Eastman of Snohomish. “I’ve just been completely snowed by all this,” she said. “I had no idea what to do.”
Yet when it came time to choose a plan, she was pleasantly surprised. She learned she could save about $1,000 a year on her blood pressure, osteoporosis and cholesterol medications.
“It was beyond my imagination,” she said. “I just hope it holds true.”
Many current prescription assistance programs for low-income seniors that run through pharmaceutical companies are ending as the Medicare drug plan kicks in, Hauck said.
The programs provide free or low-cost medications but will not continue for most seniors on Medicare, she said.
Another change is that the new Medicare prescription drug plans will replace the current Medicare discount drug cards, which can’t be used after May 15.
It takes about six weeks to process the changeovers, so any senior now using a Medicare card should get signed up for a prescription drug plan, Hauck said.
However, one local prescription discount card, offered free to anyone of any age who lives or works in Snohomish County, will continue.
“I think for seniors, the Medicare (prescription drug plan) makes a lot of sense, said County Council member Dave Gossett, who helped bring the discount card plan to the county.
However, the discount card may provide a way for seniors to get a particular prescription cheaper than through the Medicare prescription drug program they sign up for, he said.
Since the county’s discount card is free, “it doesn’t hurt to have it,” Gossett said.
Applications for the cards are available at local libraries, city halls and senior centers. Last month, nearly 3,000 people in Snohomish County used the card to buy prescriptions, Gossett said.
Whether they use the discount card or not, the biggest advice to seniors is to “be a wise consumer and to be creative in the way they purchase their prescription drugs,” Pham said.
The choices made by any one senior will need to be based on their specific medications, he said.
Medicare help
Senior Services of Snohomish County is offering appointments from noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursdays through May 11 for anyone needing help with the new Medicare prescription drug plan.
The help sessions are offered at its offices, 8221 44th Ave. W. Suite E in Mukilteo. Call 425-513-1900 for an appointment.
Other upcoming help sessions are:
April 7: 1-4 p.m., Providence Everett Medical Center, Medical Office Building, Cascade room. 1330 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. Call 425-258-7357 for an appointment
April 13: 1p.m.-4 p.m., South County Senior Center, 220 Railroad Ave., Edmonds. Call 425-774-5555 for an appointment.
April 18: noon-4 p.m., East County Senior Center, 824 Village Way, Monroe. Call Senior Services of Snohomish County for information at 425-513-1900.
April 22: noon-5 p.m., Lynnwood Convention Center, 3711 196th St. SW, Lynnwood. Call Senior Services of Snohomish County for information at 425-513-1900.
May 2: noon-4 p.m., East County Senior Center, 824 Village Way, Monroe. Call Senior Services of Snohomish County for information at 425-513-1900.
May 3: 8 a.m.-11a.m., Providence Everett Medical Center, Providence rooms A and B, 916 Pacific Ave., Everett. Call 425-258-7357 for an appointment.
May 4: 9 a.m.- 3 p.m., Everett Events Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett. Call Senior Services of Snohomish County for information at 425-513-1900.
May 11: 1-4 p.m., South County Senior Center, 220 Railroad Ave., Edmonds. Call 425-774-5555 for an appointment.
Source: Senior Services of Snohomish County
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