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Help available for Medicare coverage If you are eligible for Medicare, help will be available locally with enrolling in a drug plan for 2007 and other programs that may help you with the cost of your Medicare coverage. If you are over age 55 but are not eligible for Medicare, assistance will also be available with obtaining help with prescription costs. If you are over age 60, you can also receive legal assistance with issues such as powers of attorney, simple wills and consumer issues. You can receive help with any of these matters on Monday, Dec. 18, from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the Pine Hill Senior Center (Oak Grove Street Fire Department, 334-963-4351), and from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Thomasville Senior Center (Old High School Home Economics Building next to City Hall, 334- 636-9007). If you cannot attend, you may receive help by telephone by calling 1-888-671- 5246. Anyone who has Medicare can choose a new Medicare drug card during the December open enrollment period. Even if you are satisfied with your current Medicare drug card, you should check to see whether you can obtain a better Medicare drug card for 2007 because many of the plans are changing their coverage and cost for next year. If you do not enroll in a new plan by Dec. 31, you will automatically remain enrolled in your 2006 plan even if that plan has made major changes in coverage of cost. If you are not currently enrolled in a Medicare drug plan and do not enroll by Dec. 31, then you cannot enroll in a plan for 2007 unless you qualify for low-income assistance. If you are over 55 and do not have Medicare or Medicaid, you can apply for free help obtaining prescription drugs through the Alabama-Tombigbee Senior Rx Program. Local assistance will be provided through the Alabama- Tombigbee Regional Commission Area Agency on Aging (ATRC) and its contractor, Davis and Neal. People should bring their Medicare card (if they have one), date of birth, and income information, and a complete list of their prescriptions, including the number of milligrams and how many of each medication they take each day. People who are over 55 who do not have prescription drug coverage who have incomes below $20,000 per year (oneperson household) or $26,000 (two-person household) can also telephone the ATRC Senior Rx Program toll-free at 1-888-617- 0500. If you are eligible for Medicare (at any age) and have a lower income, you may not be subject to the Dec. 31 deadline to choose a Medicare-approved drug card. If you live in a oneperson household with an income below $1,245 monthly or in a two-person household with income below $1,670 monthly, you may be able to enroll at any time. The monthly income limits for those in larger households are $425 higher for each additional person. Even if you have already enrolled for Medicare drug card, if you have not applied for help in paying for your drug program, you should do so if your income is below these amounts. If you income is below $1,000 per month if single or $1,340 if married and residing together, you may also qualify for even more help with your Medicare premiums, deductibles, and copayments through the QMB or SLMB programs. If you qualify for additional help through ANY of these programs for people with lower incomes who have Medicare, your Medicare drug card premium and deductible can be reduced or even eliminated and your copayments reduced to $5 or less per prescription. You can attend one of the events to enroll or you can telephone 1-888-671- 5246 to determine whether you qualify for any of these programs.
In addition, if you are having problems with the Part D drug plan in which you enrolled, you should attend one of these events or request help by telephone.
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