Medicare Rights Center
Medicare Rights Center
Grant Status
Completed
Project Title
Saving State Dollars by Expanding Enrollment in Medicare Savings Programs
Award Amount
$60,000
Location
Manhattan
Website
http://www.medicarerights.org/
Date Awarded
April 1, 2009
Established in 1989, the Medicare Rights Center (MRC) is a national, nonprofit consumer service organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling, educational programs, and public policy initiatives. MRC is an expert at offering direct assistance to low-income seniors through its Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Project. In this project, MRC will work with Benefits Data Trust (BDT), a nonprofit organization that uses direct mail outreach and call center support to identify and enroll low-income seniors in benefits for which they are eligible.
Approximately 350,000 New York State seniors are currently enrolled in both the federally financed Medicare Part D and New York State’s Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) programs. Medicare Part D provides prescription drug coverage for these seniors, and EPIC provides “wrap-around” coverage for prescription drug benefits not covered by Part D.
MRC and BDT join forces for this project to target approximately 15,000 low-income New York seniors for enrollment in federally financed Medicare Savings Programs. MRC and BDT will mail letters and Medicare Savings Programs informational packages about the Medicare Savings Programs to individuals identified as potentially eligible by the EPIC program. Based on past experience, MRC and BDT estimate that they will successfully enroll at least 1,000 seniors in Medicare Savings Programs. In the first year alone, it is projected that New York State could save more than $1.4 million and that New York seniors could save an estimated $3.6 million. MRC and BDT will provide follow-up assistance to enrolled seniors to ensure they remain enrolled in these Federal benefits in future years, generating multi-year savings.