National
Grange Announces New Program to Help Seniors
Understand Medicare
Washington,
June 3, 2004 - Every year, more and more seniors are struggling to purchase
prescription drugs needed to save their lives. According to the National Institute
for Health Care Management, seniors across the nation spend on average $2,100
a year on prescription drugs - that's $175 a month.
Although Congress has made sweeping changes to the Medicare Act, the details of
the Act are confusing, and many seniors need help understanding it. The first
phase of the program, before the comprehensive plan begins in 2006, allows seniors
to apply for Medicare-approved prescription drug discount cards that offer 16
to 60 percent discounts. But, there are more than 70 cards available, and eligible
participants can only select one. Realizing
the need to assist seniors with this difficult choice, the National Grange, which
primarily has a membership base of people 50 and over, designed a program aimed
to help seniors select the right card. The Grange Medicare-Approved Drug Discount
Card Education Program will teach seniors how to ease their financial burdens
by saving on prescription drugs. The
program, which will be held at local Grange halls, will feature an awareness presentation
where seniors will be guided, step-by-step, through the application process. Following
the awareness presentation, attendees will be able to ask questions about the
new Medicare Act and share their concerns. The Grange, which is a rural advocacy
organization, will also distribute information in communities throughout rural
America. "The
Grange lives within communities, and when we realize that people in our communities
need help, we do everything in our power to assist," National Grange President
William A. Steel said. "This program is designed to make this difficult process
easy for our seniors. The Grange wants America's seniors to have the best quality
of life in their golden years, and one way to do this is to help them learn how
to afford the medication they need." To
find an awareness session near you, please contact the National Grange at 1-888-447-2643,
ext. 107.
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