Specialist in Utah to explain drug card

A national consultant on health-care reform was in Utah this past week, her 15th stop in a cross-country tour to explain a new Medicare benefit.

Since June 1, three million Americans have enrolled in the new Medicare prescription discount card program and hundreds of thousands more are in the process, said Nona Bear.

The optional card is the so-called appetizer offered to Americans as part of the Medicare Modernization Act signed into law last year by President Bush. Other benefits will roll out in the next couple of years, including for the first-time, a preventative physical exam and blood tests that screen for early detection of heart disease and tests to detect risks for getting diabetes.

For now, the card has the potential to save seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare up to 50 percent on certain medications, depending on what they take.

"The belief is that this is only for low-income, but that is not true," said Bear. "If you have insurance already, this may not help you. But for medicine not covered by insurance it can be incredibly beneficial."

Only those seniors and people with disabilities on Medicaid are ineligible for the cards, and once someone enrolls in the program, there are opportunities to opt out.

While run by the federal Medicare program, the discount cards are actually offered by private companies and organizations, receiving approval in advance by Medicare to participate.

That is where it can get confusing, Bear conceded, pointing out there are more than 80 Medicare approved cards offering differing pricing formulas for drugs, 40 of which have a national market.

Locally, however, AARP has teamed with the state Division on Aging to train health insurance specialists to help seniors and those with disabilities to analyze the potential savings, depending on the medications they take.

Several informational meetings are scheduled at senior centers across the state, as well as a town meeting hosted by Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett.

That event will feature Dr. Mark McClellan, a senior Bush administration official and administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who will explain the discount card program.

Residents can attend the event from 10 a.m. to noon, June 18 at the Salt Lake Community College's Larry H. Miller Campus, 9750 S. 300 West.