LDS Church won't help spread word on Medicare

AARP Utah will continue to work with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on an individual or regional level to inform them about upcoming changes to Medicare benefits, even as the church itself has declined to participate in the association's outreach efforts.

The group approached the LDS Church several months ago asking it to participate in a coalition formed specifically to spread the word about Medicare's new prescription-drug benefit.

"We naturally tried to include as part of our outreach coalition as many church groups as we could; the most obvious one was the LDS Church," Rob Ence, executive director of AARP Utah, said.

Specifically, AARP Utah wanted the church to send a letter to its members explaining the complex program and directing people to other resources for additional information. The LDS Church declined to do so.

"The Church feels that communication regarding new Medicare benefits is best handled by the government agencies responsible for administering the program," LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills said in a Wednesday statement.

Ence understands the church's position, but said he regrets the decision.

"I recognize it is a government issue, it is a government problem, but that doesn't change the fact that people still turn to their religious leaders for resource guidance," he said.

The Utah Medicare Outreach Coalition will continue to reach LDS Church members in other ways, Ence said. More than half of the hundred or so volunteers already trained are members of the state's largest faith, he said, and individual stakes and wards have already planned workshops to discuss the prescription-drug service.

Also, the coalition hosts several community forums each week at senior centers around the state, and many of those attendees are likely members of the LDS Church. "We don't ask their religious affiliation but clearly everywhere we go you're going to have, by default, some percentage of LDS people there," Ence said.Attendees at those meetings are asked to take the information back to their individual communities and church groups.

For a calendar of coalition events, visit www.daas.utah.gov/UMOC. Medicare is government-sponsored health insurance for the elderly. Its new prescription drug coverage begins Jan. 1, and open enrollment for the program begins Nov. 15. People who previously had prescription drug coverage through Medicaid, government insurance for the low-income and disabled, will also be eligible for coverage under the new plan.

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