Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins Holds Medicare Enrollment Awareness Event; Helps seniors maximize coverage and reduce costs

(Yonkers, NY) - Today, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins and the Medicare Rights Center held a “Medicare Enrollment Awareness” event at the YWCA in Yonkers. The current enrollment period will last through the end of March. During this time, older adults are able to change their plan to maximize their coverage and reduce their deductibles or other costs.

The event featured advocates from the Medicare Rights Center, a national nonprofit that is dedicated to ensuring that older adults receive affordable healthcare through advocacy initiatives, counseling and education programs, as well as an expert from the New York State EPIC program.

Established in 1989, the Medicare Rights Center has spent the last two decades helping individuals understand Medicare benefits to empower recipients with information. Last year, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins secured $7,000 in funding for the Medicare Rights Center to ensure it will be able to continue its mission to serve the millions covered under these plans.

The EPIC program is New York State’s prescription assistance for seniors. The EPIC program can be used in addition to Medicare Part D to provide greater coverage and savings than the Medicare drug plan alone. Both EPIC and Medicare may provide extra savings for individuals with lower income and assets.

“The 45 million individuals receiving Medicare are given a lot of information from many sources, but it is often complicated, outdated, or simply incorrect. The Medicare Rights Center helps to provide simple and accurate information to allow people to make the best decisions for themselves. I plan on holding similar events in the future, in an effort to increase the amount of information being provided to Medicare beneficiaries,” said Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

The two-hour program was attended by more than fifty seniors and covered various issues, which included Medicare savings programs, Medicare Part D Drug Benefits, and the New York State EPIC Program. Once the presentations had concluded, members of the audience were able to speak with each expert individually to address specific questions about their healthcare coverage.

“I encourage anyone with questions regarding their Medicare benefits to contact the either my office or the Medicare Rights Center for assistance,” Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins concluded.

For more information visit the Medicare Rights Center's Information Hotline:

http://www.medicarerights.org/about-mrc/telephone-hotline.php