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Contact: Helen Machado
202 225-1766
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A Visit with Seniors at the Commerce Senior Center
City of Commerce,
Jul 7 -
Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) and AARP Associate State Director Ericka Lozano visited the Commerce Senior Center in the 34th District to update attendees on how the new health care reform law will affect them.
The congresswoman and Lozano discussed relief provided under the law for Medicare beneficiaries who fall into the Medicare Part D Prescription “donut hole.” The Medicare Part D coverage gap is the time period when Medicare beneficiaries surpass their prescription drug coverage limit and are then financially responsible for the entire cost of prescription drugs. Seniors must pay out of pocket for their drug costs until their expense reaches the Medicare catastrophic coverage threshold and coverage resumes.
As the first phase of the health care reform law goes into effect, seniors who have fallen into the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole’ coverage gap will receive one-time $250 checks to lower their prescription drug costs in 2010. Beneficiaries in this gap will receive a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs starting in January 2011. By 2020, this coverage gap will be completely eliminated.
The congresswoman also cautioned attendees against potential scams by urging them to avoid giving their Medicare ID number, Social Security number, credit card or money in any form to anyone promising benefits or discounts under the new law. If anyone receives these types of requests by mail, e-mail or telephone, the congresswoman asked seniors to report these solicitors to 1-800-MEDICARE.
The congresswoman also urged the seniors to take advantage of the constituent casework services provided by her district staff for matters involving federal agencies. Nancy Lira, one of the congresswoman’s caseworkers, is at the Commerce Senior Center from 10 am to 12 noon on the 4th Wednesday of every month to assist constituents with matters involving federal agencies, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, U. S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Social Security Administration, or the Internal Revenue Service.
More information about the congresswoman's casework services is available by calling her district office at (213) 628-9230.
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