SHINE update
By Margie Ware
This month’s column contains a variety of “heads up” information that will be useful to Medicare beneficiaries. Cut it out and put it on your kitchen bulletin board so you can refer to it as time goes on!
Medicare is going green
That great big book which arrives every fall, “Medicare and You 20__.” will begin to be available in an electronic format this fall. If you have registered by May 31, 2009 at www.mymedicare.gov you will receive the 2010 edition by email. If you register after that date, you will receive a hard copy this year and the 2011 edition by email. For those of you who are computer savvy, this is a great way to help save the environment, have the Medicare information at your fingertips and be able to “flip through” quickly to get information. One reminder: much of the information that is included in the back of the book concerning PPOs and HMOs does NOT apply to Berkshire County.
New 2010 deductibles for Medicare Part D
If your plan has a deductible, this will increase from $295 to $310.
The “doughnut hole” will begin when the total retail value of your drugs reaches $2,830 (The 2009 level is $2700.)
If you receive “extra financial assistance” from the Federal Government, your co-pays for generic drugs will be $2.50 and your brand-name pharmaceuticals will be $6.30.
Social Security income won’t be going up next year
Because there is no Cost of Living adjustment (COLA), there will not be an increase in your Part B premium. As you know, the COLA for 2009 was higher than usual – 5.8% - due in part to the spike in gas prices last year. With the recession in full bloom and deflationary pressures on the economy, there will be no COLA. We won’t talk about whether beneficiaries feel like their cost of living is staying stable.
There is still time to sign up for SHINE’s Retirement Seminar
The June 10th program here at Elder Services from 3 to 5 p.m. will focus solely on Social Security. The June 17th program in the same time slot will cover health insurance, prescription drug coverage and the Prescription Advantage plan. Call 1-800-544-5242 or 499-0524 to sign up for either or both of these informative sessions.
