FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2004
San Antonio Area Access to Benefits Coalition To Help Local Medicare Beneficiaries Find Savings as Discount Cards are Mailed to 97,714 Texans
San Antonio, TX – Over the next two weeks, 97,714 people with low incomes who have Medicare in Texas will receive a Medicare-approved drug discount card in the mail, along with a 1-800 number to call in order to get $600 on that card this year and next to use toward their prescription drugs. The San Antonio Area Access to Benefits Coalition encourages those who get the letter to call the 1-800 number so that they can reduce the cost of their medicines.
“It’s important that those who receive these Medicare-approved drug discount cards follow the instructions, call the 1-800 number and activate their $600 credit immediately,” said Tina Smith, Access and Assistance Coordinator with the Alamo Area Council of Governments’ Bexar Area Agency on Aging. “But we also want seniors and younger persons with disabilities to know there are other prescription savings programs out there which can help reduce their prescription drug costs. Locally, the San Antonio Area Access to Benefits Coalition can help them find the best mix of government and private company programs.”
Many people with Medicare who have low incomes are unaware of the savings available through the Medicare-approved discount card program or that there are other private company programs. Anyone who is interested in learning about the prescription savings programs available to them or someone they know may visit an enrollment center where there are volunteers available to conduct screenings to find out this information. Medicare Beneficiaries may visit the Margarita Huantes Learning Center at 1411 Guadalupe St., Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. or they may call (210) 362-5200 to find a closer site or to speak to a Benefits Counselor.
The Access to Benefits Coalition is a partnership of more than 90 national nonprofit organizations working to educate and enroll Medicare beneficiaries with lower incomes in programs that reduce the cost of their prescriptions. The San Antonio Area Access to Benefits Coalition is one of 52 local coalitions in 34 states.
In addition to providing Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers with free hands-on assistance in identifying and signing up for prescription drug savings programs, the San Antonio Area Access to Benefits Coalition is encouraging the professionals and community organizations who serve this population to visit the Web site, www.accesstobenefits.org, and use its powerful decision-support tool to find and enroll Medicare beneficiaries into state, Federal, or private company savings programs.