Township offers help on drug plan

Monroe is holding information sessions to help residents understand the new Medicare drug program.

By: Leon Tovey
   MONROE — Don’t panic.
   That’s the message Judy Kalman, the supervisor of social services for the Monroe Township Office on Aging, is trying to send to residents worried about the new Medicare prescription drug program.
   "People are worried, because they don’t understand the way the program works," Ms. Kalman said Tuesday of the new coverage. "They hear that you have to enroll and that there’s a penalty if you don’t, and they panic."
   The enrollment period for the program began Tuesday.
   The new program, which has been criticized for being confusing, requires Medicare recipients to sign up by Dec. 31 in order to receive benefits Jan. 1. The deadline to enroll in one of the many plans offered under the program (in New Jersey there are 44) without penalty is May 15, 2006.
   But residents participating in Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled, the state prescription-drug program for lower-income residents, must enroll immediately, Ms. Kalman said. And this is causing a great deal of confusion among township residents.
   "We’ve been getting 20 to 30 calls a day on this," Ms. Kalman said. "We have hundreds of people in the township who are on PAAD, but many thousands who are not, so it is difficult."
   The assistance program is only available to single residents with annual incomes under $20,989 or couples with annual incomes under $25,735, Ms. Kalman said. The state sent information packets to participants in October explaining what they need to do.
   Ms. Kalman encouraged participants who need assistance with enrollment to call the Office on Aging at (732) 521-6111. She also recommended that those not enrolled in the PAAD program take their time in selecting a plan.
   "It’s important for people to realize that you can’t intelligently choose a plan at this point, because the information about all the different plans is just now becoming available," she said. "Take your time and learn about your options."
   In an effort to help residents learn about their options, the Office on Aging has been holding a series of information sessions on the new program. The next will be held at the Ponds on Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. and another will be held at the Township Senior Center on Dec. 13, an exact time will be announced at a later date.
   Additionally, information about the new Medicare program can be obtained online at www.medicare.org or by contacting the Township Office on Aging, which is located on the first floor of the Township Municipal Building.
   Information on the new program’s effect on the assistance program can be obtained online at www.state.nj.us/health/seniorbenefits/pbp/index.shtml or by calling the state’s toll-free PAAD Hotline at 1-800-792-9745.