Township to hold informational meetings on new Medicare programs next week.
By: Jessica Beym
The new year is quickly approaching, and so is the deadline to decide on new Medicare health plans.
To help residents, particularly seniors, decide which option of the new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan is best for them, the township will be hosting information programs next week in the meeting room of Town Hall.
Starting Jan. 1, 2006, Medicare prescription drug coverage will be available to people with Medicare. The enrollment period began Nov. 15 and in order to receive benefits by Jan. 1, recipients must sign up by Dec. 31. Anyone who enrolls in one of New Jersey’s 44 plan options after May 15, 2006 will have to pay a higher premium.
The new plan has been criticized as difficult to understand, according to Judy Kalman, a counselor with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services State Health Insurance Assistance program.
"People are very concerned about the new Medicare plans. I don’t think we can alleviate the problem, but we can alleviate their fears," Ms. Kalman.
On Monday the township will have a public meeting where Ms. Kalman will provide information and field questions. The session will be held in the meeting room of Town Hall from 2 to 4 p.m.
"I will present them with the information I know. But they need to know, they have plenty of time to decide. I’d advise people not to make a decision at this time, because the plan they choose now might not be right. The information keeps changing," said Ms. Kalman.
At the end of the meeting on Monday, seniors and their caretakers can sign up for individual half-hour session, which will be held in the meeting room on Tuesday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. There are only eight appointments available and they are based on a first-come first-served basis.
Ms. Kalman is the supervisor of Social Services at the Monroe Township Office of Aging and has provided information sessions to Monroe residents as well. Additional sessions may be scheduled in Monroe due to the high demand for information.
The township contacted Ms. Kaplan after Cranbury resident John Ritter approached the Township Committee about setting up an information program.
In order to help residents, Mr. Ritter updated the township Web site, www.cranburytownship.org, and added links to other sites with information on the Medicare plans.
In addition to the link on the Web site, a binder of newspaper and magazine articles on the Medicare plans is available in the Cranbury Public Library.
"A lot of the seniors aren’t comfortable using the Web site," said Mr. Ritter. "This is a complex series of decisions with serious financial implications. The more we can do to help the people, the better."
During the Nov. 28 Township Committee meeting when Mr. Ritter addressed to committee members, Mayor Becky Beauregard agreed.
"The sooner we have information for people the better off they will be," said Ms. Beauregard.

