Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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SENIOR CORNER Medicare Prescription Enrollment by BRENDA BROWN Family gatherings, holiday shopping, and Medicare prescription drug plans. When you think of November, you may imagine such things as turkey dinners, family gatherings, Veterans Day or the start of the holi- day shopping season. But newly entitled and current Medicare beneficiaries, who are considering changes to their Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plan, might think of November as the time for thinking about Medicare. That’s because the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program Open Season this year runs from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31. Joining a Medicare prescription drug plan is voluntary, and participants pay an additional monthly premium for the coverage. Some people with limited resources and income are eligible for Extra Help to pay for monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and prescription co-payments. To qualify for this extra help: • You must reside in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; • Your resources must be limited to $12,510 for an individual or $25,010 for a married couple living together. Resources include such things as bank accounts, stocks, and bonds. We do not count your house and car as resources; and • Your annual income must be limited to $16,245 for an individual or $21,855 for a married couple living together. Even if your annual income is higher, you still may be able to get some help. Some examples where Joining a Medicare prescription drug plan is voluntary, and par- ticipants pay an additional monthly premium for the coverage. your income may be higher are if you or your spouse: • Support other family members who live with you; • Have earnings from work; or • Live in Alaska or Hawaii. And, as our celebrity spokesperson Chubby Checker will tell you, a new “twist” in the law makes it easier than ever to qualify. Social Security no longer counts, as a resource, any life insurance policy. We also no longer count, as income, the help you may receive when someone else provides you with food and shel- ter, or when someone else pays your household bills for food, mortgage, rent, heating fuel or gas, electricity, water, and property taxes. To apply for extra help, complete the ap- plication for help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (SSA-1020) online at www.socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp. You may also call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) where a Social Security representative can help you apply over the phone. An ap- plication may be mailed to your home or you may visit your local Social Security office. To learn more about the Medicare prescription drug plan, visit www.medi- care.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1- 800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048). BRENDA BROWN, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com Authentic Italian Cuisine Brick Fired NY Pizza MU GRAPHIC DESIGN WORKSHOP creative projects for non-profit organizations Voted Fayetteville’s Best Overall Restaurant Senior graphic design majors making a difference. Each spring semester, our graphic design seniors take on creative projects for non-profit organizations in the Fayetteville area. If your organization could use some promotional help, we would like to offer the students’ services. Just download the public service request form on our website at http://www.methodist.edu/art/gdworkshop.htm 678-8885 18 UCW NOVEMBER 17-23, 2010 822-3590 Methodist University Department of Art – (910) 630-7100 – www.methodist.edu/art WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM and explain your needs. Approved projects will be created during the spring semester free-of-charge. (Production and placement fees are the client’s responsibility.) For consideration, requests are due by December 6, 2010.