At long last, relief is available to hundreds of thousands of seniors in Illinois who face prescription drug bills that threaten their retirement security. In 2004, Congress passed the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act to bring Medicare into the 21st century with preventative care and prescription drug coverage. This groundbreaking law is now in full effect and thousands of seniors in Illinois are taking advantage of the new cost saving benefits.
Seniors began signing up for prescription drug coverage in January 2006. Before the signup period ended in May 2006, Congressman Jerry Weller hosted 16 registration fairs in the Illinois 11th Congressional District where thousands of seniors were able to discuss their options with experts and select the best cost saving plan for their needs.
Today, nearly 1.5 million seniors in Illinois now have prescription drug coverage, this is 87% of all seniors in Illinois. In the Illinois 11th District, represented by Congressman Jerry Weller, there are 96,512 seniors covered by Medicare and 77% of them now have much needed prescription drug coverage.
Here is a concrete example of someone who is pleased with the program. Elaine Eisold of Morris, Illinois did some math after joining the program and recently shared what she found: in the first three months of last year, she spent $382.00 out of her own pocket on her prescriptions. In the first three months of this year, she spent only $111.00. That means that over this entire year she will save more than a thousand dollars – or 70 percent of her total drug costs – thanks to the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. It really is that simple.
The initial sign up period for the Medicare prescription drug benefit has now passed. There are still opportunities, particularly for low income seniors, that want to sign up for a drug benefit. If you are a low income senior, or you know some one that is, encourage them to call Patty Cowman at Congressman Weller’s Joliet office at 815-740-2028. Patty will help determine if they qualify and will direct them to someone that can help answer their questions or get them signed up.
Congressman Weller has also introduced legislation, H.R. 5387, which would provide seniors an additional two months to sign up for the Medicare prescription drug benefit without any penalty. This proposal is under consideration in the House of Representatives.
