SENIORS TO RECEIVE MEDICARE REBATE CHECKS

Washington, DC (Friday, June 11, 2010) – As Congress begins to implement health care reform, Texas seniors who have fallen victim to the Medicare Part D “donut hole” will soon see help in the mail. Congresswoman Johnson announced that this week Medicare began mailing $250 rebate checks to help seniors manage health care costs and ultimately eliminate the “donut hole” gap in prescription drug coverage.

Here is how it works: The one-time free $250 checks to help cover prescription costs started going out this week. Only seniors who have hit the coverage gap (drug costs that exceed $2,830) will receive a rebate check, and if you hit it in the future, you should get a check a month later. To find out where you stand in the coverage gap, please visit http://www.medicare.gov/.

Even if you are not getting a check, the Affordable Care Act provides a number of Medicare benefits seniors should be aware of like free preventive care, community health teams to make it easier to deal with multiple doctors and improvements to Medicare Advantage that saves seniors money.

“Seniors don’t fall victim to scams,” says Congresswoman Johnson. “Some people are calling seniors asking them for their social security numbers and other information in order to receive their rebate checks, this is simply untrue. Seniors have earned their benefits and Congress has a responsibility to deliver them.”

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.