Initiative will Help Educate Vermont Seniors
About New Medicare Part D Drug Benefit.

WHEN: Friday, November 4, 2005, 11:00 am

WHERE: Racquet’s Edge Health and Community Fitness Center
4 Morse & Gauthier Drive
Essex Junction, Vermont (802-879-7734)

WHAT: Launch of Medicare Access Network of Vermont

WHO: Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie

Brian Cresta, Director, Region 1, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Joan Senecal, Deputy Commissioner, Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living

Stephen Evangelista, President and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation of Northern and Southern New England

Judy Crawford, Director, Vermont State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)

WHY: Enrollment in new Medicare Part D Drug Benefit begins November 15th. Medicare Access Network of Vermont has been created to join the state’s efforts to help educate Vermont’s Medicare eligible citizens about the most dramatic change in federal Medicare benefits in over 40 years.

KEY BACKGROUND: Beginning November 15, 2005, Vermont’s 96,542 Medicare eligible citizens can begin enrolling in plans to receive the new Medicare Part D drug benefit. In the coming weeks, 17 private companies authorized to provide Medicare Part D coverage plans will begin marketing their plans in Vermont.

This upcoming process of enrollment promises to be a complex undertaking raising many challenging questions for people with Medicare in Vermont and their families. The Medicare Access Network of Vermont, comprised of 14 leading community organizations, will join the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, and Vermont’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program help answer those questions by providing reliable information to help Vermonters make informed choices about accessing the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.