Our Anniversary Luncheon on Friday, September 27th was set to be a record-breaking event for us to celebrate 30 years of service in Durham, with over 350 people registered to attend...Helene had other plans. We are sending prayers and support to our neighbors in Western North Carolina and everyone affected by the shocking devastation of the storm.

For us, the severe weather on Friday morning meant sheltering in place during a tornado warning and missing lots of folks who couldn't attend due to the heavy rains or downed trees. Considering the circumstances, we still had a great crowd of patient and faithful supporters, with whom we were thrilled to share our program and celebrate our anniversary at the beautiful Washington Duke Inn.

During our program, we shared a new video featuring one of our participants, Sue, which is featured below. We hope you'll take a few minutes to watch it now and share it with your friends! It shows the real and personal impact of your support on the lives of older adults in Durham. 

Our luncheon was our annual fundraising event, so if you are able to contribute, we would appreciate it. However, we understand that many people are rightfully stretched right now. You can click on our website any time to support our efforts. We're so grateful for 30 years of stellar community support that keeps our mission moving forward.

Click on the video above to watch our new impact story - and share it!

Kevin Robertson and Rhonda Narron from the NC SHIIP office receiving the Community Health Citizenship Award from Senior PharmAssist

Sue Hassell, featured in the video above, with SPA Board member Janet Hortin. 

SPA Health Resources Coordinator Alexis Robinson with SPA Board member Meri-Li Douglas.

New Outreach Materials!

Senior PharmAssist has new materials to share with folks who may not be familiar with our programs. If you'd like to distribute some to your faith community, work colleagues, community group, or other networks, please send us an email at info@seniorpharmassist.org and we will get some to you to share.  

Thanks for helping us spread the word about how we can help our older neighbors in Durham.

Each year, there are basic changes to Medicare benefits and what beneficiaries pay. This year, those changes are significant. Most people agree that the heavily advertised Medicare choices are overwhelming. While there are some things we don’t yet know for 2025 (for example, the Medicare Part B premiums), there are many things that we do know. Fortunately, we believe that most of the changes are improvements!

First, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 continues to impact the Medicare Part D benefit and greatly improves the benefit for Medicare beneficiaries, especially those who need more expensive medications. At the same time, the IRA reduces the federal budget deficit! Plus, for the first time, the standard drug benefit is something mere mortals can understand – as the four payment phases have gone to two; the donut hole and catastrophic phases cease to exist for beneficiaries enrolled in plans that cover their medicines! Beginning in 2025, Medicare beneficiaries enroll in plans that may or may not have an annual deductible (up to $590) and then – they pay 25% of their covered medication costs (sometimes may be a flat copay amount) until they spend $2,000 out of their own pocket – and then they are done for the year. In addition, many people qualify for help to pay that $2,000 – either from the federal government’s “low-income subsidy” (LIS) or in Durham – with our financial assistance that goes beyond LIS caps.

The reason the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) could redesign the benefit to favor beneficiaries is because the IRA generates savings in other ways. For example, CMS has restructured the payments so that Part D sponsoring plans (insurance companies working with pharmacy benefits managers) and brand-name manufacturers have incentives to actually control medication costs versus raise the prices and share rebates behind the scenes (rebates). Also, for a few years now, certain manufacturers have had to reimburse Medicare if they raised drug prices faster than the rate of inflation, and this has generated tremendous savings.

Unfortunately, we know from national data that seven out of ten people don’t review their Medicare options annually. Thus, our neighbors are often leaving significant “prescription dollars on the table,” and/or they are in plans that may not allow them to access to the providers they want to see! A great example in Durham is that Duke and United Health Care may end their contract for private plans (not employer/retiree plans or Medigap supplements or stand-alone drug plans) at the end of this month. This major network disruption for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in an AARP/United Medicare Advantage plan who see Duke providers has remedies. People can change insurance or change providers. Both of these can be problematic -  but Senior PharmAssist is here to help!

The average saving for people we saw last year was $1,300 when comparing stand-alone drug plans (median of $433). Helping people with Medicare Advantage health/drug plans can provide even more savings and “peace of mind,” in the words of many of our participants. We really mean it when we say, it pays to compare!

Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period runs from October 15 to December 7. Senior PharmAssist is the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) coordinating site for Durham. We provide Medicare counseling for anyone – any age or income – at no charge by appointment only.  

We are already booked out several weeks, so please call right away to make your appointment.

We are not selling anything! Our job is to provide choices to help folks make informed decisions about their health and prescription coverage. 

Hope to see you soon! 

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