Each year, students from the UNMC College of Pharmacy offer help to seniors enrolling in Medicare coverage, specifically Medicare Part D, which is drug coverage.
They offer complimentary reviews of senior’s medications and costs to help determine which plans would be best for their individual situation. Seniors aged 65 or older are eligible for Medicare. There are several plans offered under Medicare Part D, and it can be confusing to determine what plan to choose. Some plans have higher co-pays and lower premiums and vice versa.
Prior to a Part D review, the pharmacy interns ask for a senior’s list of medications, their preferred pharmacy and their current Medicare Part D ID number, if applicable.
“With that information, we can pull a comparison report of the different Part D plans and provide them with the top plans,” said Ashley Meacham, UNMC pharmacy student and intern at the pharmacy at Durham Outpatient Center. “The report will compare their current plan with the others to help them make their decision. We’ve seen people save hundreds of dollars by choosing the right plan for their circumstances.”
Meacham is coordinating the event will fellow pharmacy student and intern Anna Rehberg.
The students don’t enroll participants in their Part D coverage. After the review, they provide the reports to the seniors to give them time to study and make their decision.
This year, the reviews will be offered in person at the UNMC College of Pharmacy or through Zoom. If someone has a patient or a loved one who might benefit from the service, invite them to email before Friday, Nov. 4.
Students will reply to each email to request the necessary information and to set up a time to talk. The dates of the 30-minute appointments will be scheduled Monday, Nov. 14, through Thursday, Nov. 17, 5 to 8 p.m.
Informational flyers are being sent to eligible patients who use the pharmacy at Durham Outpatient Center.
Medicare open enrollment is underway and runs through Wednesday, Dec. 7.
The students will have a preceptor supervising the efforts.
not every senior has email, especially the poorest. Should consider a voice mail for patient’s to contact