AARP NY, Medicare Rights Center Urge Governor to Sign Bill Making it Easier to Access Medicare Savings
AARP NY, Medicare Rights Center Urge Governor Hochul to Sign Bill Making it Easier for New Yorkers to Enroll in Medicare Savings Programs
AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel and Medicare Rights Center President Frederic Riccardi have sent a letter to Governor Hochul urging her to sign legislation that would make it easier for New Yorkers to enroll in Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs), a move that would save eligible individuals thousands of dollars a year.
The December 2 letter praised the Governor for her leadership in expanding New Yorkers’ access to MSP, which pay for Medicare premiums and automatically enroll recipients in the Extra Help prescription drug subsidy. But MSPs are an under-utilized benefit, and this under-enrollment has several interconnected causes – beneficiaries are not aware of the program or its benefits, a burdensome and complicated application process can discourage all but the most motivated applicants, and improper denials can leave beneficiaries without assistance to abandon their efforts.
In their letter, Finkel and Riccardi told the Governor that by signing S.08650 (Cleare)/A.07570 (Paulin) into law, she would ease the burden many older New Yorkers struggle with when it comes to getting the benefits they need.
The bill would use existing information from the Social Security Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program known as Extra Help to automate MSP enrollment.
Medicare Rights’ work with clients has shown the MSP application process to be stressful, complicated, and time-consuming for Medicare beneficiaries. But for individuals with low incomes who may have significant health care needs, an MSP can be a lifeline.
Auto-enrolling individuals based on their application for another benefit, in this instance Extra Help, can increase access to benefits and reduce barriers created by complex application processes. This automation will also reduce the administrative burden for Medicaid offices and other agencies responsible for benefits processing.
“We urge you to act now and codify this requirement in state law to reinforce our commitment to health care access and economic security for older adults and people with disabilities in New York,” Finkel and Riccardi wrote in the letter.
New Yorkers can lend your voice to this effort by calling Governor Hochul at (518) 474-8390 or sending her a message online here and urging her to make it easier for New Yorkers to enroll in Medicare Savings Programs by signing bill S.08650/A.07570 into law.
