NCOA’s online service has found nearly $6 billion in benefits for older Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 19, 2007 — BenefitsCheckUp®, the nation’s most comprehensive online benefits screening service for seniors with limited income and resources, served its two millionth senior as of this month.

Historically, no more than half of older Americans who are eligible for these needed programs ever apply for them. For example, 70 percent of those qualified for food stamps have not enrolled in the program and nearly half of those who qualify for supplemental security income (SSI) have not applied. Similarly, there are still as many as 4.2 million who have not enrolled in the extra help available through Medicare prescription drug coverage.

Developed and maintained by The National Council on Aging (NCOA), BenefitsCheckUp® enables seniors with limited income and resources as well as those who care for or serve them to screen for and in some cases apply for federal, state and local benefits programs.

BenefitsCheckUp® includes more than 1,550 public and private benefits programs from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These programs include health care, prescription drug assistance, heating and energy assistance, legal services, housing assistance, property tax programs and nutrition programs, as well as volunteer and training opportunities and education programs.

Since its inception in 2001, BenefitsCheckUp® has helped two million seniors determine eligibility for these programs and has identified over $5.8 billion in public benefits support.

"This is not only a major milestone for NCOA, but also proof that the Internet can and does help many, many older Americans find the benefits that can help them pay for their prescriptions, food, or even a heating bill," said NCOA President and CEO James Firman who originated benefits outreach software in the 1980s and led its development as a Web service. "We continue to reach out through community groups, through our many partners, and through the media to make sure even more people know about BenefitsCheckUp."

Since 2001, NCOA has employed a variety of strategies to reach the 2 million mark. Most recently, it has encouraged the use of BenefitsCheckUp by health plans that wish to help their members enroll in the Medicare Low-Income Subsidy and other benefits programs. In addition, NCOA has partnered with AARP, government agencies and both local and state governments to find seniors who qualify for these programs.

From user feedback, we know that most of the users were seniors themselves, which parallels data that shows that older Internet users are among the fastest growing segments of Americans on the Web. However, we know that many adult children have used the service on behalf of their parents to find extra help for them.

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About NCOA

The National Council on Aging’s mission is to improve the lives of older Americans. NCOA programs help older people remain healthy and independent, find jobs, access benefits programs, and discover meaningful ways to continue contributing to society. A non-profit organization with a national network of more than 14,000 organizations and leaders and over 3,000 members, NCOA was founded in 1950 and is based in Washington, DC. For more information about NCOA, please visit http://www.NCOA.org.

Media Contact:

Scott Parkin
(202) 479-6975
scott.parkin@ncoa.org

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WASHINGTON, DC – December 10, 2007 — The National Council on Aging (NCOA), a leader in finding and enrolling people with limited means in the Extra Help available through Medicare prescription drug coverage, recognized Kaiser Permanente today for its creative work in assisting many of its members in the low-income subsidy (LIS) program.

In conferring the President’s Award to Kaiser Permanente, NCOA President and CEO James Firman said, "We are recognizing Kaiser Permanente for its leadership and vision and for doing what it takes to find and enroll its members who qualify for the LIS. Those efforts have helped individuals and families enjoy savings they otherwise would not have known about or taken advantage of."

In 2006, Kaiser Permanente (KP) and NCOA successfully collaborated on the development and implementation of an "in-reach" campaign to identify Kaiser Permanente Medicare members who may qualify for the LIS and assist them in applying for the extra financial help the subsidy provides.

The joint initiative resulted in estimated lifetime benefits of approximately $24 million for some of the health plan’s most vulnerable members. The figure is based on benefits to likely eligible members who would enroll in LIS, Medicare Savings Programs (MSP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Medicaid.

"This groundbreaking work by Kaiser Permanente and NCOA is a great example of how health plans and nonprofit organizations can collaborate to help millions of Medicare beneficiaries take advantage of government programs," said NCOA Board member and former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mark McClellan.

As part of the KP/NCOA campaign, intensive, targeted direct mail and telephone outreach was conducted to contact Kaiser Permanente members who were likely to be eligible for LIS, and assist them with the application process. In addition, NCOA screened Kaiser Permanente members for eligibility for other public benefits such as MSP. A version of NCOA’s BenefitsCheckUp® (www.BenefitsCheckUp.org) tool was customized for use by Kaiser Permanente to reach out to its Medicare members.

"We are proud that Kaiser Permanente is leading the industry in helping those with very limited resources get the extra assistance they need and deserve," said Raymond J Baxter, senior vice president for community benefit, Kaiser Permanente. "It is an honor to be recognized by NCOA for our LIS program, which is an example of our commitment to improving healthcare for this vulnerable population."

NCOA believes that there are as many as four million people with Medicare and limited means yet to be found and enrolled in either the LIS or MSP. Many of them are members of Medicare Advantage or Part D plans and are not getting the extra financial help Medicare will provide. If someone with Medicare qualifies, he or she often does not pay any deductibles or co-pays and does not have to be concerned about the so-called "donut hole" in prescription drug coverage.

For a copy of a case study related to this effort, please contact Scott Parkin.

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About NCOA

The NCOA’s mission is to improve the lives of older Americans. NCOA programs help older people remain healthy and independent, find jobs and training, access benefits programs, and discover meaningful ways to continue contributing to society. A non-profit organization with a national network of more than 14,000 organizations and 3,000 members, NCOA was founded in 1950 and is based in Washington, DC. For more information about NCOA, please visit http://www.NCOA.org.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is America’s leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a not-for-profit, group practice prepayment program headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of more than 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Today it encompasses the not-for-profit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.; Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries; and the for-profit Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes approximately 156,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 13, 000 physicians representing all specialties. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit the KP News Center at http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter.

Media Contact:

Scott Parkin
(202) 479-6975
scott.parkin@ncoa.org
 

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