The Anchorage Senior Activity Center has joined the National Council on Aging’s (NCOA) network dedicated to helping people with Medicare improve their financial outlook by enrolling in programs to help them afford health care, prescriptions, food and more.
Nationally, half of all people with Medicare live on incomes less than $26,200 per year, and they often lack the resources needed to meet basic living expenses. Federal, state and local programs exist to help these individuals, but many people do not know how to apply for assistance.
The Anchorage Senior Activity Center was invited to join the NCOA network because of its long history of helping vulnerable residents in Anchorage and other Alaskan communities.
Malorie Spreen, program/operations director for the ASAC, noted: “We’re proud to be part of this national network of organizations that, since 2009, has helped more than 850,000 low-income older adults and younger adults with disabilities achieve economic stability.”
The Anchorage Senior Activity Center is one of 69 Benefits Enrollment Centers (BECs) funded by NCOA to serve low-income Medicare beneficiaries in 36 states. BECs are supported by funding from the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA), administered through the U.S. Administration for Community Living.
BECs use NCOA’s free online BenefitsCheckUp® tool ( http://www.BenefitsCheckUp.org ) to screen lower income older adults, and younger adults with disabilities, for more than 2,500 benefits—including Medicare Savings Programs, Part D Extra Help, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—and to help them apply for and use those benefits.
To see if someone you know qualifies for assistance, visit http://www.anchorageseniorcenter.org/ or call (907) 770-2000.
