THE MANCHIN REPORT: West Virginia Shares an Important Partnership with AARP
By Joe ManchinGovernor of West Virginia
Charleston, WV (HNN) -- This week, AARP West Virginia State Director Frank Bellinetti and State President Ruth Wagner presented West Virginia with a check totaling more than $30,000 to assist with our state’s Medicare Call Center. These funds will allow the call center to hire additional staff during the open enrollment period -- November 15 through December 31-- to assist with processing the high-volume of calls.
Earlier this year, our state’s Medicare Call Center was nationally-recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the White House Conference on Aging for assisting Medicare beneficiaries in signing up for Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage. Signing up and learning about the different drug plans can be complex; however, it is nice to know that when seniors call the West Virginia Medicare Call Center, they get a real person on the other end. It is truly West Virginians helping West Virginians.
Callers can apply for extra help, compare Medicare drug plans or just ask questions related to Medicare and their drug coverage. Nearly 30,000 West Virginians on Medicare are eligible for extra help paying for their prescription drugs, but many are unaware that they can apply for this additional assistance through the Social Security Administration. This is a perfect example of how our state’s call center acts as a vital tool for helping seniors learn their options when it comes to their prescription drug coverage and the additional assistance that is available.
Also made possible from AARP’s financial support is that soon Medicare beneficiaries will be receiving a postcard in the mail with the Medicare Call Center’s number -- 1-877-987-4463 -- to apply for extra help paying for their Medicare Drug Coverage.
This call center would have not been possible, had it not been for the determination and vision of the AARP Foundation (AARP’s affiliated charity), the West Virginia Primary Care Association and the state’s Bureau of Senior Services. By working together, we achieved a top-notch, nationally recognized call center for our state’s residents an extraordinary example of a public-private partnership.
AARP has always stepped up to the plate and assisted the ones who needed helped the most -- our seniors. Perhaps there is not a better example of an organization that truly defines the word “service” than AARP. I commend the organization for its efforts, and look forward to continue this important public-private partnership.