S.C. seniors still can enroll in gap coverage

By William Schmitt

If you were one of the 54,000 members of the S.C. SilveRxCard program in 2005, sooner or later you may understand that the infamous Medicare Part D doughnut hole means that once your total drug costs, calculated by adding payments made by the plan and you, reach $2,250, you will pay 100 percent for your drugs until you spend $3,600 out-of-pocket for the year. But it also means that you did not join a participating plan that coordinates with S.C. Gap Assistance Pharmacy Program for Seniors at least once during 2006. It also means you do not receive extra help paying for Medicare prescription drug coverage.

If that is your situation, you can now join a participating S.C. GAPS plan but, as best you can, carefully select a plan that best meets your individual needs. Then call one of the GAPS plans and asking them to you enroll in one of the following plans until Dec. 31 2006. The GAPS participating Part D drug plans, along with plan numbers and phone numbers, are:

BlueCross BlueShield of S.C. (S5953), MedBlue Rx (001), 1-800-930-2836;

BlueCross BlueShield of S.C. (S5953), MedBlue Rx Plus (002), 1-800-930-2836;

Community Care Rx (Member Health, Inc.) (S5803) and Community Care Rx Basic (078), 1-866-684-5353;

Community Care Rx (Member Health, Inc.) (S5803), Community Care Rx Choice (146), 1-866-684-5353;

Community Care Rx (Member Health, Inc.) (S5803), Community Care Rx Gold (112) 1-866-684-5353;

First Health Life and Insurance Company (S5768), First Health Premier (012) 1-800-588-3322;

InStil Health Insurance Co. (S5946), InStil Rx (001), 1-877-446-7845;

InStil Health Insurance Co. (S5946), InStil Rx Plus (003), 1-877-446-7845;

WellCare (S5967), WellCare Signature (043), 1-888-423-5252;

WellCare (S5967) WellCare Complete (077), 1-888-423-5252;

WellCare (S5967) WellCare Premier (112) 1-888-423-5252;

You will receive a confirmation number from the plan [representatives you talk to]. The confirmation number you receive after you call will serve as your proof of your GAPS membership until information on your chosen plan arrives by mail.

You can use the confirmation number without any loss of benefits from your new enrollment date. However, keep The Explanation of Benefits for your records.

Should you have questions, call the Medicaid Beneficiary Services toll-free at 1-888-549-0820 or the SC SHIP/I-CARE Program at 1-800-868-9095.

The writer, a senior activist, lives in Myrtle Beach.