Press Conference/2006/10/25
Press Conference Agenda
- Wednesday, October 25, 2005, 11
- 30 AM
- 900 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90019
- Caroline Hye Young Lee (Master of Ceremonies)
- Health Access Project Director, Korean Resource Center
- Toni Marie Vargas
- Staff Attorney, Health Consumer Center
- Subsidy Eligibility Process and Reassignment of dual eligibles due to changes in 2007 benchmark plans
- Complexity of the changes in Medicare Part D in 2007 and the continuing lack of language capacity on behalf of CMS, SSA and Medicare Part D sponsor plans
- Henry Kim
- Client, Korean American Community Member
- Personal Testimony
- Irene Hong
- Language Access Coordinator, Korean Resource Center
- Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Community Profile
- How the lack of Korean written materials from CMS and Medicare Part D plans regarding changes will impact the Korean American Community
- Shirley Yee
- Los Angeles Center Director, National Asian Pacific Center on Aging
- The need for direct counseling and enrollment assistance in reaching API seniors effectively
- The need to collaborate with a national network of community based and faith based organizations in outreaching to API seniors
- The need for both mainstream and ethnic media outlets to outreach to limited English speaking API communities
- Ja Ae Choi
- Community Health Promoter, Korean Resource Center
- Community Health Promoters Program and Activities
- Introduce Medicare Language Access Survey
Speaker Biographies and Contact Information
Caroline Lee
Caroline Lee is currently Health Access Project Director with the Korean Resource Center. The Health Access Project was created in 2001 to increase health access and the availability of affordable quality health care services to Korean Americans who are low income, Limited English Proficient and/or uninsured. Since the implementation of Medicare Part D, the Health Access Project has served over 3,000 seniors in receiving culturally and linguistically appropriate services.
The Health Access Project provides direct services to seniors, low-income families and recent immigrants in the Korean American community who are directly impacted by recent changes in Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, Healthy Kids and Medicare. To better inform the community, the Health Access Project team has, in Korean, conducted several educational Medicare Part D workshops and published quarterly Health Alerts consisting of the most recent changes in public health benefits.
Contact: 323-937-3718
Irene Hong
Irene Hong is the Language Access Coordinator with the Korean Resource Center. As part of the Health Access Project, Irene Hong monitors and documents Medicare Part D cases to ensure that every client is given the appropriate services they need in their preferred language.
The Language Access program is currently focusing assessing the language needs of Limited English Proficient senior citizens in Los Angeles County. The results of the survey will be used to advocate for increased language access services in state, county and local health and welfare agencies, hospitals and clinics, Medicare Part D prescription drug plan sponsors and CMS. The program initiated the Community Health Promoters meeting to discuss how the lack of language access services has impacted the most vulnerable members of our Korean American community.
Contact: 323-937-3718
Toni Marie Vargas, J.D.
Ms. Vargas is a staff attorney with the Health Consumer Center, a project of Neighborhood Legal Services. As an attorney for the HCC, she assists clients who have legal issues involving access to healthcare. Ms. Vargas also acts as the lead attorney for the new Medicare Part D benefit and has worked extensively on this new program for the past year. Prior to joining the Health Consumer Center, Ms. Vargas specialized in the legal issues effecting senior citizens for two other public interest firms.
Ms. Vargas received her Juris Doctor degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. She also has a Masters of Science in Community Health Education and Biomedical Ethics. Prior to entering the legal field, she had an extensive career in healthcare which included being the Director of Patient Administrative Services in two of the largest teaching hospitals in the country as well as the Director of the Gerontology Institute and Home Health Agency for a community based hospital.
Contact: 800- 896-3203
Shirley Yee
Shirley is the Los Angeles Center Director for the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA), a national advocacy organization dedicated to serving Asian Pacific Islander (API) elders. In her capacity, Shirley coordinates local efforts for NAPCA’s Medicare Part D outreach program, which includes a national 1-800 Helpline in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and English and oversees the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), an employment and training program for low income seniors.
Contact: 213-365-9005
Henry Kim
Mr. Henry Kim will be sharing his personal testimony on his family’s struggles with Medicare Part D. The family’s pain and anxiety from Mrs. Kim’s illness was magnified from the distress caused by her Medicare Part D prescription drug plan because of loss of essential drug coverage.
Ja Ae Choi
Jae Ae Choi is a member of Community Health Promoters, a senior citizens advocacy group focusing on health access issues. As a dedicated activist, Mrs. Choi spoke at a Dream Act rally for comprehensive immigration reform, organized her neighbors and friends for better living conditions in senior housing and led seniors on a road trip to Sacramento to participate in Immigrant Day 2006.
Currently a Community Health Promoter, Mrs. Choi advocates for increases in language access in public benefit programs and offices. Community Health Promoters is comprised of a group of active and concerned Korean American senior citizens who participate in roundtable meetings once a month to discuss the latest health access policies and issues. During the past 3 months, Community Health Promoters have focused on developing, implementing and collecting the Korean Resource Center’s Medicare Care Part D Language Access Survey.
Contact: 323-937-3718
Statements
Henry Kim Personal Story
Henry Kim’s Personal Story
My name is Henry Kim. I have resided in the United States for 30 years. I came here to tell my wife’s story and her struggles because of her ill health.
My wife’s name is Young Ja Kim and she is 66 years old. Due to her illness, my wife had to remove one of her kidneys three years ago. My wife only has 40% usage of her remaining kidney and for a year now, she has been prescribed Procrit injections by her physician.
However, since Medicare Part D has been implemented, she has been told by pharmacists that she is not able to get coverage for her Procrit injections. She has changed her plan 3 times, but has not been able to find a prescription drug plan that will cover the costs of her injections. In our efforts to find more information about Medicare Part D and the sponsor plans, my wife and I went from one place to another. Oftentimes, because of language barriers, we could not find the answers that we so desperately needed. We wanted to ask Medicare director to find our answers, but we did not. The reason being, we did not know that there were Korean interpreters available. We were dependent on asking our friends and neighbors for what they knew.
Because Medicare Part D plans do not cover the prescription costs of Procrit, my wife is forced to go to the hospital two times a month for her injections. Though my wife is extremely ill and traveling gives her much difficulty, she needs to make visits to the hospital for Procrit injections.
With the news of changes in Medicare Part D, my wife lives each day filled with worries and anxiety. My wife is still not able to get her Procrit injections covered by Medicare Part D and they are not solving this problem with more changes. My wife lives in constant fear that she might not be able to get her injections covered even if she were to make the trips to the hospital.
I hope every day that Medicare Part D plan will find stability so that our problems will not be repeated again by another Medicare Part D recipient.
Henry Kim 증언
제 이름은 Henry Kim입니다. 미국에 이민 온지는 30년이 됐습니다. 저는 건강이 좋지 않은 제 아내의 이야기를 말씀드리고자 이자리에 나오게 되었습니다.
제 아내는 김영자이고 지금 현재 66세 입니다. 아내는 신장이 좋지 않아 3년전 한쪽 신장을 제거하는 수술을 받았습니다. 현재 아내의 신장은 40%만 작용하고 있고, 1년 전부터 procrit 이라는 주사약을 처방받아 맞고 있었습니다.
하지만 메디케어 파트 D가 시작된 이후로 보험회사에서 procrit 주사약을 줄 수 없다고 했습니다. 그 후로 3번이나 보험회사를 변경해야 했고 모두 procrit 주사약의 해택을 받지 못했습니다. 주사약을 받기위해 이곳 저곳으로 알아보러 다녀야 했던 저와 제 아내는 언어장벽에 부딪쳤고보험회사와 메디케어 관리국에 문의를 하고 싶었지만 한국어 서비스가 제공되는지 몰랐기 때문에 주변 사람들에게 정보를 받는 것에만 의존할 수 밖에 없었습니다.
메디케어에서 procrit주사약 혜택을 받지 못하기 때문에 현재 저의 아내는 한 달에 두 번 병원에 직접 가서 주사를 맞아야 합니다. 몸이 불편한 아내는 이로 인해 많은 불편함을 겪고 있습니다.
이번에 또 메디케어 정책이 바뀐다는 소식에 저의 부부는 많은 고통과 근심에 하루하루를 긴장감 속에 지내고 있습니다. 아내가 주사약을 받을 수 없는 상황에서 또 정책이 바뀐다니… 언제까지 병원에서 이 약의 혜택을 받을 수 있을지 불안하기 짝이 없습니다. 하루 빨리 메디케어 파트D의 정책이 안정되서 저와 제 아내와 같은 문제가 발생하지 않았으면 하는 바램입니다.
Statement from Irene Hong
- Irene Hong
- Language Access Program Coordinator
- Korean Resource Center
Good morning,
My name is Irene Hong; I am the language access coordinator with the Korean Resource Center.
I would like to talk about how the lack of Korean written materials from CMS and Medicare Part D plans regarding changes will impact the Korean American Community.
Since Medicare part d has been implemented, we served 3,000 Korean American seniors who called or walked in to our office to find out what was written on the “famous yellow letter”, and that was just the first two months.
Our office phone lines were jammed and our waiting room was filled with seniors. All Korean Resource Center Staff had to stop their program work and scramble to assist the seniors that were facing problems with their new prescription drug plans.
Just changing yellow letter to blue letter for auto enrollment does not better inform Limited English Proficiency seniors. What they need is a letter written in Korean or the language they prefer in order for them to understand the changes in their health benefits.
We had seniors from different counties; some arrived from Orange County after a 2 hour bus ride, just to find out what was being said on a single piece of paper. Korean American seniors live in constant fear and anxiety because they are afraid that their benefits will be terminated because they cannot understand what they receive in the mail.
It is very important demanding Korean American community to involve using interpretation line for improve of better services.
Like Mr. Henry Kim, there are many seniors who do not call 1800-medicare because they don’t know about the interpretation line or they do not feel comfortable using it. They also face problems from operators not knowing about the interpretation line or disconnected while waiting or an interpreter who does not know enough to interpret correctly. But these are characteristics that can be fixed. If we believe that this is a community problem and not an individual problem we can keep requesting for Korean either on the phone or written on paper and show that the Korean community needs it. Then they will have to improve and expand on these services. We should not be isolated because of language. We should be able to know and understand what are benefits are especially when it has to do with our health.
Talking points from NAPCA
- National Asian Pacific Center on Aging
- 3727 W. 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90020
- Tel: 213-365-9005 / Fax: 213-365-9042
The NAPCA Helpline and its network provided over 40,000 one on one individual counseling and enrollment assistance on Medicare Part D from October 2005 to August 2006. NAPCA enrolled over 7400 individuals on a Medicare Part D plan and submitted over 1600 individual applications for ‘extra help’ or Low Income Subsidy. Even though Part D enrollment ended on May 15, calls continue to come into the Helpline from Medicare beneficiaries who have trouble with their plans or have questions about how Part D works.
Since May, NAPCA has focused its outreach efforts on people who may qualify for ‘extra help’ or Low Income Subsidy as Medicare extended the enrollment period throughout the remainder of the year and waived the premium penalty for those who are approved for the Low Income Subsidy.
Among the callers who called the NAPCA Helpline, approximately 60% spoke Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), 20% Korean, 16% Vietnamese and 4% spoke English. The main issues for callers in the earlier stage of outreach were figuring out if they were eligible for Part D and “extra help” and running Plan Finders for individual seniors. After January 2006, the main issues became problems obtaining medications with the plan, not knowing how to use the plan as well as billing issues.
The important lessons learned through this outreach effort are as follows: 1) That direct counseling and enrollment assistance are necessities in reaching API seniors effectively. The availability of a national toll-free helpline in language was essential for many seniors who face language, cultural and geographical barriers to obtaining direct assistance.
2) That it was necessary for organizations like NAPCA to collaborate with a national network of community based and faith based organizations in outreaching to API seniors. Such collaboration included providing technical assistance (e.g. translated forms and materials) as well as limited financial assistance (e.g. covering refreshments and venues for outreach meetings, providing interpretation equipment when necessary) to these local organizations.
3) That the biggest tool in outreaching to API communities is generating earned media in both mainstream and ethnic media outlets. These outlets are trusted and in many cases the sole information sources for limited English speaking seniors.
In the course of helping low income API seniors, the Helpline would inform them of other available programs such as Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs and SSI if the seniors are not already on the programs.
Ja Ae Choi
Hello. My name is Ja Ae Choi and I am an active member of Community Health Promoters (CHP), a group of senior citizens advocating for health access for Korean Americans.
Community Health Promoters meet once a month for trainings on health benefits, advocacy and civic participation. During our meetings we also review new policies and discuss strategies on how we can more effectively outreach to Korean American senior citizens on language access and health access issues.
Currently, we are focusing on how we can outreach to Korean seniors regarding the changes that have taken place in Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, and how to overcome the problems that have sprouted since the implementation of this program.
One of the common problems is language access. We are very concerned about this issue. We are working with the Korean Resource Center to conduct a Medicare Part D Language Access Survey which will assess the needs of LEP Korean Americans and use the results to advocate for resolving language barriers. . Problems occurring because of the lack of language access in public benefits include written notices from CMS and prescription drug sponsors. We, as seniors, might be able to get assistance in resolving our problems in getting prescription drugs, but we are unable to understand the information that is being sent to us on paper because it is written in English. Medicare Part D program is a complex program that is difficult to navigate through, and it becomes an almost impossible situation when we are not being sent information in our preferred language, Korean. It is a well known fact that most Korean senior citizens have a very difficult time reading and speaking English.
Being able to receive services in our preferred language is our right. However, if we do not demand this right, we will eventually lose it.
We first started coming to these Community Health Promoters meetings because we were directly impacted and were experiencing problems with health care related issues. That is why we are so dedicated in our cause because we want to make life easier for other Korean American community members when they receive their benefits.
A great number of seniors still face obstacles when it comes to health access. If we just ignore these problems and don’t demand to what is rightfully ours – if we choose to stay silent about these things, than no one will know the difficulties that we face.
Right now at this moment I may not have major problems with my benefits. However, if policies keep changing, there are no guarantees that these problems will not arise later on.
I hope that we, as community members and as advocates, will demand our rights as senior citizens in California and receive what is rightfully ours.
최자애 증언
안녕하십니까? 저는 민족학교내 가주 보건리더 모임에서 활동하고 있는 최자애라고 합니다.
저희 가주 보건리더 모임은 한 달에 한 번씩 모여서 새로 나온 정책에 대해 알아보고 가주내 연장자들이 의료혜택을 받는데 여러 가지 어려움을 받고 있다는 것을 알리고 개선하기 위한 활동을 하고 있습니다.
지금 현재는 올해 새로 나온 메디케어 처방약 플랜에 대해 다른 연장자들에게 알리고 홍보하는 활동을 주로 하고 있으며, 민족학교 의료권익 팀과 함께 메디케어 처방약 플랜의 문제점을 파악하기 위한 설문조사를 실시하고 있습니다.
그리고 가주내 한인 연장자들이 가장 힘들어 하는 문제 중의 하나인 언어권리 문제에 대해서도 활동 하고 있습니다. 대부분의 한인 연장자들은 영어를 읽고 말하기가 힘든 것이 사실입니다. 하지만, 정부나 보험회사에서 보내는 편지는 영어로만 오는 경우가 많고 내용에 대해서 알아보려고 해도 대부분은 한국어 서비스를 받기가 어렵습니다. 우리가 사용하는 언어로 서비스를 받는 것은 우리의 권리입니다. 하지만 우리가 요구하지 않는다면 우리의 권리를 잃어 버릴 수밖에 없을 것입니다. 많은 수의 연장자분들이 언어 문제 뿐만 아니라 의료에 관련된 다양한 어려움을 겪고 있습니다.
어려움이 있어도 그냥 지나치고, 당연히 받아야 하는 권리를 받지 못 해도 그냥 지나친다면 우리의 어려움을 알아주는 사람은 없을 수밖에 없습니다. 물론 내가 지금 당장에는 어려움이 없을 수도 있습니다. 하지만 정책이 이렇게 계속 바뀐다면 계속 어려움 없이 지낼 수 있다고 누구도 장담할 수 없을 것입니다. 저희도 처음에는 의료관련 문제가 많이 있었기 때문에 이런 모임에 관심을 가질 수 있었고 그것 때문에 더 열심히 활동을 해서 가주내 연장자들이 편하게 의료혜택을 받을 수 있도록 하기 위해 노력하고 있습니다. 더 많은 분들이 함께 하여 가주내 연장자들이 받을 수 있는 권리에 대해 관심을 가지고 노력해서 우리의 권리를 찾을 수 있었으면 좋겠습니다.
Fact Sheet on Medicare Part D 2007
Contrary to CMS Public Statements released on September 29, 2006, many Low-Income Beneficiaries in California will automatically be reassigned or will need to choose a new prescription drug plan in 2007 as a result of terminated plans or premium increases above the benchmark amount.
4 out of 10 plans offered in California in 2006 will no longer be available with a zero dollar premium for Medi-Cal and Medicare recipients in 2007.
Plans NOT offered as 2007 benchmark plans in California:
- United Health Rx (a)
- PacifiCare Saver Plan (a)
- AARP Medicare Rx (b)
- Health Net Orange 008 (b)
- a) Two plans no longer exist
- b) Plans with premiums over the 2007 benchmark
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Korean Americans will not be informed of the changes to their Medicare Part D plans in their preferred language, which goes against Title VI of 1964 Civil Rights Act (1).
Korean American dual eligibles (Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries) are expected to receive two important notifications regarding changes in their Medicare Part D plans in late October and early November.
- CMS will mail automatic reassignment notices on blue paper instructing them of their new randomly selected Medicare Part D plan. Beneficiaries who are subject to reassignment face the same risks of automatic enrollment: delay, processing problems and loss of medically appropriate drug coverage
- Prescription drug plan sponsors will send out an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) informing them of increased premium costs, in which individuals will begin paying for any difference between the 2007 benchmark and their 2007 plan’s costs.
- Title VI of 1964 Civil Rights Act
- No person in the United States shall on the ground of race, color or national origin (1), be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
- “National origin” covers limited English proficiency (LEP)
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Community Profile
- 12 million Californians, or one-third of the state, speak a primary language other than English
- Over 6.2 million Californians are LEP, 39% of Asians are LEP
- The Korean Resource Center’s most recent survey of its client population found 95% of those over 65 years were LEP.
- Korean is the 6th most common language spoken at home
- 59% of Korean Americans are LEP, which is the second largest population in Los Angeles.
- The most linguistically isolated group is Koreans (47%). Linguistic isolation is defined as all household members age fourteen years or older having limited English proficiency.
- 29,000 Korean American seniors are Medicare recipients (22,000 of that same group also receive Medi-Cal – dual eligibles)
The source of data for these statistics, unless otherwise noted, is the U.S. Census Bureau.
