Want to Save On Drug Costs and Help Others Do the Same?

With one in three Americans saying a family member has skipped pills, and nearly 20 percent of Medicare Part D beneficiaries delaying or not filling a prescription because of costs, the time to improve health care is now. Join AARP DC on Tuesday, September 29, for the Health Action Now! DC Opinion Leaders Forum. Hear how AARP and District experts assess the local prescription drug situation and find out the status of prescription affordability measures in national health care reform.

AARP invites you to act on a more personal level to lower your drug expenses and those of others in your community as well. Check out AARP’s Web-based Donut Hole Calculator, a critical tool for Medicare Part D recipients and all prescription drug users.

Medicare Part D recipients can use this tool to determine if and when they’ll hit the “donut hole”, or coverage gap in which they are responsible for all of their prescription drug costs. Any prescription drug user—regardless of the plan they are on—can log on to check for less expensive, therapeutically similar drugs to the ones he or she uses now. It’s straightforward and easy to use.

AARP is committed to sharing this cost-saving resource as widely as possible.

Unfortunately, many DC residents who could benefit from the Donut Hole Calculator do not have easy access to a computer. That is why AARP DC has trained a cadre of volunteers to go out into the community and provide navigation assistance. If your civic/community group, your local wellness center, your church, or even just you and some neighbors, bring together a group of 8-10 people (with one computer and printer), we will come to you and provide this support. Please contact Carol Page at cpage@aarp.org or 202-434-7703 for more information or to set up a session.

If you have a computer and printer and would like to assist friends or family in using the Donut Hole Calculator yourself, we can help you do that too. AARP’s Create the Good initiative can provide a toolkit—including a video and power point discussion—to guide you on your way.