Medicare Symposium Brings Stakeholders Together

About 150 Virgin Islands health care providers, consumers and advocacy agencies, including AARP, joined representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Region II for the Second Annual VI Medicare Symposium. The conference was held from Sept. 9-11, at the Divi Carina Bay Resort.

Entitled “Making Medicare Work for You” the symposium, sponsored by the Lt. Governor’s Office is a response to the territory’s ongoing need for current updates about these vital health care programs.

Covered during the sessions were: an overview of the Medicare Program and Prescription drug coverage under Parts A, B and D, Medicaid and, Medicare Part C or the Medicare Advantage Program. Part C, which is new to the Virgin Islands will be launched in October 2009.

The two and a half day symposium helped to educate local stakeholders about the myriad of changes, improvements and new requirements surrounding programs under CMS. Among the changes stakeholders learned about e-prescribing, improvements to shared health information technology (HIT), new programs and services and the costs associated with these activities.

Local speakers at the symposium included Chris Finch, Commissioner of the Dept. of Human Services and Julia Sheen-Aaron, Commissioner of the Dept. of Health. Both shared their views of the National Health Care Reform initiatives and their hopes for positive outcomes for the Virgin Islands.

Following the conference, VI stakeholders who attended will be armed with the most current information and will be better able to assist the vulnerable Medicare and Medicaid populations enabling them to, as the conference inferred, make Medicare work for them.