Are you a low-income senior?

Did you receive a green letter in April saying you've been enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan?

This is very important if you did not have a Medicare Part D plan or any other type of creditable drug coverage before April 1 and you're in one of the following groups:

• Part B premiums are waived (you are on a Medicare Savings Program).
• You are on SSI, which is different than regular Social Security. This program affects relatively few people. SSI checks come out on the first of the month, which is different than regular Social Security checks.
• You applied for Extra Help in paying for Medicare Part D by sending in an application or applying online and you received a letter from the Social Security Administration telling you that you will receive Extra Help to help pay for a Part D plan. However, you did not yet enroll in a Medicare Part D plan.

If you are in one of the above categories, the Medicare Administration enrolled you in a Medicare Part D plan during April. You should have received a green letter telling you this between April 10 and April 15. Your plan will be effective May 1. The plan you were enrolled into was chosen randomly, so you may have ended up in a plan that does not cover all of your drugs, or that has limitations on your drugs.

If you received a green letter in April telling you that you have been enrolled into a plan, you have three options:

• Stay in the plan you've been enrolled into.
• Switch to another plan; you must make this change before May 1 if you want the new plan to be in effect in May.
• If you don't want any Part D coverage at all, call 1-800-Medicare and ask to be disenrolled from the assigned plan, and not to be enrolled again by Medicare. But note you will not have any drug coverage through Medicare.

If you did not receive a green letter, but you are in one of the three categories listed at the beginning of this article, you have not previously enrolled in a Part D plan and you don't have any other creditable drug coverage, you may enroll yourself in a plan now by calling the Minnesota Senior Federation Health Plan Information Center or Senior Linkage Line. Most people in these categories experience significant cost savings because of the Extra Help they receive paying for Part D.

If you received a green letter from Medicare, but you threw it away or misplaced it, call 1-800-Medicare to ask which plan you were enrolled into and find out if your assigned plan covers the drugs you're on. Medicare may be able to send you another copy of the letter.

If you have other questions, call Health Plan Information at 651/783-5045, or Senior Linkage Line at 800/333-2433.