The staff and volunteer counselors on the Medicare Rights Center’s National Consumer Helpline answer Medicare questions from consumers, caregivers, and professionals every day. Yet there are times when a counselor will come across a complex situation where a client needs more assistance than a helpline call can provide. That’s when Medicare Rights’ lawyers step in with their expert knowledge of Medicare rules and regulations.

Trish Sneddon is a financial services representative and certified senior advisor at a faith-based nonprofit organization. Since she started this work in 2001, Trish has been an avid user of the Medicare Rights Center’s educational resources and has also become a monthly donor.

In March, the Medicare Rights Center released its annual helpline trends report outlining ongoing challenges facing people with Medicare, heard through nearly 17,000 calls to the National Consumer Helpline. The report, Medicare Trends and Recommendations: An Analysis of 2016 Call Data from the Medicare Rights Center National Helpline, re-examines the top three recurring issues heard on the helpline in prior years.

Part B enrollment confusion, Medicare Advantage plan denials, and prescription drug costs continue to pose problems for people with Medicare. Samantha Morales, associate director of client services, and Julie Carter, federal policy associate, who authored the report, illustrate these trends with client stories. The stories and data highlight how helpline counseling informs Medicare Rights’ work with partners, policymakers, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to address persistent issues and create change.

Now a helpline volunteer and a donor, Beth Abbott started her engagement with the Medicare Rights Center through a summer internship while pursuing a graduate degree in health advocacy from Sarah Lawrence College. After she finished her degree, she continued with Medicare Rights as a helpline counselor. While dedicating volunteer hours to answering Medicare questions, Beth learned about a matching donation program through Bank of America, her husband Ray Abbott’s employer.

The Medicare Rights Center’s education department is building a community of “Medicare smart” students. Through Medicare Interactive (MI) Pro online courses and Medicare Minute presentations, professionals and other community members can become go-to resources for people navigating Medicare. To fortify more people with Medicare knowledge, Medicare Rights partners with professional associations, unions, businesses, and other groups. From social workers to financial planners, in libraries and conference rooms, Medicare Rights’ educational programming ensures everyone who helps older adults and people with disabilities has clear,
up-to-date Medicare information.

Dr. Cole is the Chief Information Officer for Weill Cornell Medicine. He practices Internal Medicine at Weill Cornell and NYP. He is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Healthcare Policy & Research. As CIO, he is responsible for the Wood Library, core IT infrastructure, software and web development groups, the user support organization, telephony, and enterprise applications including ERP and EMR. Dr. Cole recently participated in the following Q&A with Medicare Rights: 

The Medicare Rights federal policy team has been hard at work considering and responding to multiple U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requests for comments on proposals regarding changes to Medicare Advantage plans and Part D as well as other regulatory and administrative issues such as Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) and Short-term, Limited Duration Insurance.

Medicare Rights recently received this letter of appreciation from Ms. F, a client who counselors Ellen Minton and Frances Pandolfi helped with coordination of COBRA and Medicare.

Lindsey Copeland joined the Medicare Rights Center as the Federal Policy Director this past December. Based in the Washington, DC office, Lindsey is responsible for formulating, directing, and implementing Medicare Rights’ federal policy and advocacy agenda. She informs policymakers, stakeholders, and the press about the challenges facing people with Medicare, as well as the administrative and legislative solutions that Medicare Rights supports to address these issues.