With the tough economy, more seniors in Tennessee are expected to sign up for help paying their prescription drug costs next year.
A little more than a third of the state’s senior citizens on Medicare already receive a $3,600 dollar low-income subsidy.
The additional help was created for seniors who don’t make enough to cover all their health care needs, yet fall short of meeting federal poverty limits.
While it’s unclear how many more in Tennessee will qualify for the drug subsidy, Medicare spokesman Curt Rhodes says the federal government is expecting an uptick in applications.
“We do anticipate that, especially when we look at stocks for example. Um, there are probably a lot of individuals that might have not been eligible last year because of the value of stocks that would meet the qualifications this year.”
Out of the 29,000 Tennessee seniors who applied for the low income subsidy so far this year, 58% were eligible.
The deadline for making changes to current Medicare drug plans is today, though seniors can apply for the low income help anytime during the year.
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