Thought this might be of interest to some...
Washington, DC-Advancing Independence, a disability-focused policy
organization, released today a new guide, Understanding Changes in
Prescription Drug
Coverage for People with Disabilities on Medicare: A Guide for People
with Disabilities, Benefits Counselors, Disability Organizations and
Others On Transitioning
to the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit.  While many
organizations are developing helpful materials to assist Medicare
beneficiaries through this
transition, this guide was written specifically to address special
concerns of people with disabilities.  The guide was written in a
question and answer
format and includes worksheets that individuals can use in consulting
their physicians about current pharmaceutical use and in comparing
and selecting
a plan that meets their needs.

"Medicare plays a critical role in enhancing the health and
independence of nearly 15 million people with disabilities of all
ages - most of whom rely extensively
on prescription medications.  It is essential that they be able to
make the best use of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit,"
said Bob Williams,
Principal of Advancing Independence and a co-author of the report.

"Given all of the recent media coverage of fear and confusion on the
part of Medicare beneficiaries trying to make sense of the complex
details of this
program and the extraordinary number of plan choices, we hope that
this guide can be a useful tool for people with disabilities, their
family members,
and others who will assist them in enrolling in a Medicare drug
plan," added Jeffrey Crowley, Senior Research Scholar at the
Georgetown Health Policy Institute
and a co-author of the report.

The report was a collaborative effort between Advancing Independence
and the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University.  Free
copies of the guide
can be obtained in PDF and HTML formats at
http://hpi.georgetown.edu/rxchanges.html.

Financial support for the guide was provided to Advancing
Independence by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manu

facturers of
America (PhRMA).