Greater Cleveland Access to Benefits Coalition GCABC Grassroots Strategies for Enrollment

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Greater Cleveland Access to Benefits Coalition(
GCABC)Grassroots Strategies for Enrollment
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GCABC

• The coalition is diverse, broad based, public
  private collection of organizations in a six
  county area who share the interest of helping
  low-income Medicare beneficiaries find the public
  and private prescription savings programs they
  need to maintain their health and improve the
  quality of their lives.

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GCABC Leadership Team

• City of Cleveland
• WRAAA
• Benjamin Rose
• Fairhill Center
• MetroHealth Advantage
• Retired And Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
• First Call For Help United Way

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47 GCABC members with signed letters of commitment

• AARP Ohio
• Adult Guardianship Services
• Alzheimer's Association, Greater Cleveland
  Chapter
• Ashtabula County Community Action Agency
• Asian Services in Action, Inc
• Benjamin Rose
• Brecksville Department of Human Services
• Catholic Charities Older Adult Services
• City of Broadview Heights
• City of Garfield Heights
• Cleveland Department of Aging
• Cleveland Department of Public Health
• County Neighborhood Program
• Cuyahoga County Municipal Offices on Aging
• Cuyahoga County Board of MR/DD
• Cuyahoga County Metropolitan Housing ( CMHA)

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GCABC Members continued

• District XI Area Agency on Aging
• Fairhill Center
• First Call for Help- United Way
• Golden Age Centers
• Harvard Community Services Center
• Helen S. Brown Senior Center
• Home Instead Senior Care
• Hospice of the Western Reserve
• Linking Employment, Abilities Potential (
  LINK)
• Lorain County Office on Aging
• Medicare Today
• Medina County Office for Older Adults
• Merrick House
• MetroHealth Advantage

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GCABC members, continued

• Neighborhood Centers Association
• North Coast Seniors Connect
• Retired and Senior Volunteer Program
• Salvation Army
• Senior Citizen Resources
• Services to Adult Care Homes
• St. John Westshore Hospital
• St. Vincent Charity Hospital
• Strongsville Ehrnfelt Senior Center
• The Center for Community Solutions
• The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
• University Settlement
• Visiting Angels Senior Home Care
• Visiting Nurses Association
• Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging
• West Side Ecumenical Ministry
• Westlake Community Services Department

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GCABC Governance

• City of Cleveland Department of Aging
• Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging
• Managing Partners
• Of GCABC
• Directors of these agencies serve as co-chairs of
  the Coalition, which serves in an advisory
  capacity.

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Current Approaches in reaching project goal

• Fairhill Center- Enrollment Sessions and Follow
  Up Telephone Assistance
• Benjamin Rose- Call Center with both incoming
  calls from Medicare Beneficiaries in need of
  assistance and calls going out to beneficiaries
  using targeted lists
• MetroHealth Advantage- One on One assistance and
  telephone assistance provided to clients of the
  MetroHealth System
• RSVP Provide Volunteer Support
• First Call For Help County-wide information and
  referral

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Fairhill Center

• Administration, Outreach, Training and Individual
  Assistance
• Act as the fiscal agent and administrator of the
  project
• Execute and manage contracts provide fiscal
  accountability
• Lead the outreach effort
• Develop/implement public relations
• Conduct group orientation/pre-screening group
  sessions.
• Work/partner with OHSHIP to maximize exposure
• Give high priority to sessions requested by
  coalition
• Train coalition members to conduct outreach and
  screening
• Train and support coalition members to assist
  with LIS outreach and application process through
  mini-grants
• Provide individual and small group assistance
  with enrollment on-site and off site, including
  some telephone assistance with follow up
• Supervise and train volunteers

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Benjamin Rose

• Operate a Call Center
• Call Center Activities
• to receive calls from coalition outreach efforts
  and provide assistance with applications for LIS
  and other benefits as appropriate
• to place follow up individual assistance calls
  when coalition members and consumers request it
• to place calls to individuals that are
  pre-screened in order to provide assistance
  with application for LIS and other benefits as
  appropriate
• Provide community education speakers

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MetroHealth Advantage Program

• On-Site Personalized Applications
• Provide individual assistance to LIS applicants
  at all appropriate MetroHealth center sites
• Provide training support to other health
  centers/systems that would like to supplement or
  replicate this approach

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RSVP

• Peer to Peer Volunteer Support
• Recruit and screen 10-20 volunteers to work
  regularly with Fairhill and other coalition
  members in LIS application efforts throughout the
  project period
• Assist Fairhill with other project activities,
  such providing volunteers for various Team RSVP
  appropriate activities (bulk mailings, outreach
  events, etc)

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First Call For Help

• Major county-wide information and referral agency
  for Cuyahoga County

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Support

• Local Philanthropic Funders
• Cleveland Foundation
• Mt. Sinai Healthcare Foundation
• St. Lukes Foundation
• Sisters of Charity Foundation
• Lorain Community Foundation
• Bruening Foundation

Local Philanthropic Community
Does not include significant in-kind staff
support from GCABC leadership agencies
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Community Outreach

• Informing low income Medicare Beneficiaries
  and/or their families and caregivers about
  prescription assistance available, with a
  particular focus on the Low Income Subsidy.

Goal- To inform 150,000 individuals
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4 telethons to date with local NBC affiliate
health anchor
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Marketing on RTA Buses
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Paid advertisements through partnership with
Medicare Today
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Direct mail piece mailed to 54,000 Cleveland
Senior Homes
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Other creative outreach tools

• Insert in utility bills
• Reverse 911 calls using city system
• Partnership with AARP Ohio to collaborate on
  enrollment sessions
• Program description and services available mailed
  to 600 clergy
• Insert in Winter Heating Guide
• Network with local television stations for any
  and all exposure

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Education, Screening and Assistance with
Applications in Group Settings
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On Site Enrollment Best Practices

• Best practices, from our experience
• Using information technology to enable rapid,
  onsite enrollments
• Selecting sites where people are likely to have
  access to needed documentation
• Providing advance notice of documentation
  required

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MEDICARE PART DMaking it Simple.Free Seminar

• Part 1
• Educational Session
• Advice from Semanthie Brooks, community advocacy
  director
• Benjamin Rose Institute
• Thursday, March 9 from 10 am 12 pm
• St Vincent Charity Hospital, St. Vincent De Paul
  Room
• 2351 East 22nd Street Cleveland, Ohio 44115
• RSVP recommended
• Part 2
• Enrollment Session
• Specialists from Fairhill Center will guide you
  through enrollment
• Friday, March 10 from 10 am 3 pm (Appointments
  every 45 minutes.)
• St. Vincent Charity Hospital, St. Vincent DePaul
  Room
• 2351 East 22nd Street Cleveland, Ohio 44115
• Please bring a list of your current medications,
  exact dosages preferred pharmacy.
• RSVP Required 216-363-3366
• Members of the Greater Cleveland Access to
  Benefits Coalition

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Provide Assistance in making sense of all the
paperwork
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Bridging the Digital Divide
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Professional Training

• Provide General training for Coalition members
• Train the Trainer
• Provide staff training to front line staff of
  programs such as Parish Nurse programs, the
  Alzheimers Association, Geriatric Outreach
  Workers in a City Department of Aging, etc.

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Call Center Best Practices

• On Site Outreach with Referral to Phone center
• Selecting sites for access to large populations
• Gathering contact information at event for
  telephone follow- up at a later time
• List outreach with referral to phone center
• Partnering with agencies to obtain clean lists of
  potential enrollees
• Public Information Activities driving calls to
  Phone Center
• Developing partnerships with the local media

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Newest Initiative My Medicare Matters

• Comprehensive community-based education program
  to help people with Medicare and their families
  understand the new Medicare Prescription Drug
  Coverage, assess their personal situation,
  understand their choices, compare plan options
  and make the enrollment decision that is right
  for their health and their financial situation.

Sponsored by the National Council on the Aging
and the Access to Benefits Coalition, with
support from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP.
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My Medicare Matters

• Trained educators using laptop computers assist
  Medicare beneficiaries at community settings
• Over 50 MMM events have been held since early
  December, 2005

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My Medicare Matters

• Over 30 additional MMM events are scheduled
  before May 15, 2006

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Lessons learned about enrollment

• True collaboration pays off
• Perception can be reality
• Responsiveness is key
• Technology drives some decisions
• Local financial support is needed
• No Magic Formula!