WellPoint and National Council on Aging Join Forces

WellPoint, Inc. and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) announce a new collaboration to help WellPoint's Medicare members identify federal, state and other community programs for which they may qualify.

WellPoint will provide its Medicare members access to NCOA's BenefitsCheckUp. BenefitsCheckUp is the nation's most comprehensive Web-based service that helps individuals, most with limited income and resources, screen for benefits programs. BenefitsCheckUp tracks 1,500 benefits programs throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since its launch in 2001, BenefitsCheckUp has screened two million seniors for programs that help pay for health care, prescription drugs, rent, utilities and many other needs.

We are committed to bringing affordable, quality health care coverage to Medicare eligible beneficiaries, said Susan E. Rawlings, president of WellPoint's Senior Business. Our association with the National Council on Aging bolsters this commitment. Through this alliance, our Medicare customers will now have direct access to information on a vast array of public and private benefit programs to help address their health and social needs.

For example, through this service people with Medicare and limited means can find out if they qualify for and then apply for the Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidy that provides extra help with covering their prescription drug costs. This new relationship with WellPoint is one of many that NCOA is forming to expand the reach of BenefitsCheckUp, said Stuart Spector, NCOA's senior vice president of Benefits Access. We are confident that through this association many more Medicare eligible beneficiaries will gain access to the benefits they need.

BenefitsCheckUp is an innovative Web-based service to help Medicare eligible beneficiaries gain information about their benefit choices and other resources so they can manage their health and other important aspects of their lives, said Rawlings.