Medicare Rx
On NJN Public Television
Sunday, October 2, at noon; rebroadcast on Friday, October 7, at 9 pm 

STATEWIDE – This fall, NJN explores the critical issues pertaining to prescription drug coverage and senior citizens. As the elderly population in this state and country continues to grow, the federal government recognizes the need for prescription drug coverage to serve citizens over sixty-five. Moderated by distinguished journalist Fred Graham, Medicare Rx airs on Sunday, October 2, at noon, and is rebroadcast on Friday, October 7, at 9 pm. The program is web cast and archived on the NJN web site at njn.net and can be seen on cable stations throughout the state as well as on NJN’s JerseyVision and on Time Warner Cable on channel 750 in New York. Closed captioning is provided.

Open enrollment for Medicare Part D commences on Tuesday, November 15, but navigating Part D may be complex for seniors and their families. Medicare Rx sorts out the complicated issues surrounding this new benefit: who is eligible, how does Part D interact with current state of New Jersey programs, for whom might the myriad plan choices benefit the most, what are the benefits, is timeframe important, are there penalties for missing deadlines, and many other considerations.

Because some of this information can be “bewildering”, this NJN educational special is vital for seniors and their families or caregivers. NJN is pleased to work with Graham, law correspondent for CBS News from 1972 to 1987, and substitute anchor on the CBS News programs Face The Nation, Nightwatch, and The CBS Morning News. Prior to CBS News, Graham was the Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times starting in 1965. He is currently the chief anchor and managing editor at Court TV and hosts the daily trial coverage and analysis program Open Court. Just last week, live from Washington, he anchored Court TV’s coverage of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

NJN’s healthcare production team assembled the following Medicare Part D panel of experts for the program:

Reginald Slaten – Mr. Slaten is the Director, Health Plans Branch, Division of Medicare Operations for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Region II. He is responsible for managing and overseeing the Medicare Advantage program in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. With more than 30 years of service, he has extensive knowledge and experience with most operational aspects of the Medicare and Medicaid programs including eligibility, coverage policy, claims processing, coordination of benefits and managed care, among others.

Kathleen Mason – Ms. Mason is the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Senior Services for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. Her responsibilities include the direction of three divisions – Aging and Community Services, Long Term Care Systems, and Senior Benefits and Utilization Management, with the collective mission of fostering accessible and high quality health and senior services.

Shirley Whitenack – Ms. Whitenack is a partner in the firm of Schenck, Price, Smith and King. She devotes a substantial amount of her time to elder and disability law, particularly surrogate arrangements to protect the elderly and disabled. She is also involved with Medicaid planning.

Diana DeCosimo – Dr. DeCosimo is a Board Certified Gerontologist at University Hospital, UMDNJ. She has been in practice for 30 years, and has spent the past 11 years working in downtown Newark. Her patient base consists of Medicaid recipients, those on PAAD and Senior Gold, and some charity cases. She also sees an increasing number of patients who do not speak English.

Medicare Rx was produced by Jeff Friedman, producer and director; Paula M. Levin, producer and writer; Joanne Sabalaske, contributing producer; Fred Graham, moderator; and Michael Barnhart, engineer-in-charge. Funding for Medicare Rx is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.