Goodwin Promotes Long-Term Care Insurance Initiative, Savings for Families and the State

One of Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin's legislative goals in 2010 was North Carolina'a recognition of and passage of the special Long-Term Care Partnership initiative, which provides an incentive for individuals to plan ahead for future long-term care and nursing home care needs while preserving and protecting one's savings and estate for the family from Medicaid spend-down requirements. To learn more, go to this link.

"The bottom line is that this Partnership program will allow our citizens to keep more of what they've earned and saved over the course of their lives, and still be able to meet Medicaid eligibility requirements," added Insurance Commissioner Goodwin.

Another beneficial effect of this program: over time, the State budget will save millions of dollars.

Insurance Commissioner Goodwin Briefly Explains Formation of SHIIP Program

Insurance Commissioner Attends Luncheon With His Childhood Educators

Feeling like he was 12 years old again, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin joined a broad sample of his primary and secondary school teachers during a Hamlet luncheon last week at Sandhills Regional Hospital.

The Richmond County Retired School Personnel invited their former student from 25 to 35 years ago to reminisce and learn about the Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) headed by Goodwin's agency, the Department of Insurance. The first Council of State member elected from Richmond County in more than 88 years, he also regaled them with anecdotes from his childhood, updates on his own children, and an overview of what he does as Commissioner of Insurance.

The teachers had spent years working for Fairview Heights Elementary School, Monroe Avenue School, Hamlet Junior High School, and Richmond Senior High School.

Goodwin also congratulated Ruth Robinson of Rockingham (pictured above). She had recently been named Volunteer of the Year by District 8 of the Retired School Personnel association. Robinson, a 1994 retiree, has volunteered for Relay for Life for many years.

Latest News for Tar Heel Senior Citizens from Commissioner Goodwin

A national blog dedicated to providing information about aging and disability issues has highlighted recent announcement by North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance Wayne Goodwin about his Seniors Health Insurance Information Program. Find it here at this link.

Also, Goodwin notified senior citizens that any of them who are negatively affected by recent sanctions applied to Aetna may get assistance at the North Carolina Department of Insurance. For information, go to this link here.

Insurance Commissioner Goodwin Visits Senior Democrats of Wake County

Last week I had the personal pleasure to join the Wake County Senior Dems as their monthly luncheon speaker.

In addition to sharing with the gathered activists the duties and scope of the office of Insurance Commissioner and of the Department of Insurance, the senior citizens posed many insightful questions. Their queries spanned the topics of health insurance reforms in Washington, D.C. to the State Health Plan involving state employees, retirees, and their dependents; from coastal insurance to the vital consumer protections provided by the office of Insurance Commissioner.

"I was especially pleased to share with them the mission of my Department's Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program," said Goodwin. "We talked in depth about how we have trained SHIIP volunteers around the State who are available to help folks navigate the maze of Medicare Part D."

Goodwin Continues Helping Eastern North Carolina Senior Citizens

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin this week traveled to southeastern North Carolina to spread his message about the Relay for Extra Help initiative.

Speaking before a crowd of approximately 300 citizens packed into the Whiteville train depot, Goodwin stressed how senior citizens in the Cape Fear region and throughout eastern North Carolina were likely part of the 80,000 residents of the state eligible for subsidies and discounts for their prescription drugs and health care.

WECT-TV Channel 6 of Wilmington had this to say:

WHITEVILLE, NC (WECT) – The cost of prescription drugs will soon be dropping for many resident living in Columbus County. ... Qualifying senior citizens can receive up to 25 percent off their total cost of healthcare and prescription drugs thanks to the Relay for Health bill. ... "A lot of our seniors can't get all their prescriptions every month because they don't have the monetary gains do that," said Ed Worley, director of Department of Aging. "This will help encourage them to get all of their prescriptions as well as coverage of insurance." ...
North Carolina's Insurance commissioner Wayne Goodwin says many counties do not take advantage of the Relay plan, because they do not know about it.

And, of course, that's why the Commissioner and his partners are on the road spreading the gospel of the beneficial program.

Other speakers explained how to enroll and stressed how to avoid being defrauded by scammers.

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin underscored his rock-solid commitment to senior citizens, protecting consumers of all ages, and being accessible and active on behalf of eastern North Carolina.

The program is a partnership between the Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program and area councils on aging.

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Photographs courtesy of Herb Harp Photography of Fair Bluff, NC.

Goodwin Helps Eastern North Carolina and Area Senior Citizens

As part of Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin's outreach effort to help more senior citizens get the prescription drug plan that is best for each of them, before Christmas he again visited New Bern and eastern North Carolina.

During his visit he and partners from various programs provided ways for senior citizens to save money on their health care needs.
To read about it in more detail, go to this link. The event was the culmination of efforts by the Craven County Office of the Cooperative Extension Service, the Area Agency on Aging, Craven Community College, Pamlico Senior Services, and the North Carolina Department of Insurance's SHIIP Division. Despite the snow and freezing rain, more than 70 senior citizens benefited from the one day's efforts alone, with total estimated annual savings surpassing $6,000 for that group.

For related information about the overall program, go to this link and this one.

Insurance Commissioner Goodwin maintains his regional office for eastern North Carolina in New Bern, easily located off of U.S. Highway 17 and near U.S. 70.