Benefits Enrollment Center

Presented By AgeOptions Maribeth Stein

The AgeOptions Proposal Service area is suburban Cook County (area surrounding Chicago) Capitalize on our strengths –Red Tape Cutters (RTC) –Make Medicare Work Coalition (MMW) –Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) Partner with local agencies to target underserved populations –Limited English speaking –People with mental illness –People facing new challenges-1 st time benefit clients Focus on people with disabilities and ethnic populations

Who are the BEC partners? Arab American Family Services Bloom Township Senior Citizens Services CEDA-Bloom-Rich CJE SeniorLife Des Plaines Community Senior Center Evanston Commission on Aging Hanul Family Alliance Illinois Welcoming Center Progress Center for Independent Living Solutions for Care Urhai Community Service Center

Key Messaging Money saving programs Not all programs require very low income and assets to qualify The MSPs are a perfect introduction to benefits. They show an immediate $1200 savings You paid for these programs and are entitled to them

Effective Outreach Strategies Ethnic radio-interviews and PSAs Partnerships with faith based organizations Meet with the local church leaders Consumer Advisory Groups Peer counselors- builds trust Home Visits Translated materials

Effective Outreach Strategies (cont.) Partnership with Social Security offices Partnership with local health care facilities Enlist volunteers to assist in outreach Meetings with local church leaders

Statistics from March-October 198 outreach events with 16,123 attendees 3,878 one-on-one counseling sessions 2,110 screenings for programs 1,977 eligible for at least one program $5,553,058 in leveraged benefits

Challenges Program eligibility based on citizenship requirements Keeping clients engaged through the screening process. Partnering with state entities who are often overworked and under staffed Materials, including BCU are not translated

Challenges (cont.) Reporting- keeping track of data Making sure that all partners have thorough knowledge about program eligibility and application processes

Lessons Learned Train the group on program coverage and eligibility early in the process Hold smaller trainings for program application completion Faith based organizations are key in finding the underserved Translated materials are essential to ethnic populations Ethnic radio stations are a key link to homebound

Thank you for your time Maribeth Stein