(OVERLAND PARK, KAN.) -- Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District -- Kansas) will host a series of public meetings in October to help explain the new Medicare prescription drug plan. The forums will outline plan options and provide an opportunity to ask questions about the voluntary drug coverage for 43 million seniors and people with disabilities.

“I suggested an alternative bill which would give the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to negotiate lower pharmaceutical prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries, allowing seniors to utilize their market power to benefit from lower prices,” Moore said. “Now that Medicare prescription drug plan is the law, I am fully committed to educating seniors about the benefit.”

The panel will feature representatives from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration, and Senior Health Insurance Counseling of Kansas (SHICK). The new prescription drug benefit begins January 1st, 2006. Beneficiaries are eligible to sign up for drug coverage plans from November 15, 2005 to May 15, 2006. If you don’t join by then, you may have to pay a higher premium.

Reservations are not needed to attend the meetings. For more information about the events, please contact Moore’s office at 913-383-2013.