Sen. Patty Murray, D-Shoreline, will meet with seniors, veterans and tribal leaders in Port Angeles and Sequim on Monday.
Murray wants to both listen to residents and talk about plans for the Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, access to health care for veterans and tribal priorities.
Sequim Senior Center
She will start in Sequim, arriving at the Sequim Senior Center, 921 E. Hammond St., at 9:50 a.m. to lead a discussion on Medicare Part D.
The round table discussion will include seniors, a pharmacist, advocates and providers on the issues surrounding Medicare Part D.
The public is invited.
Seniors are discovering a gap in the prescription drug coverage offered under the Medicare Act of 2003.
The details of what is known as the “doughnut hole”‘ vary depending upon the individual plan.
But under standard annual coverage, once a person’s drug purchases total $2,250, coverage quits and drugs cost full price until the person has paid total out-of-pocket expenses of $3,600 in the same year.
Once that total is reached, Medicare pays 95 percent of a person’s prescription drug costs for the rest of the year.
Some three million to seven million seniors across the country — and perhaps as many as 214,000 in the state — are either in or nearing the doughnut hole now.
Murray is seeking local input, experiences and suggestions.
Her visit is cosponsored by the Olympic Area Agency on Aging-Senior Information and Assistance, Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors, Community Advocates for Rural Elders partnership and Sequim Senior Center.
County Veterans Center
By 11:30 a.m., Murray will have moved on to the Clallam County Veterans Center, 216 South Francis St., in Port Angeles.
She plans to meet with local veterans about their access to health care.
Right now, veterans face long trips to see Department of Veterans Affairs doctors in Seattle.
The Olympic Medical Center has offered to provide space, staff and support services for a virtual VA clinic in Port Angeles.
The staff would perform procedures that the department would pay for.
Similar clinics have been suggested at Forks Community Hospital and Jefferson Healthcare Hospital.
Murray, who serves on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, met last November with veterans in Port Angeles.
This is a follow up meeting.
Attending the meeting at her request are Tim Williams, director of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and DeAnn Dietrich, deputy director, as well as John Park, director of VA Health Plan Management.
At noon, Murray is expected to open the discussion to questions from the public.
Once Murray leaves for her next appointment, VA representatives and Murray staff members will remain to talk with veterans and answer questions.
Tribal leaders round table
By 1:15 p.m., Murray is to be back in Sequim, meeting with representatives of 10 tribes.
The meeting will be at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center, 1033 Old Blyn Highway, Sequim.
Representatives of the Makah, Lower Elwha, Jamestown S’Klallam, Quileute, Hoh, Quinault, Skokomish, Squaxin Island, Port Gamble and Suquamish tribes are expected to attend.
Murray is asking to hear about tribal priorities on such issues as health care, education, housing, transportation and economic development, and how she could provide help at the federal level.
