By Wendy J. Meyeroff

THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

“I joined Erickson AdvantageSM immediately, October 1, 2005. I liked the prescription savings and the fact that the three-day waiting period—having to stay in the hospital for three days before Medicare kicked in—was eliminated,” says Betty Claus, one of the first members in the Erickson AdvantageSM program.

Among the health plans offering a Part D option is one that has already been enthusiastically adopted by over 1,000 residents of communities built and managed by Erickson. It is Erickson AdvantageSM, a Medicare Advantage program available exclusively to these residents and designed with their needs in mind.

With 2007 enrollments approaching for all health plans, residents of communities built and managed by Erickson have good reasons to enroll or renew. One is accessibility to the Erickson AdvantageSM team. “People tell us they are extremely pleased with the personal access they have to their Member Services Representatives, who helps them with billing questions, and their Care Coordinators, who provide answers to hospital-related issues,” says Bruce H. Sturm, senior vice president, Erickson Health Plan.

Ways to Save Money

Sitting down with an Erickson AdvantageSM Member Services Representative can save you money, even if you don’t sign up for the plan. That is what happened to Irene Kennedy, “The Erickson AdvantageSM representative explained some benefits of my current program which were difficult to understand. I stayed with that program and as a result of the Erickson AdvantageSM Member Services Representative looking at it, I am receiving a refund on my prescriptions,” she says.

More often residents find switching to Erickson AdvantageSM is where the savings lie. The most obvious savings come in the monthly premiums and/or drug costs, but avoiding the three-day hospital stay Claus mentioned is one of many other savings people have reported since signing up for Erickson AdvantageSM.