NORTH PROVIDENCE -- Thomas C. Pezza was one of the exasperated retirees in the big meeting room at the Salvatore Mancini Resource & Activity Center.
He craned his neck and leaned forward to hear better. Pezza, 77, asked plenty of questions about enrollment requirements for Medicare's new drug program.
But afterward, Pezza still needed help.
"Why don't they just leave the Blue Cross plans alone, so it's not confusing to everyone?" Pezza asked.
Not everyone was confounded. But plenty were still scratching their heads, after the center's expert, Cheryl Sadler, offered help to more than 75 elderly residents Monday morning.
Grasping the new Medicare drug program is a challenge, no matter who presents it.
The program is forcing the elderly to acquire Medicare drug benefits through private companies.
Someone who has multiple drug prescriptions has to find one of the Medicare Part D programs that will meet his or her specific needs.
That could mean sorting through dozens of different prescription-drug programs offered by myriad companies. The choice must be made by May 15.
In the meantime, elderly residents who qualify for Rhode Island Pharmaceutical Assistance have to reapply for the benefit.
Joseph Trudell, 67, was unclear on some of the qualifications.
Sadler was able to straighten that out.
Trudell, a retired shoe salesman, wasn't sure whether everyone else in the room was as clear as they'd like to be.
"You've got a lot of people with a lot of different medical plans," he said, "so there's so many different questions. So a lot of them are really confused."
More than 300 seniors have turned to health-care tutoring programs at the center. The next session is for elderly people who use Blue Cross Plan 65 or other plans under the Medigap umbrella. It starts at 9 a.m.
Carmela Lumb, 84, was pretty anxious at first.
She didn't know how she would pay for her blood-pressure medications.
One of the prescriptions costs $59 a month. The other costs $39, she said.
Sadler explained the three levels of Medicare prescription coverage offered through United Healthcare.
Lumb could relax a little.
Lumb also discovered that she qualifies for pharmaceutical assistance. She intends to sign up.
"I feel much better," she said.
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