AURORA | Joy Jones has a goal to live to be 100 years old.
The Aurora resident, 70, keeps in shape by walking her Chihuahua around her north Aurora neighborhood every day. But on a tight income of $9,600 a year from social security payments, she’s found it hard to pay for doctors appointments and prescriptions.
That was until this year, when she qualified for the “Stretch Your Dollar” Medicare savings program, run by the Colorado Gerontological Society.
“If I didn’t have that program, I wouldn’t be able to do anything about my health because $800 a month isn’t enough to live off of,” she said.
Through the program, Jones gets $100 every month to spend on whatever she chooses, including doctors’ bills and healthy foods.
“It’s great, because the bulk of my medical bills I’m not paying for,” said Jones, who visits the doctor for hearing loss and aches in her feet.
The program launched in April 2012 and its goal is to help people who are on Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors, save money.
“It really makes a difference for the people I’ve been able to work with,” said Patricia Cook, project manager for the Colorado Gerontological Society and the “Stretch Your Dollar” program.
She and other community organizations are hoping to enroll thousands of seniors in the Denver metro area in the Medicare savings program by the end of the year.
“That money has increased their food budget, bought a tank of gas, and helped them be able to pay a doctor bill,” she said.
For seniors in Aurora who are on Medicare, $100 can go a long way, she said.
“It improves the ability to make choices on how you want to spend your money,” Cook said.
To qualify for the program, seniors on Medicare have to be earning less than $1,300 per month in gross income.
For more information about the program, contact the Colorado Gerontological Society at 1-855-293-6911 or visit medicare.gov, ncoa.org, or ssa.gov.