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| "Thank God for MSAC. They have gotten so much done, especially with the pharmacy program, and they just don't stop." Bernice Speliotis |
Bernice Speliotis never expected to have to choose which prescription medicines she should stop taking. But she came close to making that decision when her pharmaceutical needs exceeded her insurance coverage to pay for them.
Bernice and her husband, Stephen, worked hard to raise their nine children in Lynn, Mass. Bernice was a substance abuse counselor, and Stephen was employed in the shoe-manufacturing industry. Over the last decade, both have needed an array of medicines to treat and control chronic conditions. Many of the costs for Stephen's medication are covered by the Veteran's Administration, but Bernice required $4,700 in prescription drugs last year alone. As seniors on a modest fixed income, they faced a crisis when their health maintenance organization discontinued prescription coverage at the beginning of 1999.
Fortunately, they had an ally in the Massachusetts Senior Action Council (MSAC). Founded in 1981, MSAC has successfully organized low- and moderate-income senior citizens to advocate for improvements in housing, transportation and health care. With funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, MSAC has become a statewide group that also addresses the needs of working families, children and people with disabilities.
Bernice and Stephen qualified for two state prescription subsidy programs that MSAC helped to create. Both programs will be replaced in 2001 by Prescription Advantage, an insurance program that is open to all seniors and to low-income people with disabilities. Premiums and deductibles will be assessed on a sliding scale, based on income.
The struggle is not over for Bernice and Stephen. Even before the new program began, there were legislative efforts to cut its funding. This move would effectively raise the participants' costs, putting them beyond the reach of the Speliotises and thousands of other seniors. MSAC has responded by mobilizing its members to write, call and visit their state legislators to describe the hardships they would face if the program is cut.
"I am wondering if I am going to have to quit this pill or that pill," says Bernice. "Thank God for MSAC," she says, smiling. "They have gotten so much done, especially with the pharmacy program, and they just don't stop."
Bernice started attending MSAC meetings in her senior housing complex and is now the treasurer of her local chapter, which has about 300 members.
MSAC started with small goals, such as getting benches installed at shopping centers and safe street crossings for seniors. It branched out into health care, in response to the concerns of its members, and has enjoyed many successes, including a state ban on physicians overcharging for treating Medicare patients. According to MSAC executive director Geoffrey Wilkinson, upcoming efforts will seek to lower drug costs by eliminating profiteering within the drug industry.
 
MSAC achievements....
- Successfully organized low- and moderate-income senior citizens to advocate for improvements in housing, transportation and health care.
- Advocates statewide for the needs of working families, children and people with disabilities.
- Mobilizing members to fight a cut in a new prescription program for seniors and low-income people with disabilities.
Success stories:
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