Crisis Control Ministry helps senior facing a medication crisis

By Judie Holcomb-Pack Hitting the ‘donut hole’ could have been a holiday nightmare for Gwen. Both Gwen and her husband are retired and living on Social Security and have Medicare, but make just a little too much to qualify for assistance such as SNAP benefits. They budget carefully to cover medical expenses because of Gwen’s chronic illness. They just about made it to the end of December when Gwen entered the Medicare ‘donut hole.’ When your total drug costs – including what you and your plan have paid for your drugs – reaches a certain limit, which in 2023 was $4,660, you enter the donut hole. When you reach that amount, you have to pay all costs out-of-pocket for your prescriptions. Because Gwen was on an expensive medication for her chronic illness, she was facing a prescription cost of over $250, which was out of reach for their tight budget. Hesitantly, she came to Crisis Control Ministry. Chelsea Franzese, assistant director of client services, reviewed Gwen’s request for help with her prescription. “I could see how stressed she was,” Franzese said. “This was the first time she had reached the donut hole and she was totally unprepared for it.”  Franzese...