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Volunteer Serving Needs Of Seniors

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By HAROLD VALENTINE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 20, 2007

CARROLLWOOD - It started with wanting something to do, preferably something charitable.

Five years ago, Citrus Park resident Jim Mulcahy retired as a circulation manager from The Tampa Tribune. Shortly after, he met a representative from SHINE - Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders - at his church, St. Paul's in Carrollwood.

Mulcahy, 70, has devoted more hours than he can count to the volunteer-based organization and has been the area coordinator for three years.

'It keeps me busy, which I appreciate, because if I had to sit at home and look at four walls all day I'd go crazy,' Mulcahy said.

In late August, Mulcahy was named a 'Daily Point of Light,' a national honor given to stand-out volunteers each weekday by the nonprofit Points of Light Foundation & Hands On Network, based in Washington, D.C. Mulcahy received a signed letter from President Bush praising him for his volunteerism.

Earlier this year, Mulcahy was honored by the United Way of Tampa Bay for his educational work in health care. He was nominated as a 'Daily Point of Light' by Susan Roberts, executive director of the United Way of Tampa Bay.

SHINE is a statewide program run by the Department of Elderly Affairs. It's volunteer-based and provides information to Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

Although Mulcahy fills a leadership role covering Hillsborough, Highlands, Hardee, Polk and Manatee counties by managing volunteers, many of his 50- to 70-hour volunteer work weeks are devoted to individual counseling on the telephone, face-to-face or at community functions.

Mulcahy said although he is at his office in east Tampa two to three days most weeks, he gets calls every day from elderly beneficiaries. When he started, Mulcahy said most calls lasted no longer than five minutes, but since the implementation of Medicare's Part D prescription drug plans two years ago, a single inquiry may involve 30 minutes or more, related calls to doctors, pharmacies and Medicare, and then return calls to beneficiaries.

He said Medicare's Part D is confusing because deductions vary depending on how much money is spent through the year on prescriptions. After $2,400 is spent in the plan, beneficiaries are no longer eligible for discounts until they have spent $3,850. Then they have only to pay 5 percent of the costs for prescription drugs.

'I've been doing it five years, and I'm still confused,' Mulcahy said.

He said seniors often succumb to slick salesmanship, signing onto plans from insurance companies they don't fully understand. Mulcahy emphasizes the three Cs to beneficiaries: Cost, Coverage and Convenience. He said the three-Cs triangulation should guide folks when considering any insurance plan.

Mulcahy said he has received calls from seniors so confused and frustrated they have threatened suicide.

Mulcahy said asking grandchildren to navigate Web sites such as www.medicare.gov has been an effective way for seniors unfamiliar with the Internet to 'do their homework.'

Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries can contact SHINE at 1-800-963-5337 or check out www.floridashine.org.

Reporter Harold Valentine can be reached at (813) 865-1526 or hvalentine@tampatrib.com.

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