As program manager of HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program) Services of Northern California, Reilly said the agency’s mission is to provide unbiased services to seniors and the disabled by addressing their health care needs.

“I often refer to HICAP as a best kept secret because until you need us, you don’t know we’re around,” said Reilly, whose headquarters coordinates 20 offices serving eight counties in Northern California.

Advocacy services provided at no charge by trained volunteer HICAP counselors include aiding current Medicare beneficiaries and people about to become eligible for Medicare benefits, assisting individuals planning for retirement, and providing information on long-term care options and insurance.

“We don’t make decisions for people,” Reilly said. “We really clarify things so they can make informed decisions.”

A case in point is Medicare’s Part D Prescription Drug program, which Reilly describes as “the biggest change to Medicare since it’s inception in the 1960s.”

“We’ve never seen anything like this. HICAPS nationwide have been overwhelmed by calls,” Reilly said of the federal government’s new prescription drug program, which required sign-ups without penalty by this past May 15.

“It’s a privatization of a Medicare program. People have so many choices to make,” she said.

A lifelong Catholic and member of Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Rocklin, Reilly has dedicated much of her professional life to serving the elderly.

Prior to moving the Sacramento in 2002, Reilly worked for several years for non-profit agencies before working as development director at Villa Siena, a residential and skilled nursing care facility in Mountain View.

Sponsored by the Daughters of Charity, Villa Siena is dedicated to providing affordable health and social services for seniors.

“It was my first opportunity to work as an employee on behalf of elder issues. I loved going to work,” Reilly said.

Much of Reilly’s passion for working with the elderly was inspired by her father who “had the joy of being able to live and die at home,” cared for by Reilly’s mother, who he called his “guardian angel.”

“His looks changed but he didn’t,” Reilly said of her father, who was in frail health for five years prior to his death at age 87. “If you spoke to my father you would hear him laugh, discover his intellect, be captivated by him. The elderly have much to offer.”

Working at HICAP the past year, Reilly views her work and the work of the agency’s counselors as a rich opportunity for Christian service.

“For people looking for a meaningful way to serve outside their parish, HICAP can really be that,” she said.

Volunteers are required to complete a two-week training period and mentorship counseling period and are then registered with the California Department of Aging.

HICAP staff member Claire Matthews, 73, a member of Our Lady of Grace Parish in West Sacramento, said the program can literally be a lifeline.

“There are very few of us living on the income we had 20 years ago,” she said. “It’s a fearful thing trying to pay for medical expenses, especially for low-income people.”

Matthews encouraged parish communities to invite a member of HICAP’s speakers’ bureau to make a presentation on health care issues to parishioners.

“One of the caveats of the diocesan synod,” said Matthews, who was a delegate, “was to make the parish a more viable part of people’s lives.”

“We need outreach to our Catholic congregations. It’s the stone in the water that hopefully spreads,” she added.

Donna Gentile is a member of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Roseville and coordinator of the parish’s senior ministry. She said when a HICAP speaker made a presentation to the parish’s senior group several months ago, more than 100 people turned out for the event.

HICAP provides a service that is very much needed because (the Medicare Prescription Drug program) is “a very complicated issue,” she said. “One of the seniors in our program had been to their office and said, ‘I can’t tell you how much they did for me.’”

Reilly suggested those with questions about Medicare Part D Prescription Drug program schedule an appointment with HICAP prior to the open enrollment period from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31.

In Sacramento County, a counseling site on Elvas Avenue provides counseling in Spanish two Fridays a month.

For more information about HICAP or to schedule an appointment, call (800) 434-0222.

Copyright © 2006 Diocese of Sacramento - All Rights Reserved