Empowering seniors
Jose Paul Corona
Helping seniors get the medical care that they need and deserve is
Henry Ramirez’s passion.
The 82-year-old Huntington Beach resident volunteers about 20
hours a week as a counselor for the Health Insurance Counseling and
Advocacy Program in Santa Ana and Anaheim, where he helps seniors
sort out Medicare problems.
“My pleasure comes from helping people,” Ramirez said. “It keeps
me young and active -- that helps a lot with your physical health.”
He does such good work that “satisfied customers” often refer
their friends to him, said Mary Ozurovich, the program volunteer
coordinator.
His hard work and dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed. He was
recently awarded the California Senior Leaders/Healthy Aging Award
given out by UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and the California
Wellness Foundation.
Ramirez is one of 35 award recipients in the state.
“He certainly deserves it,” said Ozurovich, who nominated him for
the award. “He’s the unsung hero, the normal guy who was volunteering
before it was fashionable.”
Such a dedicated volunteers offer his time to more than just one
cause.
If he isn’t giving people Medicare advice, speaking at a senior
center, or volunteering with the Salvation Army, he’s working with
the Episcopal Service Alliance helping provide food and clothing for
the needy.
All that work might tire most people out, but not Ramirez.
“It’s not work for me,” Ramirez said. “It’s pleasurable
entertainment.”
Seniors have many questions about their healthcare coverage and
often don’t know where to turn for help. Even if they know that they
aren’t getting proper medical care, they simply go along with it,
Ramirez said.
“Older people are not the type, or are not willing, to complain,”
he said.
Ramirez told the story of a senior who suffered a heart attack.
The man had more than $100,000 in unpaid medical bills that Medicare
refused to pay, even though the man had coverage. Ramirez made a few
phone calls and got the matter resolved.
Helping take care of those kind of issues is very satisfying,
Ramirez said.
His involvement with the program has helped get others involved,
and that, not a plaque or award, is his real reward, Ramirez said.
“Hopefully, it will motivate a lot of seniors to [volunteer],” he
said.
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