By Lisa Chmelecki,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – “General Hospital” and “One Life to Live” do nothing for Margaret Ross.

The 68-year-old would much rather spend her time deciphering complicated e-mails about changes in Medicare, and explaining them to others who only want to know two things: Can I still get my prescription drugs? How much are they going to cost me?

“This stuff is changing hour to hour, week by week,” Ross said. “And it’s awfully complicated.”

A retired nurse who spent the last part of her career identifying cases of Medicaid fraud for the state, Ross recently won a national award for her volunteer work helping other seniors understand their health insurance benefits and avoid Medicare fraud.

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare invited her to Washington, D.C., last month to be honored with three others from around the country.

The trip made her feel special, proud of herself and others in Maine who do similar work.

But she couldn’t stay away long.

A major change in Medicare is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2006. The federal government is adding a prescription drug benefit, and letters explaining the plan are being mailed to the 240,000 people in Maine who will be affected.

Ross had to get back to Maine to answer phone calls, set up individual meetings and organize workshops with local senior citizen groups.

“I love doing it,” she said. “I need something to keep me busy. I’m not one that admires daytime television.”

For the former director of nursing at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, talking deductibles, co-pays and catastrophic coverage is much more fun.

“I tell people it’s like a multi-layered onion,” she said. “You peel back one layer and there’s another, then another. There are so many ifs, ands and buts.”

Under the new drug plan, Medicare recipients will pay a $250 deductible. After that, 75 percent of their drug costs will be covered until they reach $2,250, at which point they’ll be on their own for the remainder of the year.

For most, the new drug plan will mean about $35 more out of their Social Security checks. The exact premium, as well as the prices and availability of individual drugs, will depend on which specific program each person chooses.

Ross’ job is to help people choose a program that best suits them.

Before she does that, however, she must get to those people who are so overwhelmed by the jargon and the paperwork that they toss the letter or ignore the deadlines.

Many people don’t realize that their current prescription drug plan could be canceled on Dec. 31 as a result of the change, and they’ll be left completely uncovered if they don’t respond, she said.

Ross is one of eight volunteers working at SeniorsPlus in Lewiston as part of the State Health Insurance Assistance Program.

“Can you imagine all of the Alzheimer’s patients?” she said.

Ross and the other volunteers will do everything from teaching people how to research their options on the Internet to filling out applications and taking them to the mailbox.

As the end of the year gets closer, she assumes that her hours will increase.

“We’re expecting to be inundated,” she said.