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Mohawk Valley startup aims to help seniors navigate Medicaid benefits

NEW HARTFORD — A new business that promises to help seniors navigate the hassles of the Medicaid benefits-application process and stay on top of key day-to-day tasks has opened in the Mohawk Valley.

ElderNet, LLC, located in a 1,200-square-foot office at 555 French Rd. in New Hartford, opened for business on Jan. 2. The company says it will help elder clients file a Medicaid application and advocate for the applicant “every step of the way.

The fledgling firm’s other services include benefits and entitlement research and management for programs like veterans’ benefits, HEAP, and Healthy NY; managing financial account records; providing bill-paying assistance; tracking and providing reminders for key appointments; monitoring prescriptions; and providing help to get transportation to make an appointment or run an errand.

ElderNet’s founders and owners are Donna Sweeney, David J. Zumpano, Ryan F. Coutlee, and Jennifer M. McDonnell. The business now has two full-time employees and one part-time worker, Sweeney says.

“We plan to continue to grow, offer additional services, and expand to try to meet all the needs that we can … in care services for the elderly and for the disabled in our area,” she says. “We want to try to form a safety net that will help them live comfortably and happily in the environment they want to live in. So, our services will expand as their needs expand.”

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Journal Staff