But in July, the 68-year-old Rose Park resident hit the so-called doughnut hole - the point at which his insurance company, UnitedHealthcare, stopped paying for his medications.

His diabetic wife, who is on UnitedHealthcare's AARP MedicareRx Plan, also is in the gap. Now, the couple spends between $700 and $800 a month on drugs for heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, pain and other conditions.

"I gave them everything I had and they said it would be good for me," he said. "Now I've got to start hunting for another insurance plan for next year."

With the new sign-up window opening in November, advocates are hoping all seniors - even those happy with their drug coverage - will examine the 56 plans available in Utah for 2007. Existing plans are changing their terms, and 12 new plans are being added.

Peter Hebertson with Salt Lake County Aging Services is worried about complacency. Some seniors were daunted by the 44 plans they had to evaluate last year. Predictions that a significant number of plans would prove unprofitable and be dropped were wrong.

Plans began their marketing Oct. 1.

"I was really discouraged when I saw the changes because a lot of people will need to change their plans," Hebertson said.

Improvements highlighted by Medicare include:

* Plans are adding to their lists of covered drugs. Nationwide, the average number of drugs included will increase by approximately 13 percent.

* Sixty-two percent of beneficiaries in Utah will have access to coverage with a lower premium than they paid in 2006. Two plans will have a premium below $20 a month.

* Twenty-seven of the Utah plans are offering enhanced benefits or services, such as paying for drugs in a so-called doughnut hole - the coverage gap Gallegos encountered.

In 2007, beneficiaries will first pay an annual deductible not to exceed $265. Coverage then helps pay for drugs until the tab reaches a pre-determined amount, usually $2,400.

People then pay out of pocket for drugs, unless their plan offers help or they qualify for other assistance. Some plans will cover brand-name drugs through the gap; others will pay only for generic drugs.

Once beneficiaries spend $3,850 in 2007, catastrophic coverage will kick in.

Salt Lake County Aging Services will kick off a major public-awareness campaign about the new enrollment window on Oct. 20 at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy. Medicare is urging seniors to sign up for plans before Dec. 8 to ensure they have received new cards to use for prescriptions in early January.

Offered personal assistance from volunteers at scores of events, more than 70,000 Utahns enrolled in stand-alone drug plans for 2006.

Another 25,220 chose Medicare Advantage plans, similar to health maintenance organizations, which included drug coverage. Details of Medicare Advantage plans offered to Utahns for 2007 will become available later this month.

More than 91,000 Utahns also received drug coverage as dual enrollees in Medicare and Medicaid; or as federal retirees; or through their employers' retirement plans, which received a federal subsidy.

For assistance this year, Utahns can use the Medicare Web site; call 1-800-Medicare (1-800-633-4227) for assistance or attend one of the help sessions that will be scheduled.

Last year, the launch of the Internet tool was delayed and some seniors struggled to understand the new plans. Sallie Richardson, with the Medicare Senior Patrol, a watchdog group for fraud, is optimistic this year's enrollment efforts will be smoother.

"We know what the problems were last year," she said. "We hope to avoid that this year. We've gotten a lot of careÂgivers and family involved, too. We're being very positive."

chamilton@sltrib.com