Unbiased Answers to Medicare Questions

If you are new to Medicare, you may want to find out what options are best for you. Or you may be turning 65, or be older than 65, but leaving your employer-sponsored plan and will need health insurance. What are your next steps?

The Health Insurance Information Service (HIIS) at Washington Health can help you navigate the bewildering array of options and suggestions, says Kristi Caracappa, the hospital’s HIIS coordinator. “Open enrollment offers an opportunity for everyone — those new to Medicare and those who have been on the program for some years — to review their current plans. Look at your plans, including Advantage plans and Part D drug coverage. Do they meet your current needs? What are the new options available that might better serve your situation?”

For example, Caracappa notes that if you have a Medicare Advantage plan, does your current plan or the one you may be considering cover your current prescriptions? You may have new medications that aren’t covered, or one of your current prescriptions may have been dropped or changed to a different tier. Does the plan you are considering cover any medical equipment you may need? And your health care requirements may have changed as a result of recent illnesses or an accident.

Caracappa will explain the range of Medicare options at a Wednesday, Sept. 10, Washington Health online seminar, “Medicare: What You Need to Know.”The 5 p.m. Health & Wellness seminar can be accessed on facebook.com/WashingtonHealth1 or YouTube.com/@washington_health.

At the seminar, Caracappa will discuss how and when to sign up for Medicare, options available to cover extra costs, how Medicare plans work in your local community and how best to choose a prescription drug plan that will cover your medications. She also will discuss Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) and Medicare supplemental insurance enrollment options, and any upcoming changes to Medicare and/or Part D, as well as answer questions about changes, choices and timing, among other issues.

Caracappa encourages everyone who is Medicare eligible, including those who receive Medicare benefits because of a qualified disability, to review their plan each year before open enrollment. In addition to Part D, which offers prescription drug coverage, Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) also should be reviewed annually. Part C plans are run by private insurers and can vary from year to year, and coverage may depend on your county of residence. Also, additional benefits may now be offered.

Additional information and assistance is available through the hospital’s Health Insurance Information Service, a free, unbiased and confidential service for individuals. Caracappa explains that the service can help with questions about individual and group plans; government-sponsored programs, such as Medi-Cal or Covered California; and, of course, Medicare and all its options.

“The service does not sell insurance or recommend specific policies,” she adds. “We’re here to help you understand the options you have, answer health insurance questions or direct you to a physician referral service.” The service also provides information on insurance options following a job loss or job change, answers questions about changes in benefit coverage, explains COBRA, and how to understand and prepare an Advance Health Care Directive.

To learn more about how the service can assist you, call 510.818.7005. Additional information is available on the Washington Health website.