I’ve received my Medicare and You 2027 Official Medicare Handbook and that means one thing. It’s fall! Well, that’s true, but more importantly, it’s Medicare Open Enrollment which runs from Oct. 15 until Dec. 7.
This is the time each year when you can switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan; switch Medicare Advantage plans; return to Original Medicare from Medicare Advantage; or change your Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. It’s complicated, so most people, including me, just keep the same plan year after year.
But this year there are significant changes. But how do you know if your Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D drug plan has changed? Open your Annual Notice of Changes you received from your insurance carrier and READ IT CAREFULLY!
Okay, I shouldn’t yell, but this year it is important. For example, if you have the Providence Medicare Advantage plan, it will no longer be available, and some PacificSource Medicare Advantage plans will be changing.
Review your Annual Notice of Changes (ANOC) to verify that your plan still covers your primary care provider, specialists, hospitals, rehabilitation, and preferred clinics. For your medications, check for any changes in restrictions, preferred pharmacy, and estimated annual cost. Compare premiums, copays, coinsurance, medical maximum out-of-pocket exposure, and applicable Part D costs, not just the monthly premium.
There are so many ins and outs, and overs and unders; it can be overwhelming. When trying to read the Medicare Handbook, I didn’t realize English could be a foreign language!
But there is help. Besides the Medicare Handbook, you can search Medicare’s Plan Finder at Medicare.gov, where you can find the 2027 updates to compare Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription plans.
Or you can contact a trained volunteer SHIBA counselor (Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Assistance), who provides free, unbiased Medicare information and can help you compare Medicare Advantage, Part D drug plans, Medigap, and programs that help pay Medicare costs.
In Klickitat and Skamania Counties, the Area Agency on Aging & Disabilities of Southwest Washington (AAADSW) sponsors the SHIBA program. You can contact them at 360-759-4676 or email AAADSW.SHIBA@dshs.wa.gov. There is also a statewide SHIBA hotline: 800-562-6900, Mondays through Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
On the Oregon side, the Mid-Columbia Senior Center sponsors the SHIBA Medicare counseling for Hood River, Sherman, and Wasco counties. The local contact is SHIBA Coordinator Halla Graves. Call 541-288-8341 or email hallagravesshiba@gmail.com.
Or make an appointment with a trusted health insurance broker who can explain the pros and cons of your options. (Caution: never buy an insurance plan over the phone from an 800 number!)
One insurance broker is Saldivar Insurance (541-506-3773) who is partnering with One Community Health to help you understand your options, prepare for enrollment, or complete your application.
These events will be held from 3–7 p.m. on Nov. 3 and Nov. 13 at One Community Health in Hood River (849 Pacific Ave.); from 3-7 p.m. on Nov. 6 and Nov. 10 at One Community Health in The Dalles (1040 Webber St.); and in White Salmon on Nov. 20, location and time TBD. Come prepared with your current insurance information, household income estimate, provider list, and prescriptions if available.
Because of all the changes, it is especially important to understand all your insurance options before making a decision. So READ YOUR ANNUAL NOTICE OF CHANGES! Sorry, I did it again.
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Brain Tease: A couple more Rebus puzzles where letters are rearranged to describe a common word or phrase.
1. CYCLE CYCLE CYCLE
2. GROUND GROUND,
3. DECI SION,
4. MIL1LION
5. ENTURY
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The husband of the Bumstead family in the popular comic Blondie was Dagwood. I received correct answers from Stephen Woolpert, Doug Nelson, Mike McFarlane, Donna Mollet, Rebecca Abrams, Shelley Hinatsu, Judy Kiser, Marny Weting, Jay Waterbury, Julie Hoffman, Lana Tepfer, Rhonda Spies, Tina Castanares, Dave Lutgens, Bruce Johnson, Glenna Mahurin, Craig Terry, Mike Nagle, and Becky Podvent and Tom Schaefer, who both reminded me that you can still find Blondie in TheOregonian. And this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket is Vern Seal.
When I was a young boy, I watched the family-friendly cowboy western “The Roy Rogers Show.” For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the name of his co-star whom he was married to for more than 50 years? Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-980-4645, or send it with a picture of her riding her buckskin Quarter Horse, Buttermilk.
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Well, it’s been another week, walking on sunshine. Until we meet again, remember you are not old until your children are enrolled in Medicare.
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