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East Oregonian
EASTERN OREGON MARKETPLACE
Tuesday, October, 31, 2017
FAMILY FEATURES
E
ating well and regular exercise are
part of a healthy lifestyle, and so
is making sure you have the right
health care coverage. Medicare’s
annual Open Enrollment period is a good
time to review your current coverage and
decide if there may be a better fit based on
changes to current plans, your budget or
health needs.
During Medicare Open Enrollment, which
runs Oct. 15-Dec. 7, 2017, you can enroll
in or make changes to your Medicare health
or prescription drug plan for coverage that
begins Jan. 1, 2018. If you miss the deadline,
you will likely have to wait a full year before
you are able to make changes to your plan.
To make Medicare Open Enrollment
part of your healthy lifestyle, follow
these five steps:
1. Review your current plan notice.
Read any notices from your Medicare
plan about changes for next year,
especially your “Annual Notice of
Change” letter. Look at your plan’s
information to make sure your drugs are
still covered and your doctors are still in
network.
2. Think about what matters most to
you. Medicare health and drug plans
change each year and so can your health
needs. Do you need a new primary care
doctor? Does your network include the
specialist you want for an upcoming
surgery? Does your current plan cover
your new medication? Does another plan
offer the same coverage at a lower cost?
Take stock of your health status and
determine if you need to make a change.
3. Find out if you qualify for help paying
for Medicare. Learn about programs
in your state to help with the costs of
Medicare premiums (through Medicare
Savings Programs), your Medicare Part
A (hospital insurance) and Medicare
Part B (medical insurance) deductibles,
coinsurance and copayments, and Medicare
prescription drug coverage costs (through
Extra Help). Visit Medicare.gov or call
your State Health Insurance Assistance
Program (SHIP) to learn more.
4. Shop for plans that meet your needs
and fit your budget. Starting each
October, you can use Medicare’s Plan
Finder tool at Medicare.gov/find-a-plan
to see what plans are offered in your
area. A new plan may:
n Cost less
n Cover your drugs
n Let you go to the providers you
want, like your doctor or pharmacy.
If you find your current coverage still
meets your needs, then you’re done.
Remember, during Medicare Open
Enrollment, you can decide to stay in
Original Medicare or join a Medicare
Advantage Plan. If you’re already in a
Medicare Advantage Plan, you can switch
back to Original Medicare.
5. Check your plan’s Star Rating before
you enroll. The Medicare Plan Finder
is up-to-date with the Star Ratings for
Medicare health and prescription drug
plans. Plans are given an overall quality
rating on a 1-5 star scale, with 1 being the
lowest performing and 5 stars representing
excellent performance. You can use Star
Ratings to compare the quality of health
and drug plans being offered.
For more information, visit medicare.gov
or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-
4227) and say “Agent.” TTY users can
call 1-877-486-2048. Help is available 24
hours a day, including weekends. If you
need help in a language other than English
or Spanish, let the customer service
representative know the language. You
can also get personalized health insurance
counseling at no cost to you from your
local SHIP by visiting shiptacenter.org.
More information about Medicare is
available on the Medicare Facebook page
and by following
@MedicareGov on Twitter.
Protect Your Medicare Card
Protect your identity as well as your health
by guarding your Medicare card like you
would a credit card. Medicare is aiding in
the fight against Medicare fraud by removing
Social Security Numbers from Medicare
cards and replacing them with a new, unique
number for each person with Medicare.
Medicare will mail the new cards with unique
numbers between April 2018-April 2019.
Here are some steps you can take to protect
yourself from identity theft:
n Don’t share your Medicare number or
other personal information with anyone
who contacts you by telephone, email
or approaches you in person, unless
you’ve given them permission in advance.
Medicare will never contact you uninvited
and ask for your Medicare number or
other personal information.
n Tell your friends and neighbors to guard
their Medicare numbers.
Don’t ever let anyone borrow or pay to use
your Medicare number.
n Review your Medicare Summary Notices
to be sure you and Medicare are only
being charged for services actually
provided.
n Be wary of salespeople who knock on your
door or call you uninvited and try to sell
you a product or service.
n Don’t accept items received through the
mail that you didn’t order. You should
refuse the delivery and/or return it to the
sender. Keep a record of the sender’s
name and the date you returned the items.
n
If someone calls you and asks for
your Medicare number or other
personal information, hang up and call
1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
and learn more about how you can fight
Medicare fraud at Medicare.gov/fraud.
Information provided by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.