The INDEPENDENT, November 20, 2008
Page 21
More on how to choose the right Medicare plan for your needs
From page 8
insurance counseling. Visit
www.oregon.gov./DCBS/SHI
BA/ or www.shipusa.org or call
(1-800-722-4134).
Medicare – www.medicare.
gov enables you to find and
compare Medicare prescription
drug plans and health plans in
your area. You can also call 1-
800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-
4227).
AHIP – www.healthdecision
s.org/guide, a resource from
the health insurance industry
trade group America’s Health
Insurance Plans, offers an
easy-to-use, interactive online
publication.
Once you understand the
options that are available to
you that fit your needs, you can
visit the Web sites of the specif-
ic health plans and compare.
Step Five: Find out if you
qualify for extra help
If you have limited income
and resources, you may qualify
for help paying for your
Medicare health coverage. To
find out if you qualify, contact
your local Medicaid office or
call the Social Security Admin-
istration at 1-800-772-1213. If
you use a TTY, call 1-800-325-
0778.
No matter which Medicare
health plan you’ve chosen pre-
viously, you can switch to a dif-
ferent plan between November
15 and December 31. Or, if you
are satisfied with your existing
Medicare coverage and don’t
need to make changes, you
don’t have to do anything dur-
ing the enrollment period. You
will be automatically re-enrolled
for the same plan for 2009.
Use this time to make sound
choices and get a full under-
VHS Honor Roll members, cont.
From page 11
Sierra Roberts, Melissa Sand-
strom, Byron Schorzman, Dan-
iel Shaw, Matias Singers, Dal-
ton Stevens, Katy Stevens,
Chantel Szlavich, Mckenzie
Tarkalson, Nicole Thompson,
Levi
Timmerman,
Dylan
Vaughn, Katie Wilson, Re-
bekah Young.
Honors, 3.25-3.49 – Jacob
Alf, David Allen, Jesse Arm-
strong, Christopher Bamburg,
Genesis Castro, Ashley Cavett,
Tyler Clines, Zachary Dillon,
Adrienne East, Amber Eastlick,
Tabitha
Fallau,
Brandon
Krause, Emily Mitchell, Saman-
tha Morgan, Yelena Polyakova,
Parker Roach, Travis Rosen-
stiel, Holly Simpkins, Sean Sol-
berg, Sara Stern, Ryan Taylor,
Bethany Workman.
Banks Fall Tree
Planting event
From page 12
This is the second year that
the Banks Tree Board has con-
ducted the Fall Educational
and Tree Planting event.
Those interested in joining the
Banks Tree Board are wel-
come, and need not be resi-
dents of the City. For more in-
formation about Banks Tree
Board, call City Hall at 503-
324-5112. Banks is certified as
a Tree City, USA.
Honorable Mention, 3.0-3.24
– Kimberly Allen, Kahli Ander-
son, Anthony Dotter, Jayme
Due, Zachery Dyer, Mackenzie
Frantz, Kristina Halvorson,
Alexis Henley, Kayleigh John-
ston, Jessica Llanos, Mickell
Maller, Jordan Miller, Blake
Moeller, Zachary Nutting, Tylor
Owen, Brittney Paden, Court-
ney Paden, Timothy Pillow,
Caitlin Potts, William Ren,
Brandon Sears, Zachary Shaw,
Amanda Sliger, Cody Smith,
Zachary Smith, Kacy Strand,
Emily Thompson, Anthony
Thurman, Danny Vander-
schelden, Paul Whiteman.
Featuring a
Wide Variety of
English&WesternTack
Grain & Supplements
Open Mon. thru Fri.
10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
503-429-TACK (8225)
736 Bridge St. Vernonia
standing of your options. After
all, this is an important decision
that you are committing to for
an entire year. At the end of the
day, few things are as impor-
tant as your health and health
care.
As you compare health care
coverage, keep in mind:
When considering prescrip-
tion drug plans, take into ac-
count Medicare Advantage
plans, including Special Needs
Plans; as well as stand-alone
prescription
drug
plans
(Medicare Part D) and supple-
mental plans in which you may
be qualified to enroll, such as
Medigap.
Check out special, additional
services offered by health plans
for Medicare members, such as
gym memberships, and vision,
hearing and dental coverage.
Before selecting a plan,
make sure you’ll have access
to the physicians, hospitals and
other health care providers/fa-
cilities that are important to
you.