More on Medicare

Since we are in Medicare open enrollment  (until December 7, 2013), I thought I would mention just a few of the sources available to help beneficiaries with their choices.  The National Council on Aging (NCOA), offers My Medicare Matters, which it describes as “education and decision support tools provided by NCOA Services on the My Medicare Matters website and, for those who choose it, personal, one-on-one assistance at no cost from an Aon Hewitt Navigators Benefits Advisor who is a licensed insurance agent.”

One of the features of the NCOA website is the MedicareQuickCheck for beneficiaries who are looking to change or add coverage. The “QuickCheck” also helps beneficiaries see about eligibility for low-income assistance. It takes about 10 minutes to do the “confidential questionnaire, [and then] … receive a free, personalized report that summarizes … options and … recommendations… [and] also get guidance on how to connect with a few sources of free, objective assistance to get help comparing and evaluating plans.”

Medicare, of course, has a number of interactive features on its website, including finding plans, health care providers, Medigap policies and nursing homes.

Looking at the AARP site recently, my attention was caught by Patricia Barry’s Medicare 101 article about a new AARP book, Medicare for Dummies.  There’s also a helpful article by Marsha Mercer that covers Medicare FAQ.

I could go on about different resources, but the open enrollment period would close before I covered them all.