Ah. It’s the time of year that television advertisements show senior adults in “granny” gowns acting confused about medical insurance. We are incessantly bombarded with flyers in the mail, radio advertisements, and in some cases, door-knockers. Yes, I am talking about the Medicare Open enrollment period which runs from October 15 through December 7.
Okay. I jest, a bit. Understanding your medical insurance plans is important, especially as we continue to age. Each year, it seems, something additional goes haywire in our bodies. Recently when dining with three other female friends, we laughed as we talked about groaning when we sit or stand. Then, we all got up from the booth in which we were sitting and sure enough – each of us made noises. Then we all laughed.
Yet, our need for the right insurance is no laughing matter. Knowing which plan is the right one for our individual needs – current and anticipated – is a challenge. One way to begin to make sense of our options is the Medicare and You publication. It is the government’s official guide to Medicare. This handbook is created each year to inform Medicare recipients of changes in their coverage.
I received my e-handbook in September as I had signed up last year for an electronic copy, rather than having the thick pamphlet sitting on my desk for months before I finally flipped through it and then recycled the book I didn’t read from last year. Signing up for the electronic copy is easy. Log into your Medicare account and select My account settings. If you don’t have an online account, you can create one.
Under the Email and document settings section, select Edit next to Medicare & You Handbook. Then under “How do you want to get your Medicare & You Handbook?” Select Electronically. Remember to Save Changes. And there you go!
According to the website, Medicare & You provides information about Medicare benefits, costs, rights, and protections; Health and drug plans; and Answers to common questions. See https://www.medicare.gov/medicare-and-you . The guide is 128 pages. It is easy to read and quite informative.
At this point you are probably rolling your eyes and thinking, “Really?!” Admittedly this is not as riveting as a favorite novel genre or catching up on stats of your favorite sports teams. We don’t always think about medical insurance coverage …. until we actually need it. But as we continue to age, it is comforting to know that our medical insurance will help us through those times when our health isn’t as it used to be in “the good ol’ days.”
Silver Sage Sisters 