Time is running out for making Medicare changes for 2024

||| FROM PEGI GROUNDWATER for SHIBA |||

Medicare Open Enrollment ends next week on December 7. If you haven’t checked yet to see if you should make changes for next year, there is still time. Volunteers with the Statewide Health Beneficiary Advisors SHIBA) will be at the Orcas library this Thursday, November 30, and next Thursday, December 7, from 1-4 to help people.

There are many reasons why Medicare and SHIBA recommend that you check each year to see if your coverage is right for the next year:

• Plans disappear and new plans appear.
• There are new plans in our County that help people who get help from the State with
  medical costs.
• Elixir insurance will not be available next year.
• There is a new $0 premium drug plan that is saving money for many people.
• Most plans have increased their deductibles and premiums.
  Plans have changed the medications they cover, dropping some and adding others. Plans have changed their formularies to put drugs in different tiers.
• This means some medications will be more expensive next year unless you change plans.
• Advantage plans change their provider networks each year.
• Your providers may not be in network next year, so you would have to change providers or pay the full cost of your visits to see your current providers.
• SHIBA is a free, unbiased and confidential service offered through the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

SHIBA has trained volunteer counselors on the three major islands in San Juan County to provide assistance with Medicare enrollment and problems throughout the year. Call the Orcas Island SHIBA office at 360-376-5892 to schedule your free personal, confidential, unbiased counseling session. The Orcas Senior Center sponsors the San Juan County SHIBA volunteers.