Medicare 101: Understanding Your Options
A plain-English class for people approaching Medicare and the family members helping them decide. About 90 minutes, with time for questions.
This is an educational event. No plan-specific benefits are discussed and no enrollment applications are taken. There is no cost to attend and large-print handouts are available.
What we cover
The four parts
A, B, C and D — what each one actually pays for, and how they fit together.
Two roads
Original Medicare with a supplement and a drug plan, versus Medicare Advantage. The honest trade-offs of each.
Drug coverage
How Part D works, why the same prescription can cost different amounts on different plans, and the late-enrollment penalty.
Dates and deadlines
Your initial window, the annual fall window, and the special situations that open one mid-year.
Networks and referrals
What it means when a plan has a network, and how to check whether your doctors are in it.
Common mistakes
The ones that cost real money, including assuming other coverage replaces Medicare.
Upcoming dates
The fall class schedule is being set now.
Call or email and I'll let you know as soon as dates and locations are confirmed. No obligation, and your information won't be used for anything else.
Host a class
If you run a church group, an HOA, a senior center, a library program or a 55+ community and your members keep asking Medicare questions, I'll come teach it. There's no cost and nothing is sold at the event.
I bring the handouts and the projector. You bring the room and the coffee.
Not sure where to start?
Call and ask one question, or sit down for an hour and go through the whole thing. Either is fine, and neither costs you anything.