By Steve Dinnen
By now, everyone nearing or past age 65 should have received “Medicare & You 2024,” a 130-page guide to the way Medicare works. The government mailed this out because the Medicare and Medicare Advantage enrollment periods opened as early as Oct. 15. (You can switch plans if you’re already enrolled.)
Making sense of what “Medicare & You” presents is a formidable task. For example, Aetna Medicare offers its Elite PPO (preferred provider organization), its Premier PPO, its Premier Plus PPO and something called a SmartFit PPO. Then they are four different HMOs (health maintenance organizations). Altogether, there are 73 different ways to buy a Medicare Advantage or other health care plan in Iowa. Each has different expenses, charges and deductibles.
Fidelity estimates that retired couples will need, on average, $315,000 to cover health care expenses. Since Medicare plays an outsized role, you might seek help. SHIIP, the Iowa Insurance Division’s Senior Health Insurance Information Program, educates consumers on Medicare. They have counselors, 800-351-4664, and they also stage information events.
Check the SHIIP website to find an in-person seminar near you or watch a recording of a recent meeting.
