Financial advisor assisting woman with paperwork, elevated view

Choosing a Medicare drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan, or changing plans, isn’t like shopping for outfits — but it can be. Like a personal shopper who helps you pick out clothes, the Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIBA) can help you pick a plan, one that’s more suited to your current needs. Unlike a personal shopper, however, this personal service won’t cost you a dime. Certified volunteer Medicare SHIBA counselors help you evaluate your situation and plan options.

It could be like your favorite shirt, the one you’ve had forever, the one that looks and feels so great. Maybe you’ve found the perfect plan, and it just feels the way it’s supposed to, like that favorite shirt. But, maybe your plan is more like the shirt that doesn’t fit so well anymore because it shrunk in the dryer or you gained a few pounds. (I always say it shrunk in the dryer.)

Plans change, people change, so you need to do a plan comparison. Medicare’s annual fall open enrollment is Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, with an effective date of Jan. 1.

Each year drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans change what they cost and what they cover. Medicare requires these plans to mail notification to you each year by Sept. 30 with an Annual Notice of Change letter. It often comes in the form of the next year’s Evidence of Coverage (EOC), which can be many pages long. If you don’t read all the way to page 23 of your EOC, you may miss the fact that the co-pay or tier level of your medication had a significant jump. What cost a $5 co-pay this year is going to be $20 next year. Don’t just look at the formulary and, seeing your medication on the list, think it’s all going to be at the same cost.

Each year we discover new perks plans can offer to save you money. One plan last year offered their preferred generics at very low co-pay and did not require the $310 deductible to be paid first. You can save money with your drug plan if you use preferred pharmacies if the plan has that option. We saw considerable cost savings when people used preferred pharmacies instead of network pharmacies.

I know change is difficult and some people just think it’s too much trouble to do a plan comparison each year. But if you can save hundreds of dollars on your out-of-pocket cost for your medications, wouldn’t that be worth it? You might even be eligible for a resource to help pay for your premiums and co-pays called “Extra Help.”

SHIBA counselors can help you with this task of Benefits Check Up. They can assist with:

• Reviewing the 2015 costs for drug and health plans (premium, co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles).

• Comparing the cost and coverage to other plans in the area and checking to see if the plan covers their medicines, works with their hospital, pharmacy and doctors, and covers the services they need.

• Helping with an online enrollment in the plan of choice that meets their needs.

For all this and more contact SHIBA’s local office at Central Oregon Council on Aging, toll free 1-877-704-4567, or direct line 541-678-5483. Ask to make an appointment with a SHIBA counselor to talk about Medicare insurance options.

See? It’s really easy to do a Benefits Check Up when you have expert assistance. SHIBA counselors speak fluent “Medicare.”