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Medicare Open Enrollment Period Ends Soon

With the open enrollment period for Medicare ending December 7th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services encourages all recipients to take the time to evaluate their plan for 2018.  

Elissa Balch, Health Insurance Specialist, says in Nebraska there are 19 different Medicare Advantage Plans and 23 different Medicare prescription drug plans.

Balch says with the Medicare website, Medicare.gov, recipients can do their own plan comparisons. She says at the Find Health and Drug Plans option, after entering a bit of information, they will get a comparison of costs under the plans available to them.  

“We do see that some people have a significant savings if they change their plans. For the time that it takes, especially those who are comfortable with using the website and plugging in the information, it is fairly intuitive and easy to use. For some people, although it may not be worth them changing plans, it doesn’t take a lot of time to do it, and for the people that would experience a savings, it’s definitely worth their time.”  

Balch says for those who prefer to talk with someone, there are two options: the Nebraska Senior Health Insurance Information Program, at 800-234-7119, or the Medicare Call Center at 800-633-4227.  She says the Call Center is open 24-7, 360 days a year and offers help both evaluating plans and enrolling in them.

For more information, the website is Medicare.gov