YOU’RE 65 OR OLDER, and here are your options:
Climb the highest mountain.

Go skydiving.

Play quarterback for the Eagles. (Hey, if Sam Bradford doesn’t
want the job … .)
Make sense of Medicare.

Before you answer, know that the mountain is really, really steep,
the parachute’s been a bit cranky of late and Eagles’ fans aren’t the
most patient, especially if they think their grandma can throw the
ball better than you.

So, Medicare it is. Gulp.

For starters, you’re wondering, “Why do I keep getting all this
mail, and what am I supposed to do with it?” It’s as if a little bird
told every insurance company in the country you’re turning 65. In-
stead of sending you birthday greetings, they’re sending you
Medicare and Medigap — we’ll get into all that later — plans.

Sifting through the rubble and trying to make sense of it isn’t easy,
which is why nonprofit agencies like APPRISE are out there for free
consultations. They’ll explain all the options to you, look at your spe-
cific circumstances and try to point you in the right direction.

The only thing they won’t do is make an actual recommendation.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM “We go through
an overview of Medicare and
how it works,” explained Barbara Rutberg, a
former Upper Dublin High English teacher who’s
been volunteering for APPRISE the past four years. “We offer all
services and counseling.

“Depending upon the needs of the individual and specific con-
ditions, we’ll suggest several choices. But we do not recommend.

We’re unbiased. We try to point out the pluses or minuses.”
According to Rutberg, there’s so much confusion about just what
Medicare is and what benefits you’re getting, depending on which
part of the plan you sign up.

And there’s no easy answer to all this.

The simplified version is that when you turn 65 you are auto-
matically enrolled in coverage for Part A, which deals with hospi-
talization, nursing care and home health services.

From there, it gets complicated.

Part B covers lab tests, surgeries and doctor visits — assuming
that your doctor accepts Medicare, which has become more the ex-
ception than the rule in recent years. That’s because of the low fee
reimbursements and hassles in filing claims.

For most people, there’s a $121.80 monthly premium to belong
to Part B, but because it only covers so much — leaving patients with
huge deductibles and other costs — many look to supplement that.

That’s where things get even more muddled, as folks decide
THE GOOD LIFE
See MEDICARE, Page 18
MAY 12, 2016
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