Tips to consider when choosing your coverage

• Look beyond a plan’s premiums. They may not be the best gauge of total out-of-pocket costs.

• Check out whether the doctors you see are in the plan’s network you are considering because going out of network can cost you more.

• Make sure all the drugs you take are covered either in your MA plan or by a Part D plan. Taking a drug that isn’t covered or isn’t considered a “preferred” medication could mean you’ll pay more out of pocket. Copays differ among the plans, so be careful to look at what the 2021 costs will be.

• The best place to start is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plan-finder website. The medicare. gov home page will guide you through your enrollment journey. You can compare coverage and costs between Original Medicare and MA plans and get detailed information about Part D choices. The site also includes a cost calculator.

• Medicare enrollees should think about what hospital they might want to be treated at in the event they get seriously ill and make sure, for example, if they are in an MA plan that the hospital they prefer is part of that network.

TIPS, page 6 Consider This

• CMS has created a one-stop online tool to help you learn more about the providers and hospitals that might be included in the Medicare plans you are considering.

CMS has consolidated the eight websites that consumers have been able to use to compare and choose providers, including hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and other facilities into one streamlined Medicare online tool.

• CMS also continues to expand the availability of telehealth benefits, particularly amid the COVID-19 crisis. Virtual check-ins with doctors and other health care providers are available to all Medicare beneficiaries.

• Medicare Advantage plans also are expanding the availability of extra services, particularly for the 73 percent of beneficiaries who have chronic health conditions.

These benefits range from meals at home to transportation to health appointments to nutrition counseling to safety improvements to your home.

Not all MA plans offer these benefits, so look carefully at their coverage descriptions on the plan-finder site.

Personal Help

• Medicare.gov has an online chat feature available during open enrollment, and the toll-free Medicare hotline, 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227), is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Counselors with the Health Insurance and Counseling Advocacy Program (HICAP) can help you understand changes in coverage and assist you with identifying other plans that might be a better fit for your health care and budget needs.

HICAP, a program through the Council on Aging, Southern California, is available at (714) 619-4361 or visit https://www.coasc. org/hicap to schedule an appointment online. —from Medicare.gov, AARP, KaiserPermenente, Council on Aging, OC