Greta Ingle has worn many hats in her time at Thrive Allen County.
She started as a navigator to assist clients enrolling in health insurance programs after the Affordable Care Act became law.
She eventually became a care coordinator for those receiving Medicaid assistance.
Now this fall, she added another responsibility, as a volunteer SHICK counselor to assist clients with questions about Medicare.
SHICK Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas is a free program offered to seniors enrolling into Medicare for the first time, or if they need to change their drug plans because of changes to their health or prescriptions.
Thats important now because the Medicare open enrollment plan began earlier this week and runs through Dec. 7, offering consumers an opportunity to change their plans if necessary.
Its always good to look every year to see if there are changes, either to your insurance or your Medicare plan, Ingle said.
The service is offered free of charge. Clients are welcome to visit Ingle at the Thrive office at 9 S. Jefferson Ave. during regular business hours, or they can call to schedule an appointment after hours by calling (620) 365-8128.
ENROLLING in or otherwise changing Medicare coverage can be confusing, even to skilled counselors, Ingle noted, because Medicare is divvied up into specific plans, or parts.
Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) typically do not change from year to year.
But the infamous Medicare Part D, for medication, can change from year to year, Ingle said.
She pointed to one visit this week in which a clients drug plan was forced to change.
If a plan goes away in the system, theyll automatically enroll you in another plan, Ingle said, but it may not be as amenable.
The updated plan pushed the clients monthly premium from $13.20 a month to $52.
Thats a big jump, especially if youre on a fixed income, Ingle said.
She was able to find a similar, less costly Part D plan.
