Agency offers help to Medicare customers

With the deadline for Medicare enrollment set for Dec. 7, the Flathead County Agency on Aging is working to connect seniors with a plan that makes sense for each individual.

News of the individual market health insurance cost increases has spread across the nation. Lisa Sheppard, the director of the local chapter of Agency on Aging, said while Medicare customers aren’t impacted by those increases, they have been hit hard by medication cost increases.

“We had one man come in the other day who, because his medication list had changed, no plans were as affordable as his 2016 option,” Sheppard said. “It really just depends on the individual — maybe someone’s plan changed and it would be cheaper to switch to a new option. That can be an intimidating process.”

A Reuters analysis released this summer found that in the U.S., per capita spending on prescription drugs was $858 as of 2013. That’s more than twice the $400 average for 19 other industrialized nations, according to the report. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, retail prescription drug spending in 2014 grew by 12.2 percent. That’s compared to a 2.4-percent growth in 2013.

Those numbers, which represent the most recent figures, brought the total spending on prescription drugs nationwide to $297.7 billion in 2014.

According to the Center, the rapid growth in 2014 was due to increased spending for new medications — particularly for specialty drugs. Patent expirations and brand-name drug price increases also contributed to the rising cost.

Private health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid spending on prescription drugs all grew in 2014. At the same time, the nation’s largest health insurers, Medicare and Medicaid, aren’t allowed to negotiate prices. That means under federal law, those insurers — which cover one out of every three Americans — must pay whatever drug producers charge.

Christine Neater, an outreach coordinator for the Flathead agency, said seniors can call 406-758-5730 to set up an appointment for open enrollment Medicare counseling.

She said in the appointment, a person is expected to bring his or her Medicare card, current insurance information, a list of prescriptions and income breakdown.

“Then they meet with a state health insurance program counselor, and they walk through the Medicare.gov website to compare plans,” Neater said. “For a lot of people, it means finding a better plan than what they were on.”

But, she added, since the deadline for Medicare enrollment is less than a month away, appointments are getting booked fast.

Neater also said the agency provides a benefits checkup on people who arrive for enrollment advice.

“Often, people on Medicare are actually eligible for other benefits that they don’t know about,” she said. “There are programs out there to help people with their insurance premiums, co-pays, drug costs, food cost. We help them find and apply for those services.”

Neater said while benefits checkups are offered year-round, it’s automatically included in an open-enrollment counseling appointment.

Sheppard said the Agency on Aging is a neutral source for people who have questions about their medicare coverage. She said the organization’s goal is to connect people with the best option for coverage and benefits they can find — not to promote one company over another.

“Every year, the carriers of the plans can change what’s covered and their prices — it’s so important that people review their plan,” she said. “Or a person’s medical situation or financial situation may have changed, so what worked for them last year won’t in 2017.”

For more information or to schedule an open-enrollment counseling appointment or a benefits checkup, call 406-758-5730.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.