Washington, DC—U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) today encouraged Medicare beneficiaries to participate in the program’s annual Open Enrollment period to make sure their plan meets their health care needs. The Open Enrollment period, which runs from October 15 through December 7, allows Medicare beneficiaries to review their current health and drug plans to choose the one that best suits them.
“The Open Enrollment period is an excellent way to guarantee that Medicare recipients have the plan that best fits their needs,” Johnson said. “There are several resources to efficiently compare plans and I encourage all Medicare beneficiaries to review their plan.”
South Dakotans on Medicare, their families and other trusted representatives have many resources to assess and evaluate current plan coverage, including:
• Contacting the Senior Health Information and Insurance Education (SHIINE) program, administered by the South Dakota Department of Social Services Division of Adult Services and Aging. By phone: Eastern SD – 605-333-3314, Central SD – 605-224-3212, Western SD – 605-342-8635 or visit: http://www.shiine.net/.
• Visiting www.medicare.gov, where they can get a personalized comparison of costs and coverage of the plans available by zip code.
Multilingual Open Enrollment information and counseling is available.
• Calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) for around-the-clock assistance to find out more about coverage options. Text Telephone Device users should call 1-877-486-2048.
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