Health & Fitness
What's Step 1 in Signing Up for a Public Part C Medicare Advantage Health Plan?
As I wrote on the post on November 29, as a first step in signing up for a public Part C Medicare Advantage health plan you can call all the Part C providers in Barnstable County one by one. Or... it's a lot easier to go to medicare.gov, enter your zip code, hit "Find Plans," and you will reach the above screen. (This sort of works the same way on the Islands but different counties... different choices.)
You can fill this Step 1 screen out completely (and possibly get some better recommendations when you get to the end of the Medicare Plan Finder process) or you can simply answer "I Don't Know..." to both questions and hit "Continue on...."
There is no real risk of identity theft by answering the questions because you never give any personal information (see Note). But if you are concerned, just hit "I Don't Know..." (and look for my subsequent post on Step 2).
If you DO want to fill out the two sections of Medicare Plan Finder Step 1:
- In the first section choose your present status between Original Medicare or Medicare Health Plan. Plan Finder will then ask you which private supplemental plans you have (if any) if you chose Original Medicare and it will ask you what public Part C plan you are already on if you chose Medicare Health Plan. (If you do not have Medicare yet -- the other option along with "I Don't Know..." -- you can keep going in the process if you want to see what some of your options will be but you can't enroll in Part C -- or Part D -- until you first sign up for Medicare.)
- The second section asks a series of questions about Massachusetts or Federal assistance you might be receiving currently. This is important because it might influence the best drug plan for you and it will definitely influence the price of either Part C or Part D (which are lower for people on Social Security Extra Help/LIS and Medicaid).
NOTE: On the screen where you entered your zip code, you could have -- as an option and if you are already on Medicare -- entered your Medicare number and birth date. If you did this, the medicare.gov system will display information about your current Part A/B/C/D status. If you used the Medicare Plan Finder last year, medicare.gov will also give you the drug list you entered last year when you get to Step 2, making that process easier. I do worry about ID theft but -- in this case -- the government already knows all this stuff so... what the hay...
