Attempting to understand Medicare can be a headache for many. With multiple pieces of mail piling up, trying to make sense of it all is not easy. Thankfully, Henry County has counselors that are able to provide assistance to those with questions.
SHIIP, Senior Health Insurance Information Program, offers one-on-one counseling that is completely free. The State of Iowa offers this confidential service to help Iowans make informed decisions about Medicare and other health coverage. These individuals do not sell or promote any insurance companies, policies, or agents.
Unfortunately, fraud is a real thing and people will call posing as Medicare volunteers. Some red flags of fraud that you should watch out for are charges on your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN0 or Explanation of Benefits (EOB) that you don’t recognize, High-pressure sales for Medicare Advantage (Part C) or drug plans, or a caller requesting your information. Medicare will never call you requesting your information, they will always mail a letter for official business. Make sure not to give out your Medicare number, as that is very important. If you have any questions, call a SHIIP counselor!
Counselors can be trusted because they once had the same questions that you have. They go through extensive training in order to best serve others. With multiple training sessions, homework, quizzes, and education on all topics related to Medicare, they certainly know what they are doing.
There are five SHIIP counselors currently, and they are expecting to bring a 6th in 2024. An office assistant also helps to answer the phone, as this is a call-in program. If you’d like to request an appointment with a counselor, please call 319 385 6774 to set one up.
The next Welcome to Medicare Seminar is fast approaching, Tuesday April 2nd at Health Education Center in HCHC from 6:30-8:30pm. They cover all the different aspects of Medicare. If you’d like to register for this Welcome to Medicare Seminar, please call 319 385 6774 and leave a message saying that you wish to enroll, and a volunteer will call you back.