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Ask SHIP – Your Monthly Medicare Q & A
State Health Insurance Assistance Program
Q: I received a letter from my Medicare Advantage Plan provider that I owe premiums. My premiums are supposed to come out of my Social Security check. Is this a scam?
A: If you enrolled in a new Medicare Advantage Plan or a Part D Prescription Drug Plan during 2019, then this might not be a scam.
Some 2019 Medicare plan enrollees didn’t have their Medicare Advantage Plan or Medicare Prescription Drug Plan premiums taken out from their Social Security benefit check. This was a mistake.
This has affected new enrollees for Medicare Advantage Plans and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans. These premiums did not get taken from their Social Security benefit check beginning in February 2019, even if that is what the beneficiary had chosen.
Your Medicare Advantage Plan or Medicare Prescription Drug Plan may send you a bill for any premiums that weren’t taken out of your Social Security payments.
The first thing you should do is to follow any instructions from your Medicare plan regarding your premiums. If you aren’t sure which Medicare plan you’re enrolled in, check your plan card or materials.
Unless you told your plan you now want to pay your premiums a different way, your plan premiums will be taken out properly from your Social Security payments beginning in June or July 2019 through the rest of the year.
If you receive a bill from your plan provider, your plan must offer you a certain amount of time to repay your premium payments that were missed. This period must last at least as long as the delay in billing. Contact your Medicare plan directly with any questions or concerns.
If you were dis-enrolled from your Medicare Advantage Plan or Part D drug plan due to non-payment of these premiums and your plan provider has not re-enroll you in the plan you were in, contact 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048. You can file a formal complaint and request to be re-enrolled.
You may also call SHIP for any questions related to Medicare. Contact SHIP at 1-800-452-4800, 1-866-846-0139 TDD or online at www.medicare.in.gov.
*SHIP is a free, unbiased counseling program provided by the Indiana State Department of Insurance.
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Magazine Promotes Successful Aging
Generations Magazine is a free publication especially for active and informed adults that made its debut in the fall of 1998. Promoting successful aging for individuals in pre-retirement and retirement years, the magazine provides helpful information on a wide array of topics including health and fitness, caregiving and legal issues, investment and financial advice, and light reading to educational opportunities available through many outreach efforts and programs. Featured guest writers bring additional expertise and credability to the magazine’s professionalism and dedication to quality.
Generations Magazine is published 3 times a year and is sent to more than 5,000 subscribers. With advertiser support, we are able to provide the magazine free of charge to our readers. To be added to our mailing list, email your name and address to Linda Yochum at lyochum@vinu.edu or call 1-800-742-9002.
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UPCOMING MATTER OF BALANCE CLASSES
If you are interested in attending a Matter of Balance class in the future and you live in, or near our six-county service area, please contact Alma Kramer at (812)888-4527. If enough interest is generated in an area, we will do our best to set up a class in that area.
The Alzheimer’s Association provides caregivers and families with comprehensive online resources and information Their professionally staffed 24/7 Helpline (1.800.272.3900) offers information and advice to more than 250,000 callers each year. Visit their website at: www.alz.org
The Support Group for Caregivers of Loved Ones with Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia meets the second Tuesday of each month at 4 p.m. at Central Church of Christ (Fellowship Hall), 1600 Forbes Road, Vincennes. The meetings provide the latest information on Alzheimer's research and medications, help and encouragement from other caregivers and open but confidential discussions and a chance to be heard. For more information, contact Roger Wright, Support Group Facilitator, at (812) 882-7963 or centralccc@gmail.com.
Every Penny Counts.
For as little as $25 a month, you can provide a family in need with the peace of mind that comes from owning their own Personal Emergency Response System. For $50, you can give a caregiver what he or she needs most: an afternoon out of the house with the help of our respite care program. And for less than that, you can provide our clients with Meals on Wheels gift certificates, transportation tokens, and even one-of-a-kind Teddy Bears. The point is, your contribution can help our friends and neighbors continue to live independently.
To help us meet our mission and financial challenges, we’ve established the "Looking to the Future" endowment through the Vincennes University Foundation. In addition, donations may also be made to Generations endowment through the Dubois County Community Foundation, Huntingburg Community Foundation and Greene County Community Foundation.
If you're interested in learning more about donating to Generations, you may click the donation button on home page of our website, or give us a call at 1-800-742-9002. You may also donate by mail. Your tax-deductible gift to Generations may be mailed to:
GENERATIONS
1019 N. 4th Street P.O. Box 314 Vincennes, IN 47591
Generations is thankful for the financial support provided by United Way, Community Foundations and charitable businesses, organizations and individuals in our communities.