Kupuna: Medicare open enrollment ends soon

HONOLULU (KHON2) — An important deadline for kupuna is coming up.

The medicare open enrollment season is ending next week.

But as kristine Uyeno tells us, there’s still time to make changes to your plan, if you need to.

If you’d like to enroll in Medicare or switch plans, now is the time.

Kerry Murphy from UnitedHealthcare said, “You know what’s really important is you’ll want to look at your current plan, review it to see if there are any changes that are going to occur, also look at your current health status to see if your current health plan still makes sense.”

Kerry Murphy with UnitedHealthcare advises people to look at their budget and find out what their out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles and co-pays, will be with each plan.

Plus, take a look at your prescription medications and the plans that cover them. And don’t forget about mental health care coverage.

Murphy explained, “Since 2015, depression has been on the rise in our seniors and now we’re up to 62 percent of our seniors frequently deal with mental health distress.”

Kupuna who are at least 65 years old are eligible for the federal health insurance program.

It’s also available for people who have certain disabilities or conditions. Murphy said first-timers will want to make sure they have Medicare A and Medicare Part B, which cover hospital and professional services.

“It’s like the ABCs of Medicare, you’re able to choose a part C plan which we call Medicare Advantage which is very popular plan for seniors to choose because it’s an all-in-one plan,” said Murphy.

Murphy encourages people to talk to loved ones and review plans together, so no one is hit with unexpected surprises.

KHON asked: “What’s the biggest mistake people make?

Murphy said, “Not doing anything, not checking what their current coverage is going to look like for next year because Medicare plans can change from year to year.”

The Medicare open enrollment season runs until Dec. 7. If you’d like to know more, go to medicare.gov, or talk to a local medicare insurance agent, many will be working this weekend.