Free Medicare plan information will be provided next Tuesday

Puget Island resident Scot Roskelley, will give a “Medicare 101” talk at the Cathlamet Community Center Tuesday, November 15 at noon.

Before moving to the Island seven years ago, he worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, traveling throughout Illinois giving presentations on Medicare, trying to simplify what can be a very complex and confusing set of choices.

His Cathlamet presentation is designed both for those who are a few years out from retiring and starting Medicare, as well as those who are already enrolled in Medicare. He will discuss Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare drug plans, and Medigap or Medicare Supplemental plans -- how they work and the pros and cons of each of them.

“Because I did this for a living, friends and relatives periodically come to me asking me to explain Medicare to them. I decided perhaps I could volunteer to do a community presentation, especially since now is open enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans (with a December 7 deadline), and the topic is top of mind with so much advertising right now,” he said.

Roskelley doesn’t sell insurance, so there’s no pitch for any products.

“There are definitely things people should be aware of up front about Medicare plans. For instance, the intent is that everyone should have what’s called “creditable coverage,” he says. “If you turn 65 and still have employee sponsored insurance, or military insurance, or insurance provided by a spouse, that’s considered “creditable coverage.” But if you don’t have coverage (including prescription drug coverage), and you don’t enroll in Medicare at age 65, whenever you eventually do enroll in the plan, you pay a penalty for not having had creditable insurance. In other words, you’ll pay more for Medicare than everyone else is paying.”

He will give people a tour of the Medicare.gov website, and show people the “Medicare and You 2023 handbook,” explaining some of the pertinent things people will find inside.

There will be a question and answer session at the end of the presentation. He says he is happy to stay as long as he needs in order to answer people’s questions.