Health insurance

News Release

Mary Loftis

UNL Extension and SHIIP Volunteer

September 12, 2013

STATE OF NEBRASKA

Dave Heineman Governor

Mary Loftis

DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE

Bruce R. Ramge Director 941

Health Insurance Marketplace Is Not for People with Medicare

If you have Medicare, the new Health Insurance Marketplace doesn’t affect your Medicare coverage. The Health Insurance Marketplace is designed to help people who do not have health insurance. You don’t have to replace your Medicare coverage with Marketplace coverage. No matter how you get Medicare, whether through Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage Plan, you’ll still have the same benefits and security you have now.

Medicare’s Open Enrollment is not part of the new Health Insurance Marketplace. Medicare Open Enrollment (October 15 – December 7, 2013) is the time when all people with Medicare are encouraged to review their current health and prescription drug coverage, including any changes in costs, coverage and benefits that will take effect next year.

The Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment period (October 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014) overlaps with the Medicare Open Enrollment period (October 15 – December 7, 2013). Therefore, people with Medicare who are looking to make Medicare coverage changes should make sure that they are reviewing Medicare plans and not Marketplace options.

It is against the law to knowingly sell a Marketplace health plan to someone with Medicare. A Medicare beneficiary who is contacted by a representative of a Marketplace health insurance plan should not reveal any personal information, such as their Medicare claim number.

People with Medicare who have questions about their coverage or who want to compare prescription drug plans for next year should contact the Nebraska Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) for free, unbiased information. SHIIP can be reached at their toll-free hotline at 800-234-7119 or at the UNL Extension Office in Burt County at: 402-374-2929.

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The Nebraska Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) is part of a national network, funded by a grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, that offers unbiased counseling and educational services designed to help senior citizens and those with disabilities make informed decisions on topics related to health insurance. With over 300 volunteers across the state, the Nebraska SHIIP is coordinated within the Nebraska Department of Insurance.

Mary Loftis,

Extension Assistant
UNL Extension – Burt County
111 North 13th Street, Suite 6
Tekamah, NE 68061
Phone: (402) 374-2929

Fax: (402) 374-2930

Internet: mloftis2@unl.edu