Every Medicare open enrollment season, Bill Miller can count on making changes to his coverage.
With nearly 20 years of experience navigating the federal program, Miller said there’s always something new. This year, he switched providers after his previous one raised the price of one of his medications by more than $1,000 a year.
“The federal government’s dropping programs every year, and the costs change dramatically every year,” he said. “If you don’t pick up on that, you can be paying an exorbitant amount for your prescriptions.”
With help from The Senior Source, an organization that serves older adults and caregivers in Dallas County, Miller switched to a plan that worked better for him.
“You have to be really on top of it. I don’t think an individual can really do that,” he said. “I think you need assistance.”
Stacey Malcolmson, The Senior Source president and CEO, said enrolling in Medicare can be a process rife with confusion, from eligibility requirements to what each plan offers.
“It really cannot be more confusing, especially for older adults who have been on an employer-based health plan. You just check one or two choices a year and you’re off to the races,” she said. “This being exposed to sometimes 100 choices in a year can be overwhelming.”
The confusion also opens the door for potential scams. Medicare fraud costs the U.S. between $60 and $90 billion per year.
The Senior Source’s Elder Financial Safety Center serves as many as 6,000 people a year, providing not just Medicare assistance but also things like insurance counseling, debt management and employment services. Since its founding in 2014, it has saved Dallas County residents $65 million from spotting scams, according to The Senior Source. The center offers technology classes to adults that range from navigating telehealth appointments to protecting their information online.
“That experience and knowledge will help them not only make better decisions when there are online forms to fill out, but it also protects them," Malcolmson said. "They’re just going to be that much less likely to fall prey to a fraud or scam."
Dallas resident Sybil Hawkins has used the classes to learn how to better use both her computer and her cellphone.
"This 21st century technology has not just been too kind to me," she said. "I have not embraced it, or it has not embraced me. We have not embraced each other very well."
Hawkins has gotten more comfortable navigating mobile applications and texting. Malcolmson said text messages have become an increasingly common vehicle for scammers to use.
“It’s so tempting to answer the text message because we’re programmed to respond to text messages very quickly," she said. "We all want to be a good student, if you will, and respond to a text message."
For Hawkins, who has utilized The Senior Source services on and off over the years, the nonprofit offers her help with everything from booking travel to navigating the benefits from her time as a U.S. Postal Service employee. This year, the Elder Financial Safety Center helped her switch insurance providers – and face the mountains of mailers that accompany enrollment season.
“You need to bounce this stuff off of somebody else ... who you feel you can trust and who really has some knowledge about what you ought to do and give you some options,” she said.
Medicare open enrollment for 2025 ends Saturday, Dec. 7.
Got a tip? Email Kailey Broussard at kbroussard@kera.org.
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