- Champaign County Health Care Consumers - https://www.healthcareconsumers.org -

Medicare Open Enrollment is upon us! Go to CCHCC’s Medicare Open Enrollment Center!

October 14, 2021

Dear friends,

Medicare Open Enrollment for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D (prescription drug) plans begins on Friday, October 15, 2021!

If you have Medicare, or will soon be new to Medicare, Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) is here to help! Please see below for more information, and to learn about CCHCC’s Medicare Open Enrollment Center and what we’ve got available for you!

Medicare Open Enrollment – from October 15 through December 7, 2021
Medicare Open Enrollment for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D (prescription drug plans) takes place every year from October 15 through December 7, for the following year.

What if you don’t want to change plans because your plan works for you?
Even if you like your Medicare Advantage Plan or Medicare Part D Plan, we still encourage you to check your insurance plan for the coming year. Insurance companies are allowed to make changes to their plans and their drug formularies, so even if you like your plan, it is important to check it out during Open Enrollment to make sure that your plan will continue to work well for you, given any changes that may have been made.

If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan or a Medicare Part D Plan, this is your opportunity to review your plan to make sure it will continue to meet your needs for the coming year, or to change plans, if needed.

CCHCC staff are available to help! Contact us to schedule appointments during Open Enrollment to help answer your Medicare-related questions and to help guide you through your decisions about whether to keep or change your plans.

Also, if you are going to be new to Medicare, CCHCC can help!  CCHCC can help you get set up for your Medicare enrollment and to help you make the decisions you will need to make about your coverage.

In addition, CCHCC can help provide information about programs like Medicare Extra Help and Medicare Savings, that can help lower the costs of Medicare expenses for low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

If you need help with your Medicare Open Enrollment, please contact CCHCC to schedule an appointment with one of our knowledgeable staff! To contact CCHCC for help, please call our office phone and leave a voicemail message at 217-352-6533, or send us an email at cchcc@cchcc-il.org [1]. Please be sure to include the following information in your voicemail or email message:
• Your name
• Your phone number
• What you are calling about – for example, help with Medicare Open Enrollment.

We will contact you to schedule your appointment!

CCHCC’s Medicare Open Enrollment Center – check it out!
Normally, CCHCC would be hosting a Medicare Open Enrollment Community Meeting, where you could come to hear/see a presentation, pick up informational materials, and ask us questions and schedule appointments for enrollment. But, due to the pandemic, we are not able to hold our community meetings. So, instead, we have created the Medicare Open Enrollment Center.

You can visit our Medicare Open Enrollment Center here. [2]

On this webpage, you will see links to a variety of resources, including:
– A video showing our PowerPoint presentation, with CCHCC staff members explaining Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplements, and Medicare Part D, as well as other resources to help make Medicare coverage more affordable.
– Our PowerPoint presentation, without the narration, showing just the slides.
– A variety of handouts including: “Intro to Medicare”, “Guide for Choosing a Medicare Plan”, “Your Medicare Choices”, “Medicare Savings Program (financial assistance for Part B premiums)”; and “Extra Help to Save on Drug Costs”).
– A Spanish version of all the handouts listed immediately above.

Please check out our Medicare Open Enrollment page, and help share the information with others!

How CCHCC will do Open Enrollment work during the pandemic:
Normally, CCHCC would hold Community Meetings for each Open Enrollment, in order to provide information, answer questions, and set up appointments. We cannot hold Community Meetings this year because of pandemic restrictions, but we are still gearing up to help our community! We are providing help by producing on-line presentations that can be viewed and shared, scheduling appointments for one-on-one help with enrollment, and providing written resources and information that will be posted on our website and shared through email and social media. CCHCC has you covered!

If you need help, please contact CCHCC by phone at 217-352-6533 or by email at cchcc@cchcc-il.org [1]. Please leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

Also, please remember that ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment is also just around the corner!

ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment – from November 1, 2021 through January 15, 2022
There is a lot going on with the ACA (that will be a subject for a different email!), but it’s important to remember that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is still the law of the land! So, that means that private health insurance, and subsidies to make that insurance affordable, are still available through the ACA Marketplace! Also, for lower-income folks, Medicaid is still available, and Medicaid enrollment is available year-round. If you are not sure whether you qualify for a Marketplace plan with a subsidy, or for Medicaid, we can help you figure that out!

Most folks who get their health insurance through the ACA Marketplace need help and guidance with their enrollment process, and with applying for financial assistance. CCHCC is here and ready to help!

If you need help with your ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment, please contact CCHCC to schedule an appointment with one of our knowledgeable staff! To contact CCHCC for help, please call our office phone and leave a voicemail message at 217-352-6533, or send us an email at cchcc@cchcc-il.org. [1] We will contact you to schedule your appointment!

CCHCC is the only organization in Champaign County that can help local residents with BOTH Medicare Open Enrollment, as well as ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment. And our services are FREE!
CCHCC is the ONLY organization in Champaign County that has trained, certified, and experienced staff who can help with BOTH Medicare and ACA Marketplace Open Enrollments, as well as Medicaid enrollment! CCHCC’s services are free. You can help support CCHCC’s Open Enrollment work by sharing our information with others, and also by making a financial contribution to CCHCC.

YOU can help CCHCC get Champaign County covered!
You can help us get as many community members as possible covered with the best insurance to meet their needs by helping to spread the word about our services, and about Open Enrollment. You can share our emails, Facebook posts, etc. with your networks to help get the word out. You can also help support our work by making a contribution to CCHCC. Outreach and education efforts will be more important than ever this year, because the pandemic is making it more challenging for folks to get the information and help they need. Your contribution will help support our outreach and enrollment work, which is provided free to our community.

DONATE NOW! [3]

As always, we appreciate your support!

Sincerely,
Champaign County Health Care Consumers