How to Find the Best Medicare Plan for Your Needs

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How to Find the Best Medicare Plan for Your Needs

With 10 different Medicare packages and plans, how are you supposed to figure out what is right for you? To make things even more complicated, what is good coverage for you, may not work for your spouse.

In order to enroll for Medicare medical insurance for 2011, you need to apply between November 15 and December 31, 2010. Don't just assume that the coverage you had last year is going to be good enough for this year as there have been many changes. All plans involve premiums, but they are much cheaper than private health insurance coverage.

There are a number of free and fee-based options to allow you to compare plans and to determine which is best for you and for your spouse. Some of them are:

- Medicare has seven different call centers throughout the country to help you determine which will be the best plan for your needs. The number is 1-800-MEDICARE or 1-800-633-4227
- SHIP, or the State Health Insurance Assistance Program can offer you Medicare counseling and assistance through their website
- The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) can put you in touch with over 600 agencies that deal with aging issues including Medicare counseling
- The Medicare Rights Center is another non-profit organization dedicated to helping people navigate the tricky plans
- Allsup is a company that offers Medicare Advisor services, for a fee

Once enrolled in the Medicare program you do have some time in order to make any necessary changes before the plan goes into effect. That being said, don't delay because time is running out.

   

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