Question: I went to the medicare.gov website and I see an updated website. I tried to use it, and had some questions. What can you tell me about this update?

Answer: Great to talk with someone who uses the medicare.gov website, which has been a useful source of Medicare information since 2005. We have come to rely on this website in many ways.

Another change since 2005 is our reliance on the internet and being ‘connected’ to the information available on it. We can access our banking, shopping, and medical professionals via web-based information portals. This access requires setting up a user name and a password to allow you access anywhere, worldwide, to your information.

We see our government agencies doing this same thing. You can apply for many benefits online. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) are doing this as well. We have talked about the medicare.gov website in the past, but there is now a significant change to how we use this website.

This Annual Open Enrollment season, there is a new medicare.gov website. The new site launched Tuesday and is significantly different in how it looks and how you access your information. The website will immediately request/require you to create a login and password. This new login and password will be for mymedicare.gov which will be seamlessly connected to medicare.gov website.

With the login and password setup, you can begin to set up your Medicare-related information. This year you will have to re-enter your medication list, as your previously saved medication list won’t be accessible.

As with any website change, this will take a bit of adjustment. It will look different and have different information highlighted. The changes will make the website more useful.

Going forward, the portal, will be accessible to find medical claim information, providers, and medication information. The website’s technology allows us to access medication claims processed through our prescription drug plans, allowing real time data related to our prescription drugs.

The medicare.gov website will continue to offer the opportunity to review and evaluate alternative insurance options for the new year and anytime we want to access the website to review and compare plans. This is useful tool when looking at your situation during open enrollment. This can also be useful at other times, taking a new medication, or new diagnosis that is changing your situation significantly. This website allows you to compare alternative plans anytime, providing options and alternatives available to you in switching your insurance. That evaluation can happen anytime during the year as long as you have an Enrollment Period or Special Enrollment Period available.

This new website allows you to print out a new Medicare card, also to check on medical claims. You can get e-version of the “Medicare & You” handbook, notifications and Medicare Summary Notices (MSN’s).

Once established the website portal allows you to edit your information, your mailing address, email, and communication preferences. You can get information via regular mail or email.

At the website a LiveChat with Medicare Customer Service Staff is available. A chat useful when you find there is something you don’t understand, or cannot access information.

As we move into the open enrollment period (Oct. 15 to Dec. 7) there are a many individuals looking to this new updated website for information and enrollment. It is important to allow some extra time to look at the new website.

As with any change, it takes some adjustment for us to become as comfortable.

The timing is not the greatest, but the timing was dictated by the Federal Budget Fiscal Year. Tuesday was also the first day we could see the new plan data for 2020.

To contact me, GCMC with questions or concerns, please call 720-9797 or e-mail me at janells@lutheran-jamestown.org.