Countywide : Help Offered Seniors on Medicare, Insurance

Senior citizens can obtain help with Medicare bills or information on supplemental insurance policies through programs being conducted by the Orange County Health Planning Council and the Los Alamitos Recreation and Services Department.

The Health Planning Council has scheduled two free information forums on “Medicare and Medicare Supplemental Insurance Policies.”

The program will be presented first at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Cypress Senior Center, 9301 Grindlay St., in Cypress and again at 9 a.m. next Friday at the Irvine Senior Center, 3 Sandburg Way, in Irvine.

According to the council, most older Americans who rely on Medicare alone to cover their medical bills often face an expensive surprise when they get sick because Medicare only pays a portion of the costs, leaving the individual to pay the remainder.

To cover the additional costs, the council said, senior citizens buy specially designed supplemental health insurance policies. In doing so, some have become victims of unfair and unscrupulous sales practices.

The council said the forums it presents are intended to provide information on Medicare, supplemental policies, health maintenance organizations and steps currently being taken to protect Medicare users who purchase added health insurance coverage.

Steve Reed of the federal Social Security Administration will discuss just what costs are covered by Medicare, while Arthur Rosenberg, a health insurance consultant, will provide information on types of supplemental coverage to look for and ways to detect illegal policies and sales practices. The presentations will be followed by question-and-answer periods.

Meanwhile in Los Alamitos, trained counselors are available free of charge to assist senior citizens in filling out Medicare forms and records and to help in evaluating supplemental policies or health maintenance organizations.

The service, which is funded by the state Department of Aging, is available from 1 to 5 p.m. the first and third Thursday of the month. Appointments may be made by calling the Los Alamitos Community Services Department at (213) 430-1073.