Volunteers Help Navigate Medicare's Maze

By Gil Klein

Russell Schiavone said his efforts as a volunteer helping fellow Virginians make sense of Medicare are as rewarding as anything he has ever done.

The Roanoke retiree, 60, travels around the city giving talks to groups about how Medicare works. As part of a state program, he also fields questions by phone and in person from people confused by the system.

Schiavone recalled helping one man enroll in the Medicare Extra Help program, which subsidizes drug costs. “He was having hard times making ends meet,” he said. “I was able to get his Part D insurance premium paid. I was able to get his drugs for a minimal cost. That really helped him out a lot.”

Medicare, along with Advantage, supplemental and Medigap plans, can be confusing. The Medicare website and toll-free number (800-633-4227) can help. So can AARP’s Q and A tool ( aarp.org/health/medicare-qa-tool). Insurance salespeople will help—at a price.

The Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (VICAP) offers detailed, unbiased advice from about 200 volunteers who typically work with local Area Agencies on Aging.

“We had more than 65,000 contacts with Medicare beneficiaries just in the past year,” said Kathy Miller, director of programs for the state’s Division for the Aging. “Without this program, I don’t know what those individuals would do, because the Medicare program is so very complex.”

Focus on drug costs
She said advice is particularly important from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, during open enrollment for Medicare, when recipients face a complex set of insurance possibilities—and a wrong decision can be costly.

“We had a gentleman from Greensville County who went to an event in Emporia,” Miller said. “By changing plans, they were able to save him about $7,000 a year.”

VICAP depends on volunteers to provide one-on-one help. It needs people such as Schiavone who are willing to take the time to understand how to find information about Medicare and then to be available for a couple of days a week to answer questions.

AARP encourages members to take advantage of the program and to become volunteers. To get advice, or to learn more about volunteering, call your local Area Agency on Aging or go to vda.virginia.gov/aaalist.asp.

“It’s a free resource that many people don’t know about. We often hear of people having such trouble figuring out Medicare,” said Amber Nightingale Sultane, AARP Virginia associate state director for community outreach. “Our goal is to help people know it is available and encourage them to use it.”

Bilingual volunteers are especially needed. Carma Ryan, Arlington County’s VICAP coordinator, uses the services of a Language Line, which allows for a three-way call with an interpreter.

Veterans of the program say that seeing their work have an impact on others is a great reward.

“It’s a win-win for the people who get out there and do it,” said Howard Houghton, 63, who spent nearly 20 years running the VICAP program in Fairfax County before retiring and moving to Harrisonburg, where he now volunteers with the Valley Program for Aging Services.

“The training goes layer by layer through the complexities of Medicare,” Ryan said. “You don’t have to memorize anything. You just need to know how to find information.”

Houghton, who calls himself the “Johnny Appleseed of Medicare,” is making plans to get the word out before the program’s open season begins in October.

“I go to where seniors hang out,” he said. “I go out there and start banging the drum. I can tell you that most people save money by reviewing their plans during open season, almost always.”

Gil Klein is a writer living in Arlington.