Geezer Forum's Medicare enrollment talk returns

You may not be keeping track of our fall Geezer Forum schedule like I am. So perhaps you forgot that next Tuesday, Oct. 11, is our Medicare enrollment Geezer Forum. I hope you do remember, though.

Over the nearly 10 years we’ve held Geezer Forums, the Medicare Enrollment forum has proven to be the most well-attended Geezer Forum of the year.

People just coming “of age,” Medicare-age that is, are eager to learn as much as they can about what to expect as they get ready to sign up. Others, long-time Medicare participants, also have yearly questions about what will and won’t be covered in 2023.

As in recent years, our guest speaker will be from SHIBA (Senior Health Insurance Benefits Advisors). SHIBA is part of the Idaho Department of Insurance, and offers non-partisan, non-commercial information about Medicare. Next Tuesday, at the Community Room in the Columbia Bank, Janine Wilson will be with us to share basic Medicare Enrollment information as we get ready for the actual enrollment period, Oct. 15-Dec. 7, 2022.

Some of you may know Janine as a long-time employee of Panhandle Health District. She now works with SHIBA. She will be ready to share basic 2023 Medicare information, plus a primer on the whole enrollment process. (It can seem more complicated that it needs to be.)

And if you have specific questions for Janine about your own Medicare circumstances, she will be ready to respond to as many questions as we have time to address.

Speaking of time, our Geezer Forum will go from 2:30 to 4 p.m. next Tuesday. We hope you will be able to join us on that afternoon. It will be good to be together again, and talking about Medicare issues that impact a growing number of us geezers-in-training. So, let’s get trained … again.

Paul Graves, M.Div., is Lead Geezer-in-Training for Elder Advocates, a consulting ministry on aging issues. Contact Paul at 208-610-4971 or elderadvocates@nctv.com.