INSURANCE

Q: This is the first year I am on a Medicare Advantage Plan. How can I make the most of my benefits? A: The best way to make the most of your Medicare benefits is to begin using your preventive services covered by both Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. These are key to maintaining your wellbeing with little or no cost to you. Preventive services include a yearly wellness visit, immunizations, lab tests, screenings for breast cancer, diabetes, heart disease, counseling and more. For a complete list of covered preventive services go to www. medicare.gov/preventiveservices. Medicare Advantage plans generally offer extra benefits not covered by Original Medicare. Some of the more popular plans offer extras like gym memberships, allowances for over the counter health items, transportation to doctor visits, alternative medicine visits, and home delivered meals following surgery in addition to vision, dental and hearing coverage. Because different plans offer different benefits, it is up to you to familiarize yourself with your plan’s coverage. If you are not sure what benefits are covered, review your Summary of Benefits booklet or contact your plan’s customer service department.

Some additional tips:

• If your plan provides an allowance for over-the-counter health related items, find out how your program works and start shopping. Over-thecounter programs cover your costs on a wide variety of items including vitamins, supplements, pain relievers, first aid, bath safety products and much more. If you’re not sure if you have this benefit, contact your plan’s customer service department and ask. • If you have coverage for two dental visits a year, schedule your first check-up early in the year to make sure you have time to get a second checkup covered by your plan later in the year.

• Do you have Silver Sneakers? Sign up for your free membership to a local fitness center. Silver Sneakers has more than 16,000 participating locations with new locations being added all the time. Silver Sneakers also gives you access to hundreds of workout and nutrition videos from home. Visit www.silversneakers.com to see if you are eligible for Silver Sneakers.

It is easy to forget some of the reasons you felt good about selecting the Medicare Advantage plan you signed up for. Take some time to review your Summary of Benefits so you can start making the most of your benefits.

If you have questions concerning health care, please contact me at 440-255-5700 or email me at Lmutsko@mutskoinsurance.com.