Talkin' baby boomers and Medicare coverage

According to the AARP, 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every single day, and this is expected to continue into the 2030s. This means that nearly seven baby boomers are turning 65 every minute. Are you one of those boomers turning 65 as you read this column? Perhaps, perhaps not.

But if you were born between 1946 and 1964, your day will come — or already has — when Medicare becomes a medical reality for you. I have found no demographic statistics for the number of “boomers” in Bonner County. But I suspect a lot of people could raise their hands if asked “are you turning, or did you turn, 65 in 2019?”

So if you did raise your hand, perhaps you might be interested in what is happening at the Geezer Forum next Tuesday, Oct. 8. We are hosting our annual Medicare enrollment forum in the Com-munity Room at Columbia Bank, 2:30-4 p.m. The actual Medicare enrollment period is Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. Insurance agents who deal with Medicare cannot technically sell Medicare policies before Oct. 15, but information can be obtained. And that’s what this Geezer Forum hopes to provide.

Our primary resource person is Angie Mackin, a SHIBA staff member from Coeur d’Alene. SHIBA is the acronym for Senior Health Insurance Benefits Advisor, and is a part of the Idaho Department of Insurance. Angie has given us basic information a number of times, and always encourages participants to contact local insurance agents for more details.

This year, I have asked a number of those agents who work with Medicare insurance to join us at the forum. They will be identified and will be available to folks interested in following up on the Medicare information shared during the forum.

So if you are considering Medicare enrollment for the first time, I hope you will consider joining next Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.

However, I do not want to leave out anyone already on Medicare either. Each year, there seem to be some kinds of changes going on with Medicare coverage that I think it is wise for us to try to keep up on. And there is always the fun game of comparing this year’s coverage of your advantage or supplemental plan with what new plans are offered for 2020.

So whether you are newly entering the Medicare maze, or are a veteran Medicare “maze-walker,” please join us next Tuesday, 2:30-4 p.m., in the Community Room at Columbia Bank. I expect to learn something about Medicare I didn’t know about. Perhaps you will, too. We’ll all benefit.

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.