Medicare Advocacy Task Force

Do retirees really need supplemental coverage with Original Medicare? — CBS News Original Medicare covers a lot, but gaps can leave retirees facing thousands in unexpected medical bills.

18 Things Medicare Gives You for Free Medicare doesn’t provide services entirely "for free," but some items and services are covered with no out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries under specific conditions.

Please use unbiased resources like SHIP during this important enrollment period. Having the right insurance coverage can be critical to your overall health!

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is available in every state and provides free and unbiased Medicare counseling.

About | Missouri SHIP Missouri SHIP (formerly CLAIM) has been the official State Health Insurance Assistance Program since 1993! We are a nonprofit, not an insurance company. We provide free Medicare help.

While there are many ethical and transparent insurance brokers, not everyone can be trusted. This article examines claims about misleading tactics with some Medicare Advantage brokers.

The following account can happen with a Medicare Advantage plan, as you must be sure if you are “in network or out of network”, as the charges will be different or higher when out of network, and medical care is more likely to be denied with Advantage plans. This is highly unlikely to happen with a Medigap/supplement plan, as there is no network to be in, or no in or out network. Supplements are accepted by anyone who accepts Medicare.

Woman learns her insurance is ‘out of network’ minutes before surgery Susan Epstein decided not to go through with the surgery, which would have cost $10,000 to $12,000 out of pocket.