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Webinars

Medicare Information Office (Alaska SHIP & SMP) – 2013 Webinar Series All Webinars will be provided by Staff and invited guests; Format will include 40-60 minute presentation of content with breaks and followed by 30 minutes of Q and A.

Getting Started with MEDICARE

2/14/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT     View WEBINAR Replay
  • We will take 45 minutes to paint the big picture of Medicare - what the various parts are, choosing health and prescription coverage, timing the decisions to ensure coverage and to avoid penalties. This is a good introduction for Senior Center staff, tribal health Alternative or Patient Financial staff, new and re-tooling counselors, new volunteers, liaisons in rural Alaska that need the basics and want a resource for upcoming MEDICARE questions.

Medicare Preventive Services – the annual visits, immunizations, Part B covered

2/21/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT       View WEBINAR Replay
  • We'll cover the new Preventive Services covered under MEDICARE through changes in the Affordable Care Act. We'll explain what "at no cost to the beneficiary" means in terms of deductibles, co-payment; what happens if a "free" screening results in a costly procedure later? Learn the lingo of "Welcome to Medicare Preventive Visit" Annual Wellness visit and how to encourage beneficiaries to utilize this benefit.

What the Medicare Information Office is, does, the “SHIP” and “SMP” grants and how we all help Alaskans

2/28/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • We'll cover our origins from federal grants to you at work or home reaching and assisting Medicare beneficiaries and how the statewide network works. Learn about the State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) grants, grantees, roles and responsibilities, becoming a counselor, a speaker, an in-kind or at-home volunteer or counselor. We'll cover our confidentiality policies and procedures, background checks for incoming counselors and our online assessment.

Understanding Medicare - a deeper dive into Part A, B, D coverages, costs, how to pay for Medicare, Coordination with other insurances.

3/7/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • Understanding Medicare is a look into the basics with more depth, a good review of Getting Started but with more content including premiums, deductibles and co-insurances associated with Parts A, B, D, the standardized plans in Medigap, coordination with other insurances like Alaska Care, TRICARE, Federal BCBS, and how Medicare interacts with other systems such as V.A. and tribal health.

Medicare Supplements aka "Medigap" and why they are critical for Alaskans

3/14/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • This session focuses on the super important Medicare Supplements. These are the plans people should consider if they don't have any retiree health coverage. Medicare pays 80% of the approved amount and people have to either pay the remaining 20% or buy a Supplement for that coverage. With no Medicare Advantage plans in Alaska, this is a very key piece of the Medicare pie for folks just getting started with Medicare.

Mental Health Coverage and Medicare

3/21/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • This webinar covers who is eligible for Medicare and its mental health benefits including inpatient and outpatient services, prescription drug coverage. We describe the types of professionals Medicare reimburses for providing services such as Clinical Social Workers, Clinical Psychologists, adn others. We describe the changes in outpatient co-insurances and when it reaches parity with physical health coverages under Medicare, what Medicare doesn't cover, some mental health prescription coverage changes and more. Q and A for 30 minutes follows the 50 minute presentation.

Medicare Prescription Drug Plans

3/28/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • This webinar will cover the basic features of Part D including who need a drug plan, who doesn't (retirees for instance with Alaska Care), considerations while comparing plans; We will dive into the plan finder on Medicare.gov and do a sample drug plan comparison showing you how to read the coverage information that beneficiaries need to make an informed decision, how to navigate restrictions that plans might place on certain medications, how to decipher annual deductibles, initial coverage period, donut hole period and catastrophic period; your Q and A will guide the demo after the overview presentation.

Advanced Part D Casework

4/4/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • People get into complex situations with their Part D plans. Learn how to look up a person's plan information to decipher if they have coverage for their medications or there's some snafoo at the pharmacy and why. A person may have thought they had coverage but don't because the plan discontinued, they got lost because of an address change, they're eligible to switch to a new plan, get a transition refill, use the LINET. We'll show you how to use the Guide to LIS mailings to help people with colored letters telling them what action to take. Identify if the issue is a restriction and learn about the appeals process.

Extra Help Paying for Prescription Drugs

4/11/13       3:00-4:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • Also known as "LIS" for Limited Income Subsidy, this webinar will demonstrate to you the screening tool we use every day and the website to file the online application. We'll do a live LIS application, then we will explain what we tell the beneficiary in terms of what happens next; We may also explain what the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition Program is (LINET) for those who have evidence of Medicaid and Medicare and need to pick up medications right away. Join us!

Shiptalk and the benefits of the SHIP Hotline, SHIP Unique I.D. and how to get started

4/18/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • Designed for anyone in the network that is or plans to become a Certified Medicare Counselor to help others understand Medicare, Shipnpr.shiptalk.org is our "go to" website to enter our client contacts and public or media outreach events into. If you are counseling, you should be using either a SHIP client contact (paper and pencil) sheet per contact or go directly into the website to log pertinent data. We'll show you how fast and easy it is. Certified Counselors can request a unique i.d. which gives access to Medicare's hotline and beneficiary help including claims, billings, Part D enrollment, and more.

Who Pays First? Medicare and Coordination of Benefits

4/25/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT     View WEBINAR Replay
  • Medicare is typically the primary payer, but there are times when medicare is the secondary payer or may not pay at all! Learn about how Medicare works with other insurances such as retiree, union, V.A., IHS. What about when a person’s on disability? We'll describe the Initial Enrollment Questionaire (IEQ), the role of the Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Contractor and what happens when a Worker's Comp or an auto insurance policy pays, conditional payment through Medicare, and the Coordination of Benefits Contractor.

Durable Medical Equipment

5/2/13       3:00-4:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • Part B covers home medical supplies including oxygen and related supplies, diabetic supplies, wheelchairs, braces, prosthetics and other items. We'll walk you through assisting a person to find a Medicare approved supplier, the requirements for getting supplies covered through Medicare, what to do if there's a glitch with oxygen or power wheelchairs. We'll have an expert from a DME provider in Alaska on the line for technical clarifications. We’ll explain how the DMEPOS (durable medical equipment, prosthetics orthotics and supplies) Competitive Bidding Program affects Alaskans, where and when. Prepare your Q and A for the last half hour.

Assisting Customer Owners with Medicare questions

5/9/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • The transition to 65 and Medicare eligibility can be confusing and having access to top-notch health care delivery services through a tribal health facility causes many Alaska Native people to assume they don’t need to consider enrolling in Medicare. Explore the basics of what Parts A and B and Part D cover, learn from experienced outreach counselors in rural tribal health facilities how and why they encourage people to enroll in Medicare. For people qualify for Medicaid and age into Medicare at 65, learn about the importance of Medicare as primary payer, Medicaid as next and I HS as payer of last resort. This impacts Alternate Health, Patient Financial Assistance staff and others in outreach and enrollment around Alaska.

Medicare Fraud and Abuse

5/16/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      View WEBINAR Replay
  • This module provides a bird’s eye view nationally of the scope of Medicare fraud and abuse; understand how CMS fights fraud and abuse, funds the Medicare Information Office (through the state) to join in catching the crooks; You’ll learn practical ways to show and share Medicare Summary Notices to beneficiaries to empower them to detect, ask questions, report apparent situations that might be fraudulent.

Medicare Coverage of Kidney Dialysis & Kidney Transplant Services – dialysis options, donated blood charges, Coordination of Benefits Period

5/23/13       3:00-4:30 pm AKDT      REGISTER
  • This Webinar covers how Medicare helps pay for kidney dialysis and kidney transplant services with Parts A and B. People on Medicare due to End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) will have differences in when Medicare coverage starts in relation to when the dialysis treatments begin or the kidney transplant occurs, the 30-month coordination period, coverage for dialysis services, immunosuppressive drug coverage, payment for blood, when Medicare coverage ends.

Medicare Enrollment Periods

5/30/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      REGISTER
  • The question “when do I enroll in Medicare” can have a lot of different answers depending upon the age and circumstance of the person, other coverage status, spousal coverage, and which Part of Medicare. Become more familiar with the Initial Enrollment Periods (IEP), Special Enrollment Periods (SEP) and General Enrollment Period (GEP), what the person that just moves to Alaska needs to do and their 63 day Special Enrollment Period and assisting people with access to healthcare through the V.A. or tribal health systems.

How to Help Others Read Medicare Summary Notices

6/6/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      REGISTER
  • This module provides an overview of the new initiative, “Your Medicare Information: Clearer, Simpler, at your fingertips” and how the New Medicare Summary Notice makes Medicare information clearer, more accessible and easier to understand. You will be informed of all of the new bells and whistles on this new version as well as the changes that make this new edition easier to understand. You will learn how to show beneficiaries how to read their MSN, how keeping a healthcare journal enabling them to detect errors and abuse as well as how to appeal or resolve disputed claims. We will also discuss the importance of protecting Medicare Information and current scams.

Assisting Veterans and Alaska Native tribal health beneficiaries with Medicare enrollment decisions

6/13/13       2:00-3:30 pm AKDT      REGISTER
  • This webinar will provide guidance in providing authoritative, current information to people who access healthcare through the Veterans Administration or through Tribal health services. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of enrolling in Parts A, B, D, buying supplements; We’ll discuss the options people face, the advertisements and letters they may get, and the risks and benefits of enrolling or not. We’ll discuss Veterans and/or Alaska Native people who qualify for Medicaid as well as Medicare and their options, as well.