Rotarian Tracey Ippolite gave us a Medicare update. Open enrollment starts Oct 15th so it was a good time for a refresher about Medicare and what it covers. Before getting into Medicare, Tracey told us a little bit about herself, including her hobbies of traveling, collecting tequila, gambling and deep-sea fishing. She has had a number of different careers, including real estate and home staging, working for Dell Computers, and fashion. Now she helps seniors with Medicare enrollment as a licensed insurance agent for Medicare Advantage plans. Tracey described the differences between Medicare and Medicaid and how enrollment in Medicare works, including the penalties for late enrollment. She also explained the differences between Part A (hospital coverage including skilled nursing facilities), Part B (medical coverage including doctors’ visits, labs and scans), Part D (prescription drugs) and Part C (Medicare Advantage plans that can include extras such has vision, dental, hearing, gyms and rides to appointments). Tracey explained that Medicare Advantage plans can be an HMO plan, a PPO plan, or a HMO-SNP plan that covers chronic conditions. Plans are rated by the public from one to five stars. The recent changes to Medicare include - Part B increase of 11%, Part D increase of 6% and increase in out-of-pocket amount which will be capped at $2100 annually. With regards to the myth that immigrants can get Medicare coverage, Tracey explained that immigrants need to be in the US for 5 years with a green card to get Medicare benefits. Thanks Tracey for an informative presentation!