Trudy Lieberman
Every day, some 10,000 Americans become eligible for Medicare, a rate that’s projected to continue for the next 18 years, as the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimated in 2019.
For health care journalists, these startling numbers mean we have an important role to advise seniors on the best plans to meet their needs during Medicare’s annual open enrollment (Oct. 15 through Dec. 7). Our advisory role seems to become more important every year as costs rise and because we need to counteract the messages seniors get in the annoyingly frequent advertisements for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
Medicare open enrollment
During Medicare’s open enrollment period, seniors face a dizzying array of choices about whether to choose traditional Medicare or a MA plan or if they should add a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.
So much advertising and reporting are devoted to MA and Part D plans that the more comprehensive coverage available to seniors through Medicare Supplement plans (also called Medigap) gets all but drowned out.
In a new tip sheet, health care journalist and former AHCJ president Trudy Lieberman (@Trudy_Lieberman) explains why reporters covering health care for seniors should write about the benefits of Medigap plans.
