Welcome, everybody to Midday Magazine for this Friday, September 27th, 2024.
We have a great set of guests for us to wrap up the week.
Have your host, James J. Mailoff here.
At 430 today, we're going to be joined by Superintendent of Wisconsin Rappus Public Schools,
Ronald A. Rasmussen.
He'll be bringing in Tina, Principal of Grove Elementary with him.
Right now we have in studio, our good friend, Bettina Renard, Elder Benefit Specialist,
with the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Central Wisconsin.
Bettina, good to have you with us.
That's good to be here.
Thanks so much for joining us, and we're just talking in our pre-game.
It's been about a year since you've been with us and everything.
So if you don't mind, Bettina, before we get into Medicare, open enrollment, and some
of those things, would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?
It feels like we haven't caught up in a while, so if you can tell us a little bit about
who you are.
Yeah, absolutely.
So we've had a busy year.
I actually moved from the Wasa office to the Marshfield Office full-time.
We bought a house.
Wow.
Yeah.
That's what that's wonderful.
And your role over there at the ADRC.
Yeah, so I'm an Elder Benefit Specialist.
So I get to work on public benefits for people over 60.
So anybody under 60, then sees a Disability Benefit Specialist, but yeah, we kind of split
the difference.
But we all do public benefits, things like Medicare, retirement, social security issues, things
like that, and kind of help people navigate those and cut that red tape.
And it tells you, I think, a lot, especially those of us that haven't gotten to that age
yet, of how much there is to learn every year.
These things can change and advance or adapt, and you need two different people to be able
to kind of cover these things as far as that, as far as before, to not hitting retirement
or hitting certain ages and after.
It really speaks to that and gives us a little bit more ability to really do really
hands-on work and ask a lot of the answer, a lot of those questions, I imagine, that come
up in different ages and for different reasons.
Now let's talk about who you are, the ADRC, that is, the Aging Disability Resource Center
of Central Wisconsin.
Yeah, absolutely.
The ADRC of Central Wisconsin works to provide peace of mind and quality of life to individuals
and families through information and access to resources.
So we offer services to seniors and adults with disabilities in Lincoln, Langlaid, Marathon
and Wood County, so we're a four-county agency.
Our services include navigating community resources, exploring available benefits, offering
support for caregivers, providing meals for seniors, holding healthy living classes
and presenting volunteer opportunities.
You know, Bettina, we've for years talked to the ADRC and we, I think, a lot of our
audience, especially our core members out there have heard many conversations and understand
how important the ADRC is to our communities and all these communities you just mentioned
there.
A practice that I like to do from time to time, especially when it comes to our nonprofits,
is you know what the ADRC does, now imagine if they weren't there.
Yeah, absolutely.
And to think of that is a scary thought, the idea that we would not have something like
that.
So I say this for one to give some appreciation for what we have with the ADRC, but also
to remind our audience to reach out to the ADRC and make use of that we have this resource
in our communities.
We're very fortunate to have an organization and a group of people that their sole job
is to make our lives better.
You know, we don't have a lot of that in society, but that's really the mission.
That's really a big part of what the ADRC is is to be able to answer those questions when
you have concerns to be able to kind of give you kind of clear up some of the gray area
sometimes in life and some of these big things that we hit when we hit certain ages.
There isn't necessarily a playbook for retirement.
There isn't necessarily a playbook for getting older.
The ADRC is a big, big help when it comes to that for a lot of us that maybe don't have
a lot of like, what do I do when I hit 60?
What do I do when I, I got to think about Medicare.
I didn't, I never even thought about that.
Like so many of these questions that we, as we get closer to those ages, all of a sudden
dawn on us.
Oh, wow, I haven't thought much about this.
So it's so impactful to have an ADRC in our communities.
Yeah, absolutely.
You also run into, you know, not expecting to have to help like family members or your
parents navigate and the ADRC is a non-profit.
So we don't have a huge advertising budget, right?
So to be able to do this, to get our name out there to even if it's just people then know
where to send somebody if they're having a conversation over coffee, like, hey, I know
who can help you with that.
There's been off to top my head three to four different things in the conversations I've
had with ADRC members that I'm talking to them and I'm interviewing them and I prep
for these questions and thinking about the ways they can help community members.
And as we're talking, realizing, oh, wow, they're talking about me.
This affects me too.
It's been so helpful, not just for me and my family, but I know listening to so many
listeners out there that they do some great work for so much of our community.
And not just ours here in Rapids, but as you mentioned, the surrounding communities
as well that you have offices in and are able to make an impact in.
And that's important to the ADRC when it comes to the mission of the ADRC.
If you don't mind, I want to touch on that before we get into Medicare Open enrollment.
And thank you again, Bettina for doing this with us.
Yeah, absolutely.
So the mission of the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Central Wisconsin promotes
choice and independence through personalized education, advocacy, and access to services
that prevent delay and lessen the impacts of aging and disabilities in the lives of adults.
So this is really important because a lot of people don't think about living on a fixed
income or struggling in that way or as prices go up on everything.
There are programs available to help if you need help in some of those areas with food
and insurance and things like that.
So those things are important.
You know, I think that as my generation gets older and gets closer to this, you know,
you have some appreciation of the generations before.
You get a little more understanding of those things.
And you start to realize that you are closer to these things and farther from them.
And you start to learn more about them and everything and ways that they impact your
life and the ones you love and care for.
And if you're fortunate, I think you have a chance to help your parents and help them
guide them through this situation.
My mom and dad, I've talked to them about this so they don't mind me talking about them
and using them as an example because they feel like they're, I feel like they're a really
good one.
My mom and dad never thought about retirement that much.
They didn't think they'd be able to.
And to be quite blunt with the audience, my father did not believe that he would even
live to this age with the way he was living his life.
That changed the last 20 years, but in that 20 years, he was scrambling to try to find
out some of this information and try to plan some of these things.
The ADRC was vital in helping him be able to bridge that gap into retirement and what
it's like for a workaholic to have to do that and so many of those things.
And there is, the information I think is such a key part of our conversation and what
the ADRC does, but just as important to that and piggybacking from that is the support.
And just knowing that you have that support in your community, we have a lot of our senior
population that is doing a lot of this alone and on their own.
And for them, especially to know that they have an ADRC in their community, that they
have one in their neck of the woods, I can't imagine the comfort that must bring.
Absolutely.
I mean, that is one of the best parts of what I get to do every day is just being able
to be there for people, to listen, to help them navigate these systems and also connect
them to the other resources, even within our own agency, because we have these different
teams and people are multifaceted, right?
And we never know what we're going to face.
We don't know what's out there until we start having those conversations.
My father is a smart guy and I've seen him explain hockey, even like not just the basics,
but everything that like a 10-year-old before.
I've seen him be able to explain geometry to me or my brother at a young age in these things.
When it comes to the Medicare Open Enrollment period, my dad gets quite confused and he
was not sure about this.
He's got it down a lot better now, but when he was first getting old enough to be able
to understand these things, it was way over his head.
And he was so thankful to be able to talk to people that really understood this stuff.
And it's important, this is another key part of what the ADRC can do and getting into this
and talking about what is Medicare Open Enrollment and what is this period that exists with
that Bettina?
Can we talk about that a little bit?
Yeah, absolutely.
So there is almost information overload when it comes to Medicare Open Enrollment, right?
Right.
Which is why it's really easy to be a super intelligent person that's still completely lost
in the woods.
It's just a lot.
That's why we're here to help navigate through that.
So the Medicare Open Enrollment period is the annual enrollment period for both part
C, which is your Advantage plans and part D, which is your Medicare drug coverage.
So you usually have one or the other.
And it runs from October 15th to December 7th each year.
And during that period, you can join, switch or drop a plan.
Your coverage then begins on January 1st, based on the change that you make as long as
you make that request before December 7th.
And those are requests or the idea of changing a plan.
I think again, for some of us out there that haven't been in this, that's, well, why would
you change it or why would you need to change it?
But those are things that those are good questions.
And those are questions that you guys can help people guide them through.
Yeah, absolutely.
I see a lot of people that will get into a plan and they'll just keep it because they don't
realize that they can change it or don't know that they should review it.
And so sometimes they're paying way more in premium or it's not covering their stuff
like it should because they're just maintaining, you know, they're not actively
exploring, hey, is there something better for me?
We so often do that where we just kind of accept things as the status quo or this is
just the way it is and everything.
I would say, and please correct me on this, Bettina, but even if you have questions or if
you are curious that there might be a better plan or a better version of this for you,
reach out.
It doesn't mean that you have to change anything.
You can ask questions without necessarily going through the whole changing of a plan
or anything.
Yeah, absolutely.
And that's one of the beauties of working with us is we don't sell anything, right?
We're not agents.
So we literally just provide unbiased information.
We just take a look at everything that's out there and then the decisions completely yours.
Some people come in, they keep what they have.
Some people come in and go, oh, that's actually would be better for me and they make the change.
So we are happy to help navigate all of that information.
Maybe one of the tougher questions I ask you and I don't mean to put you on the spot,
but curious, is there a, is there particular questions that stand out more than others
or you get asked consistently about this topic?
We get a lot of questions because it's really confusing.
So people try to differentiate between original Medicare and then Medicare Advantage, which
is the part C, like which one's better for me, which way do I go?
So questions like that.
Also people get notices like the annual notice of change, right?
But they don't necessarily read it or understand what that's about.
And that's to really look at what are the changes in my plan.
What does that mean?
Also for 2025, there's a lot of changes within part D itself.
So it's going to be an interesting year to kind of navigate those.
There was some legislation that came through and this were in stage three.
So it's going to cap like drug costs at $2,000.
There's a special way to set up a payment plan for that.
So there's a lot to navigate this year.
And really important stuff that can really impact your lives and make your lives a lot
better.
Just seeing what you're touched on right there alone is a reason enough to reach out to
the ADRC.
Find out more about this and see if you can't change your plan and have even a more comfortable
better life.
That's what you deserve.
That's what this is about.
One of the things that makes me sad is I talk to people and they will be not taking their
medications as prescribed or refusing in prescriptions because they're worried about
the cost of it.
And that shouldn't be like there is definitely opportunity to take a look at your coverage
and make sure it is covering what you need.
Yeah, most said.
What can our listeners do about this?
What can be done?
So we recommend that you review your current coverage and any plan changes that are going
to take place for the following year.
Those changes are listed on the annual notice of change.
Your plan is required to send that to you by law by September 30th.
After you review those potential changes, you can compare your current coverage to other
plans.
And then you can choose to either keep your coverage or make a change for 2025.
And when it comes to that, that's something that is there required time to get that done
by or anything?
Yeah.
You get that notice by the end of September and then you have between October 15th and
December 7th to actually make that change.
And some people are more comfortable doing that early.
Some people wait till the last minute, but whatever you have in place by December 7th.
So even if you do nothing, that plan is going to follow you into the following year.
And then you can choose the current coverage or make a change for 2025 as you were touching
on there.
And there's a number of different things that you can do when it comes to that.
So.
It's certainly noteworthy as well.
Right.
Yeah.
There are a lot of things that you can do within the open enrollment period.
So you can go from original Medicare where you have just regular Medicare and a Part D
insurance into one of those Part C Advantage plans or you can go back from the Part C to
original Medicare in a lot of this is might sound like Greek because it's a lot of different
things.
But that's what we're here for.
You can change from one Medicare Advantage plan to a different Medicare Advantage plan.
You can change from a Medicare Advantage plan that didn't have drug coverage.
So some people use like senior care as a placeholder, but then they get some, they maybe change
income brackets and need better coverage so they could pick up an Advantage plan with
drug coverage.
You can switch from an Advantage plan that has drug coverage back the other way to one
that doesn't and then pick up a senior care.
And you can also join a Medicare drug plan or switch from one drug plan to the other or
drop your Medicare drug coverage completely, which I do not recommend.
Not a great idea.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There are so many different options and there's so many layers to this because there are
so many different individuals going through different things.
There is no such thing as a one size fits all when it comes to this.
So while I imagine it can be confusing for some out there and everything, that's again
why we have an ADRC and why you can reach out and there is not, there are no silly questions.
Not.
No silly questions, especially when it comes to this topic.
I don't care for just calling them to figure out how to spell Medicare.
There's not a silly question.
I encourage you to reach out and be sure to reach out to next month because it again October
15th through December 7th, you can make these changes.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Our appointments slots are open.
So all of our calendars are open.
So if you want, if you're in Lincoln Langley, Marathon or Wood County, then you need an
appointment with us.
You can absolutely call for one of those.
And then yeah, there aren't any silly questions and we have so much information that comes
at people at this time of year in the mail on TV, the phone calls, things like that.
My recommendation is really to work with somebody face-to-face that you can trust, this local,
whether it's your insurance agent, whether it's one of us at the aging and disability
resource center that can help you sort through all of that.
We're speaking with Bettina Bernard, elder benefits specialist with the ADRC of Central Wisconsin.
When it comes to what we're talking about here with questions and all of this stuff that
we have talked about in the last 20 minutes, if people need help, if they want to find out
the best plan, I think you gave us some great references there.
I will highly recommend you and all your staff at the ADRC, mainly because of something
you touched on earlier, and that the ADRC is not in anybody's pocket.
They are not, they have no incentive one way or the other.
Nobody has a stock in Acme Medicare, they are just looking at what's best for you.
What can help you, and as I said before, everybody is different, and everybody might have
a different plan.
All the more reason to ask those questions, and let the audience know Bettina, who is
a huggly week contact if we have follow-up questions with some of these things?
Yeah, absolutely.
The ADRC of Central Wisconsin is a great place to start when you're trying to figure out
what is the best coverage option for you.
Our team of benefits specialist can help compare those plans without bias.
We don't charge for our services, we don't work on commission.
None of that stuff.
We're just here to help you sort through what's out there.
Those appointments are available for residents of Lincoln, Langley, Marathon, and Woodconeys
by calling 1-888-486-9545.
We are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
And you will call that 888-486-9545 number.
It'll take you into our answering router.
You choose option three for benefits, and then option one for open enrollment.
And then if you reside outside of the counties that we serve, you can definitely contact
a benefit specialist or your local ADRC, dhs.wisconsin.gov has a list of ADRCs.
And then you can also work with a trusted agent if you're already working with one and
explore that, or you can look at plans on your own at Medicare.gov.
Just make sure it's .gov because they're speak ones.
Yes.
And those are all great notes.
We'll repeat some of that information before we wrap up today, Bettina, and let you
go.
I did want to take a moment to talk about some of the volunteer opportunities at the ADRC.
Monday through Friday, a test and trail your center and Wisconsin Rapids.
And one of the greatest volunteer opportunities in the world, in the community, certainly,
is Meals on Wheels.
Encourage people all the time to do this.
Yeah, absolutely.
Meals on Wheels is awesome.
You get to build those relationships.
You get to, you know, just have a lot of fun taking people a meal.
So the Meals on Wheels delivery is you bring a hot meal and a friendly smile to older adults
who are homebound in the community.
So you pick up and deliver packaged meals, approximate time is 10.30 to noon.
You choose how much to volunteer from once or twice a week to once a month.
People often volunteer with their spouses, children or friends.
It can be a great experience for elementary and middle school aged children to volunteer
with parents or grandparents, build those relationships.
And it's important to keep in mind, too, that when whatever your schedule is out there,
the ADRC will try to work with you and try to figure that out.
If you are more comfortable, maybe delivering meals that are closer to your job or your home
or something, they will try to work with you on that.
They have worked with even my crazy schedule before.
And it's one of the greatest uses of your time.
I cannot encourage you enough to trick this out, everybody, and be a part of this, because
not only can you oftentimes be this person's, you know, one of the only contacts they
have all day, and you're able to kind of keep an eye on them and help on that.
But you're going to meet a new great friend.
You are going to make a new great friend.
I put my name on that.
You are going to meet somebody and get to know them.
And honestly, at a certain point, the meal becomes almost secondary and just the interacting
with this person becomes such a key part of it for you and them.
There are wonderful volunteer opportunities in our community.
There are not many that offer just as good of a feeling for the person receiving as the
person giving.
I encourage people to be a part of meals on wheels.
Find out more about that.
You can find out more at goandadrc.cw.org.
And keep in mind, meal packaging for senior dining is also another great way to volunteer.
Yeah, absolutely.
So you get food packaged in individual trays and ready to go for meals on wheels delivery.
And then you can help set up for senior dining.
You can serve food, coffee, help with cleanup.
It's from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
And there are shorter shifts available.
And Bettina, again, before you let you go, if people might follow up questions for you or
want to know more about some of what we talked about today, how can they reach you?
Yeah.
So you call 1-888-486-9545 or you can go to our website at www.adrc-cw.org.
And I encourage you to follow the adrc on social media as well.
It's a great way to keep up the data and things over there and share your things on your
pages.
You just never know who might see it that wouldn't otherwise.
We always appreciate the time.
Thank you so much for you and the staff and what you do for our community, Bettina.
Don't be a stranger.
All right.
We'll see you again real soon.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
Thank you for the time.
And we will have more Midday Magazine coming up for you right here at 97-5-FM 13-20-A-MWFHR,
locally grown radio.
