Letter: Medicare Advantage is Helping Seniors Lead a Healthier 2022

Originally published in The Daily Bulldog

For many of us, the start of a new year involves reflecting on our habits and thinking through ways to begin the next year more mindful, intentional, and on the right foot. While resolutions can cover all sorts of topics, here at the Senior Planning Center, we remain focused on helping seniors navigate health care.

The ongoing pandemic has already put health and safety at the forefront of many minds, especially those from at-risk communities, including the seniors we serve everyday. Just being mindful about one’s well-being isn’t enough to create healthier habits and find more holistic ways to live better.

One of our primary focuses at Senior Planning Center is connecting the seniors we serve with programs and services to help them achieve their personal health goals. Whether they are recovering from illness or working to prevent problems in the future, we want to set seniors up for success.

There are a variety of health care coverage options, but the program we discuss and recommend the most is Medicare Advantage, a unique health care coverage program that provides top-quality health care at an affordable price.

Despite the consistently low premiums, Medicare Advantage doesn’t ask seniors to sacrifice any benefits or care elements they value. On average, seniors can access a wide array of benefits for premiums as low as $19 a month.

Whatever a senior might need to stay healthy, Medicare Advantage offers that service.

Whether it be care coordination and management, in-home support services, companion care, integrated dental, vision, and hearing benefits, Medicare Advantage providers are working every day to ensure seniors’ health care needs are met.

Throughout every phase of the pandemic, Medicare Advantage has continued to evolve, improving services and offering additional benefits so that seniors could feel safe. From prescription drug delivery to transportation services, Medicare Advantage goes above and beyond to ensure the health and safety of seniors. For example, many carriers added grocery delivery and access to healthy meal planning services to the benefits during the pandemic.

As we look ahead and aim to build healthy habits in the new year, Medicare Advantage makes a point of encouraging seniors to take part in preventative care measures.

Many of the seniors we work with have been able to join gym classes or seek out wellness programs that have increased their activity and given them new outlets for improving their physical and mental health. To put it simply, Medicare Advantage makes healthy living accessible for all seniors. I’m looking forward to connecting more seniors with the program this year and seeing the benefits that 28 million seniors across the country have access to because of Medicare Advantage.

I hope our elected leaders will keep in mind the essential policies and programs that support our vulnerable communities across the country, including our aging population. Over 171,000 Maine seniors rely on Medicare Advantage for consistent, reliable health coverage.

Senator King and Senator Collins, seniors in Maine, are counting on you to be a leader in advocating for this program and ensuring Medicare Advantage stays accessible to them now and to the seniors of tomorrow.

Stephanie O’Leary is the Regional Manager at Senior Planning Center.