Community

It’s Time to Review Your Medicare Coverage

Published

6 years ago

November 5, 2020

Seema Verma

Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment season is underway, and I want to encourage all people with Medicare to review their current health and prescription drug coverage.

Medicare Advantage plan premiums have fallen to historic lows, dropping an average of 34% over the last three years. Many plans are offering a new insulin benefit that limits the maximum cost to $35 for a 30-day supply. By shopping around, you may be able to save money and find a plan that better meets your needs.

Open Enrollment runs through December 7 each year. This is the time when you can change your Medicare health or drug coverage for the following year. You can switch to Original Medicare, or join or change a Medicare Advantage plan or Part D prescription drug plan. Any new coverage you select takes effect Jan. 1, 2021.

Our updated Medicare Plan Finder (www.Medicare.gov/plan-compare) can help you compare the prices and benefits of Medicare Advantage plans, Original Medicare, Medicare drug plans, and Medigap policies. This mobile-friendly tool works on smart phones, tablets, and desktop computers.

Many Medicare drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage are participating in a new insulin savings initiative.

There are important differences between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Here’s a brief summary:

Original Medicare

With Original Medicare, you can go to any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare, anywhere in the U.S. In most cases, you don’t need a referral to see a specialist.

For services covered under Medicare Part B, you usually pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after you meet your deductible. You also pay a monthly premium for Part B.

If you choose to join a Part D drug plan, you’ll pay an additional monthly premium.

There’s no yearly limit on what you pay out-of-pocket, unless you have supplemental coverage, such as Medicare Supplement Insurance, also known as Medigap. Medigap can help pay your remaining out-of-pocket costs (like your 20% coinsurance). Or you can use coverage from a former employer or union, or Medicaid.

Original Medicare covers most medically necessary services and supplies in hospitals, doctors’ offices, and other health care settings. It doesn’t cover some benefits, including vision and most dental care.

Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage Plans are offered by private insurers that provide your Medicare Part A and B benefits, in many cases through a managed network, similar to an HMO.

In many cases, you’ll need to use doctors and other providers in the plan’s network and service area to get the lowest out-of-pocket costs.

You may need to get a referral to see a specialist, even if the specialist is in your plan’s network.

Out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Advantage vary, and plans may have lower out-of-pocket costs for certain services.

You may have to pay a monthly plan premium in addition to your monthly Part B premium. Some plans may have a $0 premium or may help pay all or part of your Part B premiums.

Plans have a yearly limit on what you pay out-of-pocket for services covered under Medicare Part A and Part B. Once you reach your plan’s limit, you pay nothing for services covered by Part A and Part B for the rest of the year.

Plans must cover all medically necessary services that Original Medicare covers. Most plans offer extra benefits that Original Medicare doesn’t cover, such as some vision, hearing, dental, benefits, as well as adult day health services, caregiver support, in-home support, and home-based palliative care.

In some cases, you have to get a service or item approved ahead of time for the plan to cover it.

If you’d like free, personalized counseling on what Medicare options are right for you, call the nonprofit State Health Insurance and Assistance Program, or SHIP. To find the SHIP program in your state, go to https://www.shiptacenter.org.

Or call us at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Seema Verma is the administrator for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Seema Verma

Posts by Seema Verma

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

1 day ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Posts by bpusa-syndication

Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

1 day ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.