Are you one of the many people in our county who received a letter telling you your Medicare Advantage plan or your Medicare Part D prescription plan will not be available for 2025?

While that news can be distressing, the good news is that you do have options. Your local SHIBA volunteers are happy to help you figure out which option is best for you.

If you have the Premera Medicare Advantage plan, you’ll have some other new advantage plans to choose from. Some are HMOs, which restrict you to doctors and hospitals that are in their network, and some are PPOs, which permit you to see any doctor who accepts Medicare or use any hospital, although you will pay more for your visit if it is not in your network.

You also have the option to change to Original Medicare and buy a Medicare Supplement without having to go through medical underwriting, and a Part D drug plan.

If you’re losing your Medicare drug plan, there are also a number of other plans to choose from. All of the available plans work with the pharmacies on our three major islands. Several of these plans also offer a $0 premium.

There are a lot of options, and your local Statewide Health Insurance Beneficiary Advisors volunteers can help you sort through it. SHIBA is a free, unbiased and confidential service offered through the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Call 360-376-5892 to schedule your free counseling session on Orcas. The Orcas Senior Center sponsors the San Juan County SHIBA volunteers.