Vanderbilt and Lipscomb Students Help Health Seniors with Medicare Enrollment

Students from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and Lipscomb College of Pharmacy volunteered a recent Saturday (Halloween) to help residents of Trevecca Towers in Nashville learn about Medicare’s Annual Open Enrollment options as well as provide some health screenings.

“Medicare offers many options, and it can be confusing for many people to figure out which coverage meet their needs, especially when it comes to the prescription drug coverage (Medicare Part D),” said Carrie Plummer, PhD, ANP-BC, Instructor of Nursing, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program. “These students volunteered their time to learn about Medicare so they can provide patient education to members of the Middle Tennessee community at events throughout the fall. At the same time, they are gaining more perspective about the health care delivery system and helping members of our greater community.”

Medicare health and drug plans typically change each year – things like cost, coverage, and which providers and pharmacies are in their networks. The Annual Open Enrollment period is a chance for people covered by Medicare to change their Medicare health plans and prescription drug coverage for the following year. Kaiser Family Foundation data from 2012 shows there are 49.4 million Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. and 1.1 million in Tennessee.

Several weeks before the Trevecca Towers event, student participated in a six-hour training session that covered important details about the original version of Medicare, Medicare Advantage (HMO or PPO), Medicare prescription drug coverage and Medicare Supplement Insurance.

The training was made possible by State Health Insurance Assistance Plans (SHIP). For more information about SHIP visit: http://www.tn.gov/aging/topic/ship and/or http://www.tnmedicarehelp.com/