Medicare Open Enrollment for 2025, services will take place from October 15 to December 7. Help with the sometimes complicated process is available free of charge in Oregon.

The Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance program, known as SHIBA, provides free assistance. Advisors are trained to help seniors navigate the Medicare maze of choices to ensure they make the best choices based on their individual situation.

Before you start

There are a few essential things you need to gather before asking for help:

• Health insurance card
• MyMedicare.gov login information, if you have an account
• Pharmacy name and address
• List of all prescription medications, strengths and dosages
• A list of medical issues or concerns you would like to address

Medicare Resources Online

There is a lot of information online. Visit Medicare.gov and its comparison tool, www.medicare.gov/plan-compare. The tool allows you to compare costs for a wide range of health services across multiple drug and Medicare Advantage plans available in your area. It also includes ratings on the performance and quality of each plan. Most importantly, it lets you enter your prescription medications to find out which plans cover them and at what cost.

Medicare has expanded its Medigap search engine to include cost ranges based on age, gender and smoking status. Access it via bit.ly/MedigapPlanSearch.

Visit the Medicare Interactive site of the Medicare Rights Center (Medicareinteractive.org) to help you find answers about Medicare benefits.

Read our past coverage (search.oregonlive.com/medicare) on choosing a Medicare plan.

Medicare Open Enrollment Assistance by Phone

For Social Security, call 800-772-1213 (available 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday). To find a local field office, visit ssa.gov/locator for Medicare Part A and Part B questions.

Call 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) for any questions regarding Part D (drug insurance plan).

Call the nonprofit Medicare Rights Center National Helpline at 800-333-4114, Monday through Friday.

Medicare Open Enrollment Assistance in Oregon

Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance (SHIBA) advisors can answer questions by phone from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Some also schedule virtual conferences. Call 800-722-4134 (toll-free) to schedule a consultation or visit shiba.oregon.gov.

Check the website for upcoming online presentations. For in-person meetings, don’t delay: appointments are made quickly.

Medicare Open Enrollment Assistance in Washington County and Columbia County

Call 503-846-3094 for information and to make an appointment.

In-person counseling, by appointment only, throughout the open enrollment period or on designated days:

• Hillsboro Disability, Aging and Veterans Services Building, 5240 NE Elam Young Parkway: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday
• Beaverton Elsie Stuhr Center, 5550 SW Hall Blvd. : from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday
• Sherwood Marjorie Stewart Senior Community Center, 21907 SW Sherwood Blvd. : from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday
• Tualatin Juanita Pohl Center, 8513 SW Tualatin Road: 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday
• Tigard Senior Center, 8815 SW Omara St.: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. November 14 and 21
• St. Helens Senior Center, 375 S. 15th St.: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., November 12 and 26

Appointment without appointment:

• Hillsboro Senior Center, 750 SE Eighth Ave. : noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday

Other resources

Health insurance brokers are often knowledgeable about the choices and can help you choose and purchase a plan. It is probably best to deal with licensed independent brokers. They cover plans from several different insurance companies, receive training each year on the plans, and are supervised by state and federal regulators. Consumers do not pay directly for this assistance. Instead, brokers earn sales commissions directly on the plans. You can search for local Medicare brokers in your community at OregonHealthCare.govthe website of: bit.ly/ORAgentSearch. Be sure to scroll down to “Find Local Help” and select “Medicare Agents” when you search.

Check an agent’s license online at bit.ly/or_broker_licenses or call the Oregon Insurance Commissioner’s Consumer Advocacy Unit at 1-888-877-4894.

Insurance company websites and customer service phone lines can be good places to check coverage details, but only for their plans. Find this information in our Advantage Plan tables and Part D of this publication.