PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Time is running out for people to sign up for Medicare. The annual open enrollment period ends Monday, Dec. 7. In addition to getting the word out about changes that may come with new coverage plans, health care providers have been helping current members wade through the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Tonya Moody, vice president of AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare VIP Care, says they've made a number of adjustments specific to COVID-19 this year.
"We have a meal benefit, where we provide meals to individuals if they're in quarantine, or if they're diagnosed or if they are just isolated as a result of COVID," Moody said. "We also have a mail-order delivery that we provide to various individuals, so that they don't have to go out in their community."
They're also providing masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, and on the mental health side, comfort calls.
Moody says they have also developed a resource guide to educate people about places to go for screenings without a prescription.
"We've just been trying to be efficient, to provide a resource not only to our members but to the community at large," Moody said.
It's a broad pivot that most other health care providers have also made, and they expect to develop new strategies in 2021.
For now, Moody is reminding people who are eligible for Medicare next year to do their homework before the deadline arrives.
"I would recommend the consumers take a look at the different plan benefits," she said. "They can go to Medicare.gov, and they can look at these different benefits and do a comparison and pick the plan that is best for them."
