Why do I need to know about Medicare?

Our next webinar “Christian Scientists & Medicare: A Roadmap” is coming up on Saturday, Sept. 16. We sat down with Leslie Connery from the Federal Office at The First Church of Christ, Scientist to learn more about why this information is important for Christian Scientists to understand. 

Why should I attend the webinar? 

Leslie: Part of making informed choices is not only learning substantive information, but learning what you actually need to know. And this webinar isn’t going to tell anyone what to do or what decisions they should make. But what I do hope to accomplish is to provide you with sufficient information to enable you to make informed decisions about your Medicare choices. And to know what you’re getting yourself into. And that’s irrespective of what kind of Medicare you choose to have.  

What things will you cover in the webinar?  

Leslie: Some of the things are: what are the various parts of Medicare, what things are usually covered by Medicare and what things are not covered by Medicare. What’s the difference between so-called “Original Medicare” and a Medicare Advantage plan. These are two options that individuals have when they become Medicare-eligible, and it’s important to understand the differences between these two options. We’ll also cover what the difference is between a Medicare Advantage plan and a Medicare Supplement plan.  

And the fact that Medicare plans use the letters of the alphabet (Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B) does not make this material any easier to understand! But it is completely understandable once you’ve learned the terminology.  

Why do Christian Scientists need this information? 

Leslie: This webinar is giving people a toolbox so that when you go to make Medicare decisions, you have the tools you need and you know how to use them. And then you can make whatever decision is best for you and your loved ones. 

There’s lots of information that’s publicly available about how Medicare works in a general sense, and lots of opportunities to get it—you can go online and do Google searches, or you can call your state’s health insurance assistance program, which is a program that provides free counseling for Medicare beneficiaries. All of this information (especially when it’s from a legitimate government source) can provide really helpful ways to understand how the Medicare program actually works.  

But when it comes to Christian Scientists, we do have some specific questions and needs that aren’t usually covered in the general information about Medicare. So while there’s great general information about Medicare available, I offer these webinars so that people can have specific information about their Medicare choices, taking into account their practice of Christian Science.

Join us online on Saturday, September 16 at 10am EDT to learn more from Leslie.

Register for “Christian Scientists & Medicare: A Roadmap”