MMAP Executive Director Jennifer Page discusses the upcoming statewide campaign to recruit volunteers to take training and counsel Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries in local communities. She describes the support network that includes local, regional, state and Medicare. She encourages beneficiaries to seek out their local MMAP counselor for a free, unbiased insurance/benefits review - this is particularly important as the Covid public health emergency ends. MMAP, Inc. supports a Michigan-wide toll-free number for beneficiaries to call: 800-803-7174.
MMAP Executive Director Jennifer Page discusses the upcoming statewide campaign to recruit volunteers to take training and counsel Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries in local communities. She describes the support network that includes local, regional, state and Medicare. She encourages beneficiaries to seek out their local MMAP counselor for a free, unbiased insurance/benefits review - this is particularly important as the Covid public health emergency ends. MMAP, Inc. supports a Michigan-wide toll-free number for beneficiaries to call: 800-803-7174.
Good morning. This is Kitty Glomski along with
Brooke:my cohost Brooke Mainville
Kitty Glomski:from Region 9 Area Agency and Aging and another episode of Let's Talk About Aging. This is Kitty Glomski and I have the pleasure of speaking with Jennifer Page, who is a relatively new executive director of MMAP Inc. in Lansing. Welcome Jennifer.
Jennifer Page:Thank you, Kitty. I'm happy to be here.
Kitty Glomski:Talk about your job and what MMAP is.
Jennifer Page:MMAP is the Michigan Medicare Medicaid Assistance Program. We are the central office located in Lansing, and we provide mostly training and support for the MMAP programs across the State of Michigan, which is primarily run out of our 16 AAA's. As you well know, your AAA is one of them. We do the primary centralized MMAP training for new volunteers. We have over 600 volunteers across the State of Michigan, and then we manage the grants that run the program: the Senior Medicare Patrol grant, which we call SMP, the MIPPA grant, which it's the Medical Information and Patient Protection Act, and then we have the SHIP grant, which is the State Health Insurance Program. There is a SHIP in every state in some other areas. I think there are 54 total for the United States, and that just provides beneficiaries of Medicare with a trusted, certified counselor who can help them make those decisions that are super important.
Kitty Glomski:This is going to be even more important this year because we have the unwinding of the public health emergency, and so folks that have Medicare and Medicaid are going to want to visit their local MMAP counselor and make sure everything is good to go.
Jennifer Page:Absolutely. Folks have had sort of a safety net for the last little bit because of covid, and with the unwinding, they're going to have to make some decisions about their health needs. That's exactly why we have certified counselors is to help them make the best decisions they can and get the best coverage that they can.
Kitty Glomski:Right. If somebody doesn't know how to reach a MMAP counselor, how can they reach somebody?
Jennifer Page:We have a statewide hotline that is managed through MMAP Inc. That number is 800-803-7174. When you call the line it does start off with an automation that routes folks to their local AAAs by ZIP code. It will ask you to put your zip code in, and then if you lived in Lansing, it would route you to that AAA. If you live in Detroit, you would go that way if you lived in the U.P. you would get routed to that AAA. That way you get a little more local connection. Somebody will receive your call in your area and then you'll get a call back from a local counselor. And that's important because the resources are different in different areas. It's different in Detroit as opposed to the upper Peninsula. I want to back up a step because you're using the acronym AAA. Oh, I did. So the AAA stands for Area Agencies on Aging, and there are 16 across the State of Michigan in various regions. The Detroit metro area is split into three. The Kalamazoo area is also split into three, but generally they're regional across the state of Michigan. The Upper Peninsula is one big region, and then Region 9, where you're at is that rural northeast section of Michigan with Alpena being the anchor of that.
Kitty Glomski:I wanted to talk to you about volunteers because the MMAP program is primarily made up of people who volunteer to learn about Medicare and Medicaid aren't they? So the volunteer part of this, how does MMAP gain their volunteers?
Jennifer Page:As you mentioned in the beginning, I'm pretty new to this program and one of the things that really drew me is the fact that it is a mostly volunteer run program. It's a big ask for volunteers but I think it's so rewarding. I've had the opportunity to go across the state and talk to a lot of volunteers, and they always talk to me about how amazing it is when they make that connection with a beneficiary and they're able to save them a significant amount of money, which is so important for folks. So MMAP is the centralized training location for volunteers. Volunteers can get involved in a number of ways. We currently have a volunteer recruitment campaign going on statewide through social media, and that directs folks to our website at mmapinc.org, and then we send those volunteers to the local regions to fill out paperwork that would then come back to us to do a primary background check and get them set up for training. but If somebody's interested, they can always reach out to their local region I mentioned it's the Area Agencies on Aging. Whoever answers there would get them in touch with their regional coordinator who could talk to them more about the opportunities for training. We could do that in a number of ways. Locally, central office, we're happy to take volunteers wherever they're comfortable reaching out.
Kitty Glomski:You've mentioned that there's the MMAP office in Lansing, then it branches out to the Area Agencies on Aging, and then there are some local sites, usually through senior centers-we call them Councils or Commissions on Aging- but more than that, this becomes a support system for our volunteers, doesn't it?
Jennifer Page:Yeah, absolutely. Another thing that volunteers have told me as I've had the opportunity to talk to them is how much they enjoy being part of the team locally. So it's a lot of like-minded folks. Then they get an opportunity to talk about what they're doing and connect on that level, and I think that people really enjoy that. It's nice when there's a volunteer opportunity where you're making a big difference, but you're also getting something out of it too as far as fulfillment or intellectual stimulation. I guarantee we can do that here through the MMAP program.
Kitty Glomski:What kind of person does it take to be a MMAP counselor?
Jennifer Page:I think just anybody who's really committed to wanting to help people. We have volunteers, who have been stay at home homemakers their whole lives, their grandmothers, they're mothers fathers. We have folks who are retired teachers. That's a big one. We have retired accountants, retired professionals, just kind of across the board. It's a mixed bag. So, you don't have to be an accountant, you don't have to have worked in the insurance field. We're willing to teach you how to help people with Medicare. I think if you're willing to learn, if you're willing to commit some time and you're willing to be part of a team, those are probably the three biggest aspects of becoming a MMAP volunteer.
Kitty Glomski:I find that some of my counselors have been in the medical field, maybe nursing in some way. I have one that did medical billing for a doctor who's retired. So it's usually people who like to really solve issues. And they find it's like, oh, I gotta research this- it's like a big puzzle and it comes together. Medicare beneficiaries, it's not cookie cutter, everybody's situation is different.
Jennifer Page:Right. I agree with what you're saying. I think there is a personality type that enjoys that a little bit. They like the challenge. I think that's what is so important about this is that when we think of Medicare, we think of it as a program, but it affects everybody so differently and everybody has different needs, and your needs might change year to year. You're constantly having to look at what the options are. That's where those people are a real gem for us because they will like to dig in. They're like, okay, I'm just not happy with what you've got now. Let's see what else we can get you. So we love to have those types of people on the team for sure.
Kitty Glomski:The team is so important. We're all a little different. In Region 9 we started a component of our monthly meetings that if somebody's having a difficult time, they bring it up as a case to examine and oh my gosh, the most popular part of our meeting is, how do we solve this? What suggestions do you have? Can I help you? That is so heartwarming because no one is out there on their own as an island. We're all interconnected and you have help when you need it.
Jennifer Page:Yeah, I think that's that real team aspect we were talking about, and you've been through the training, I've been through the training. At first it can seem sort of daunting for folks, you know, like, oh my gosh, this is a lot to learn. How am I gonna help people with this? But, but that's the part that's beautiful is there's so many people out there on your team, whether that's the central office or your local region that you can reach out to, and they'll help you through some of those difficult challenges.
Kitty Glomski:There are different levels. There's the frontline volunteer and they can take things to their coordinator and like in our situation, we have these case files we examine, but I can go to any one of the specialists in Lansing or we can take it right straight up the chain to Medicare, can't we?
Jennifer Page:Absolutely. That's one of the things that we do often in the central office is we provide a, just an organized place for folks to present items to us that might be beyond our purview. And then we can send that on to to Medicare to take a look at, and so we like to be that interchange for folks.
Kitty Glomski:Right? So beneficiaries need to know that they can really get some solid help when they contact a MMAP counselor. I was chatting with one of our counselors the other day and just kind of looking at it philosophically, and where would people get this kind of information?
Jennifer Page:Yeah, I don't think they would. I think that's why it's so important for people to understand what MMAP is and what we do and that personal connection, because I think a lot of people are afraid to call, quite frankly, because they think it's gonna be another hotline. It's gonna be another, impersonal government situation where they're on hold or they're waiting for somebody to call them back. But it is really that personal connection that makes MMAP really special and really helps people. It's important for people to understand this is different. These are volunteers in your community who are ready and able to help.
Kitty Glomski:So if someone wants to make a local connection is it kind of like us where a lot of the senior centers have or host a map counselor site?
Jennifer Page:It's different for every region. Most of the senior sites, if they don't have a MMAP counselor who's there regularly, a MMAP counselor will come there and meet somebody. One of the things that came out of the pandemic, is a little better connectivity to people in different options. If there isn't somebody in that senior center, you still might be able to zoom with a MMAP counselor in your area or do a phone call. MMAP counselors are very accommodating. I would say that's something all the regions have in common is that, they're going to figure out a way to reach out to you, however that works.
Kitty Glomski:So if somebody is interested in becoming a counselor can we talk maybe about the training that they go through? Because a lot of people envision, you hand them the Medicare and You book and say, memorize it. That's not the case is it?
Jennifer Page:So the training is really comprehensive. MMAP Inc, which is the central office in Lansing, has developed a program we call MMAP University. A new counselor, once they go through a background check, once they're ready to go, we set them up with an online account in MMAP University. It's self-guided, you can do it at your own pace. You could redo a module if you think that maybe it didn't sink in, you can get through that. Once you're done with the modules, we offer something called initial training. That's done with our training manager at MMAP Incorporated. It's a three day online learning opportunity. We're working on a few different options for folks so it's not such a large commitment. But it gives people an opportunity to really ask questions, to learn from each other, to have that peer interaction, that face-to-face time with that training manager who's an expert. Then after that, they get referred back to their local region. There's a mentoring time period where they need to work with a certified counselor. Sometimes, depending on the region, that might be the regional coordinator, it might be a site coordinator. It just might be like a, a really veteran counselor who can help. Then once they get through those hours and they're confident on their skills, then they can start working individually with beneficiaries.
Kitty Glomski:It's not a case where, okay, you've done the book learning, go out and counsel.
Jennifer Page:No. It's a supportive environment. Our counselors, they have a lot of support at the regional level and then they have a lot of support from the central office too. So you know, our training manager is very accessible. Our directors are very accessible, so, There's always somebody there to ask questions, to provide support and to help you through that process. We don't just send you out there into the world alone. There's always somebody there to help.
Kitty Glomski:Then in follow up there's a certification for this annually, isn't there?
Jennifer Page:There's a process of learning throughout the year. We do update trainings. There's two big statewide counselor trainings every year, and there is a recertification process. Every year, they have to do some modules, take a test. We have to make sure that their skills are still up to date. Anybody who's even, remotely aware of Medicare knows that these kinds of things change every year, there are policy updates. And so we wanna make sure that our counselors are aware of those things, or at least know where to find those things if they're presented with a question they might not be super well versed in. So it's important to us to know that our counselors that are out there are all trained on the same level and are able to provide that service comprehensively.
Kitty Glomski:This year, MMAP Inc. had its first commercial on tv to promote the service.
Jennifer Page:When I came in, we were sort of in the middle of it, so I was really excited to be a part of it. We were able to shoot a commercial. It had a theme of a mailbox. Our Medicare beneficiaries, especially around open enrollment in the fall get inundated with information: different insurance companies, different options, and it stuffs your mailbox. And so MMAP is your guide to get through all of that stuff. That was the theme of the commercial and some radio spots that we did. We saw a pretty significant increase in calls coming into MMAP, I think due to the media campaign. But I think that commercial, some social media blasts and then also radio commercials really got the word out to folks that there was a navigation and unbiased free service out there that could help you. We were really happy with the way that turned out. I mentioned earlier, we currently have a volunteer recruitment campaign going on this year. So last year we got a lot of people interested in MMAP. This year, we need some more counselors to answer all those calls. So we're capacity building and we're hoping to make the commercial a regular thing to get that out there every year and let more people know about MMAP.
Kitty Glomski:Absolutely. I will tell you that I fell in love with Joyce peeking in her mailbox. If you're new to Medicare, you get inundated; open enrollment, you're inundated. It's all insurance stuff. People are getting telephone calls about this when they really shouldn't be getting telephone calls, aren't they?
Jennifer Page:Yes, they are. When we did the campaign, we targeted both Medicare beneficiaries, but also caregivers of Medicare beneficiaries, kind of that sandwich generation. And that's where I'm at. Before coming to MMAP, I handling a lot of my dad's Medicare. I really didn't know the difference between some of the advertisements that were coming to me or insurance options and the things that actually were related to his current Medicare policy. So I can really relate to feeling overwhelmed by that, and so I hope that the commercial showed people that there is someone out there that can help you sort through that type of information. But yeah, it's a lot.
Kitty Glomski:Talk to me a little bit more about the effort to reach out and get more volunteers. You said there's going to be a statewide campaign.
Jennifer Page:We currently have some Facebook ads going out across the state of Michigan. We're really targeting our more rural areas, so definitely Region 9. We're driving them currently to us at the central office and then we're forwarding them onto the local regions. That is just trying to connect with people with social media because that tends to be the platform that we're able to really get our message across. A larger campaign will start in April, so we won't be doing the TV commercial exactly. We are doing a radio commercial that will be on the Michigan Association of Broadcasting Stations, very similar to our fall campaign, and talking about how you can get involved with volunteering at MMAP and why it's important. So we're really hoping that that will drive some volunteers to our local regions. We had a lot of success using that platform prior. We used the mailbox theme for our awareness campaign. This commercial is themed around a maze. It's talking about the Medicare maze and how it can be very overwhelming for people, and then it is projecting volunteers as navigators of that maze. We're looking forward to it. I haven't seen the finished product yet. It's being recorded by some professionals and we'll be happy to share that here shortly.
Kitty Glomski:I'll look forward to it. You bring up something I had a conversation with a counselor about, the fact that when you advertise for volunteers, it's a dual benefit because you're also advertising that MMAP exists.
Jennifer Page:Yes. It is sort of sneaky like that. Yes, we have received some calls at the central office where folks have been like, I saw an ad about MMAP counselors, but I didn't know about MMAP before. It's driving awareness on both levels for us, and vice versa. When we did the awareness campaign, we had folks calling. I didn't know this existed. I want to help people with this. I've been through this. Pretty consistently, we find that some of our best counselors are folks who came to us as beneficiaries who needed help. Once they got through it and they worked through it, they were like, I want to help other people navigate this maze as well, and they've been amazing volunteers for us. You're right, it is a two for both ways.
Kitty Glomski:There are folks that leave for the winter, in January or Christmas time but during open enrollment they come in and it's their fun thing to do. There's a lot of camaraderie and they love helping the public save money. This year, it's been hard up in our area because there's a couple of plans that the premium jumped from a very low rate to a very high rate. It added at least a thousand dollars for the year to the cost of that plan. The thing that we always find is, if you have a Part D plan or an Advantage plan, just make an appointment to see a MMAP counselor annually. We call it the no surprise visit.
Jennifer Page:I like that. Yeah, that's good.
Kitty Glomski:And in January that plan may change. Well it will change there are always changes to each plan. Coverage changes, premium changes, add new drugs, take off old ones, and of course this year insulin changed. Have that no surprise visit. It may take five, 10 minutes, and then you're confident in the fact that your plan is the best plan for you. If not, then you get to examine your other choices, and that's the kind of thing that MMAP counselors do, and they do extremely well. They use a Medicare database called the Plan Finder, and they have access to every single plan in that zip code, don't they?
Jennifer Page:Yeah, absolutely. I think that tool is so important. If you're just a beneficiary at home and you want to make some changes, it's much more difficult to find all of that information where a MMAP counselor can pretty easily pull that up and make comparisons for you to make choices. There's the premiums, there's the copays, there's medication costs. Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out which of those changes will be the most beneficial for somebody, and those tools just make it much easier, and counselors are so knowledgeable. They're not gonna force you into anything either. Counselors are just there to present your options to you and let you make your own choices. There's no sales tactics there. There's no pressure. It's completely unbiased and so that's a fantastic option for folks.
Kitty Glomski:That's just it. It's your decision, and where else do you find that information? You know some are tech savvy and some can get on medicare.gov and do their own research, but counselors also know the local resources. A lot of times there are some other available programs, and I'm thinking of up here, we have a lot of the federally sponsored clinics that have sliding fee scales. So if your plan has a drug that's expensive, you may be able to get it cheaper through your doctor's office or the pharmacy connected with one of these programs. So we know about that stuff that It's not always on the internet.
Jennifer Page:That's why it's so important, if calls come into the central office, we're always trying to route those to the local regions, and that's why this program is set up the way it is because it is important to have somebody in your region who knows about what's available. It would be really difficult for a central office in Lansing to know all of those things that are available.
Kitty Glomski:You're not all knowing.
Jennifer Page:I mean, I try to be, but I'm sure I'm missing something somewhere along there.
Kitty Glomski:We'll have to ask Joyce on the TV commercial.
Jennifer Page:Oh, Joyce, I hope we can bring her back. She was great.
Kitty Glomski:She was cute. I loved her. The peeking into her mailbox. So. Oh, so Jennifer, anything else you would like to cover?
Jennifer Page:I don't think so. This was pretty comprehensive. I appreciate it. Just know, if you're on the fence about being a MMAP counselor and you want some more information, please reach out to us. MMAP inc.org, mmapinc.org send us an inquiry on the website. Be happy to reach out to you or again, reach out to your local region, those Area Agencies on Aging and all of our regional coordinators, and I'm sure they would be happy to give you more information about volunteering as well. Come join the team.
Kitty Glomski:I second that motion. Thank you for joining us. I will look forward to having you back when we have something else to talk about and there's always something to talk about, isn't there?
Jennifer Page:Yes, there is. Well, thank you for having me. I appreciate it. It was fun.
Kitty Glomski:This is Kitty Glomski and Brooke Mainville, with the Calendar of Events. On the second Wednesday of April. That's April 12th, the MMAP program has a New to Medicare presentation starting at 10 o'clock on Zoom. This is a virtual presentation. This is information for anyone that is new to Medicare, is starting Medicare due to disability or has questions and wants to know how Medicare works. Then afterwards you get to meet one on one with a counselor and talk about your personal situation. To register, you can call 1-800-803-7174 or contact your local Senior Center, your Commission or Council on Aging, and they can make the appointment for you.
Brooke:For the calendar events for April, I have a Diabetes PATH taking place at the Rogers City Senior Center and Community Center. That's April 21st through June 2nd from 1:00 to 3:00. That's a in-person Diabetes PATH. We have a in-person Caregiver Conference that is taking place Monday, April 24th from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. There will be complimentary breakfast and lunch as well as speakers and vendor tables and door prizes and raffles. So that's a great one not to miss. And again, that's in person at the Roscommon Northern Banquet Center. And I have one more. It's a virtual option for our caregivers, and that is our Caregiver Webinar taking place, April 14th from 1:00 to 2:00 on a Friday, and the topic is Parkinson's disease. Again, that was April 14th from 1:00 to 2:00. So those are the three: I have a Diabetes PATH in Rogers City, a in-person Caregiver Conference in Roscommon, and a Caregiver Webinar series online via Zoom. To register for these events, please contact me at 989-358-4616. Again, that was 989-358-4616, or go to our website at www.nem csa.org and you can find the information there. Thank you.
Kitty Glomski:So this is Kitty Glomski and Brooke Mainville asking you to join us again next time on Let's Talk About Aging.
Carla:Let's Talk About Aging is a production of the Region 9 Area Agency on Aging, 2569 US 23 South, Alpena, Michigan 4 9 7 0 7. This Podcast was supported, in part, by grant number 90MPPG0039 from the US Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC. Podcast music provided by Groove Music, selection titled"Modern Logo," created by Vadym Kuznietsov and can be found at https://elements.envato.com/modern-logo-ZVHFBJ6