Learn About Medicare Open Enrollment

 As a contractor for Medicare, Acentra Health serves as the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization, also referred to as a BFCC-QIO. While Acentra Health provides BFCC-QIO services in 29 states (visit www.acentraqio.com to see the states served), the general information is relevant to everyone who has Medicare (including Medicare Advantage) and everyone who works with people who have Medicare. 

This episode is a conversation with our guest, Crystal Strong. She is the Program Director for the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program within the South Carolina Department on Aging (SCDOA). She provides oversight and direction to the state grantees to support their work assisting Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers through outreach, counseling, and education. In this role, she is also responsible for the education and certification of the counselors/volunteers statewide. Crystal actively supports the program networks by providing training and technical assistance whenever possible. Prior to this position, she has functioned in various roles and programs since 2000 when her tenure at SCDOA began. Crystal holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from South Carolina State University.  

For more information about Acentra Health BFCC-QIO, please visit https://www.acentraqio.com.

KEY TOPICS 

00:21: Overview, introduction of guest, Crystal Strong

02:08: What is SHIP?

02:31: What and when is Medicare Open Enrollment?

03:03: How do SHIPs help with Medicare Open Enrollment?

03:42: Tips for Medicare Open Enrollment

04:20: Summary and final thoughts

SUBSCRIBE 

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RESOURCES

BFCC-QIO Information for stakeholders: https://www.acentraqio.com/partners

BFCC-QIO Information for people who have Medicare: https://www.acentraqio.com/bene/helpline

SC Dept on Aging: https://aging.sc.gov/

Acentra Health Open Enrollment information:  https://www.acentraqio.co,/medicareopenenrollment

SHIP Information: https://www.shiphelp.org/

Medicare information: https://www.medicare.gov

Music: Motivational Upbeat Corporate by RinkevichMusic 

https://soundcloud.com/rinkevichmusic

https://protunes.net/

Video Link: https://bit.ly/3NNqGTs

Transcript

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Welcome to Aging Health Matters, a podcast from Acentra Health, a Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization. We plan to cover healthcare topics for the Medicare population. Information in today’s show may help you or someone you know in their healthcare journey. Thanks for joining us. Now let’s get started.  

Hi everyone, I am Kia Weaver. I'm an Outreach Specialist, and I will be your host today. Acentra Health is the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization for 29 states. We help people with Medicare who have concerns about their health care.

We can help you appeal if you're leaving the hospital too soon, or if skilled services like physical therapy are ending too early. We also offer Immediate Advocacy services to help fix problems quickly with medical care or services. More information is available on our website at acentraqio.com. We also work with many outstanding partners to help spread information about the Medicare program and its benefits. While we greatly appreciate their partnerships, we also want to be clear that the opinions and guidance expressed by them in this podcast are solely theirs or their agencies and are not necessarily those of the QIO, CMS, or the Medicare program.  Please keep in mind that state-by-state guidance may differ as well.
 
Today we have a guest from our local SHIP office. Crystal Strong. Will you please give us a little bit of background information, the position that you hold in your years worked at your organization?

Yes, thank you, Kia. My name is Crystal Strong, and I am the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, SHIP, and the Senior Medicare Patrol Program, SMP, Manager. I've been with the South Carolina Department on Aging for 25 years and have served as a program manager for both programs since 2015.

Thank you so much, Crystal. Can you? Thank you so much, Crystal. Can you tell us about what the SHIP organization is?

Sure. The State Health Insurance Assistance Program, otherwise known as SHIPS, is a program that provides local, in-depth and objective insurance counseling and assistance to Medicare-eligible individuals, their families, and caregivers.

Perfect. Thank you so much. And what and when is Medicare Open Enrollment?

Open Enrollment, or OEP for short, and also known as the annual election period, is the time of the year when you can make changes to your Medicare coverage. This period runs from October 15 through December 7 of each year. And any changes that you make during this time will be effective on January 1 of the following year.

And how do SHIPs help with Medicare Open Enrollment?

SHIPs provide one-on-one assistance with reviewing health and prescription drug plan options. SHIP counselors here in South Carolina and all over can help you use the Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov to review your options and pick a plan that meets your needs. SHIPs also specialize in Medigap or Medicare Supplement rights in your state and or territory.

Thank you. And I know there's a lot of information that Medicare beneficiaries are overwhelmed with, bombarded with during Medicare Open Enrollment time. Do you have any tips for Medicare Open Enrollment?

Yes, one of the things that we like to tell people is that if even if you are happy with your current health and drug coverage, Open Enrollment is a good time to review what you have, compare it with other options, and make sure that your current coverage still meets your needs for the upcoming year.

Thank you so much. Do you have anything else you'd like to share with us today?

One, I would like to provide our phone number here in South Carolina. Not only are ships in South Carolina, we are across the country. So there is a program that services our state as well as other states to do the same thing. Our number here in South Carolina to reach your local SHIP counselor is 1-800-868-9095. Again, that number is 1-800-868-909.
 
And I also like to let people know that during this time, especially with Open Enrollment, just be aware of marketing scams. Make sure you do not share your Medicare number information, such as your birth date and/or name, with anyone that you did not personally contact.
 Most people around that sell insurance are honest, but then you do have those that may not be. And if you believe in fact that you have come across someone that was not honest and you think that you were scammed? You can use the same number that I just provided to report said scam, but just be diligent during this time for OEP.

Thank you so much, Crystal. And is there a website that people can reach you at as well?

Yes, you can reach us at our office website and send an informational message, and we will get it. It is www.aging that's aging.SC.gov.

Thank you so much. That's such helpful information. And to our listeners, if you would like more information about our services, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter as well as subscribe to our YouTube channel. Our helpline phone number as well as the link to our website to sign up for our newsletter will be available in the Show Notes. Our Outreach Specialists are also available to collaborate with all of our partners. Thank you again for taking this time to share all this information with our listeners, Crystal, and thank you for listening and please stay tuned for our next episode of Aging Health Matters.

For more information about Medicare Open Enrollment, visit acentraqio.com/medicareopenenrollment. There, you’ll find helpful resources, tips for comparing plans, and details about Medicare Advantage and Medigap policies to support you in the decision-making process.

To connect with your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), go to shiphelp.org — that’s S-H-I-P-H-E-L-P dot org or call 877-839-2675 to find your local office. With Medicare Open Enrollment beginning on October 15, 2025, through December 7, 2025, we hope these resources help you confidently find the plan that best fits your needs.