When it was time for Barbara Byerly-Abas, 72, to navigate Medicare, she needed help.
"I worked in the medical field all my life, but it's gotten so confusing that I thought I needed some backup," the Moscow resident said. A former medical transcriptionist, she had heard all of the jargon, but it was a different experience when the paperwork had her name on it.
Working with an Apprise Program counselor from the Voluntary Action Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Mrs. Byerly-Abas was able to learn more about Medicare and insurance options. Apprise is a free health insurance counseling program through the state that helps with Medicare, which can be an intimidating process.
Stacks of letters, forms and brochures from the national insurance program have flooded her mailbox, but working with her VAC counselor, Mrs. Byerly-Abas has been able to find the plan that fits her needs.
"I'm taking a lot of medication," she said, explaining that she has Parkinson's disease. "It's going to save me quite a bit of money."
Mrs. Byerly-Abas applied for assistance, but she made too much. Making a few dollars more than the limit of the guidelines meant paying more for her coverage, so her savings were greatly appreciated.
"I think it's scary for so many people," she said. "They don't know what to do."
Using the Apprise program and speaking with counselors from VAC helped her wade through the process. Changes in her prescription coverage saved her more than $2,500 each year.
Any amount of money saved is helpful to Mrs. Byerly-Abas and her husband, Matthys, who has returned to work since retirement.
"When he retired, we took a 10-week trip across country," she said. "That was before the fall of the stock market, which ate up our savings."
Now he works at a grocery store in Daleville. Her husband loves his job, which she said keeps him sharp and active, but the additional income also helps the pair stay financially stable with rising health care costs.
"That gives us the ability if we have something extra we have to get," she said. That money can now purchase set of tires rather than costly prescriptions.
"Without him doing that before with what the insurance was, I was getting really nervous whether we were going to be able to afford it all," she added.
She recommended contacting the VAC to help find the best combination of coverage, but also suggested living more responsibly.
You don't live quite the way you did," she said. "You don't go out to eat as much."
Today's seniors have more years to plan for, she continued, which means living more modestly.
"Seventy before was like you were going to fall off the rock," she said. "I don't feel that way at all - I don't feel 72 emotionally."
Contact the writer: rbrown@timesshamrock.com, @rbrownTT on Twitter