Preparing for Natural Disasters: A Guide for Medicare Beneficiaries
Summary: Natural disasters often strike with little warning, but being prepared can make all the difference, especially if you’re a Medicare beneficiary who may need to maintain your health care coverage and access necessary medical services after disaster strikes.
Understanding Medicare’s disaster protections
Medicare offers several protections for beneficiaries affected by natural disasters. This includes receiving care in emergency situations, even if it’s outside your normal network. The official Medicare website provides detailed information on services and procedures available during disasters.
The benefits of Medicare supplement policies
Having a Medicare supplement policy can be particularly advantageous after a disaster. These plans cover additional costs that Medicare doesn’t, such as copayments, deductibles and coinsurance. Most importantly, with a Medigap plan, you can receive care from any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare, which is crucial during emergencies when local networks might be disrupted.
How to prepare before a disaster
To ensure you’re able to receive required care and services after a disaster hits, be sure to keep your Medicare premiums paid and your contact information up to date. This can prevent any interruption in coverage and aid in receiving timely disaster notifications and assistance.
What to do if you lose important documents
If you lose your home or important paperwork in a disaster, visit disasterassistance.gov for resources to replace vital documents, such as Medicare cards and prescriptions. Additionally, you can learn about salvaging flood-damaged papers and protecting yourself against identity theft.
Refilling prescriptions after a disaster
Contact your Medicare drug plan provider to find an in-network pharmacy or to arrange for a supply of your medications at out-of-network pharmacies, if necessary. Keep all receipts if you must pay full cost upfront.
You’ll be able to move most prescriptions from one in-network pharmacy to another, and back to your regular pharmacy when the emergency or disaster ends. If you need help finding the closest in-network pharmacy, contact your Medicare plan.
You’ll need to tell the new pharmacy the name of your regular pharmacy and the drugs you need refilled.
If you lost your plan membership card and don’t know your plan’s phone number, call 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) to get your plan’s contact information. TTY users can call 877-486-2048.
If you think you won’t return home for a long time, you may want to get a long-term supply of your prescription drugs. Check with your plan provider to see if it offers 60- to 90-day supplies and which pharmacies you can use to get them.
How to replace durable medical equipment
To replace essential items like wheelchairs or to continue ongoing treatments such as dialysis or chemotherapy after a disaster, you’ll need to contact your Medicare plan provider directly for additional instructions.
Handling financial hardships
If a disaster impacts your ability to pay premiums, contact your insurance provider immediately. Mutual of Omaha has policies in place to assist during such hardships.
Additional tips
Mutual of Omaha’s customer service can provide further guidance on Medicare supplement policies and claims. Your state department of insurance will notify your insurer about major disasters, helping to expedite any necessary support.
For more detailed information and immediate assistance, beneficiaries should contact Medicare directly at 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) or visit medicare.gov. TTY users can call 877-486-2048.
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