Choosing a plan is important, she said, because it can shape important medical decisions during her final years.
"She knows what's going on in my life," said Covington, who lives at a senior citizen complex in Sandy.
Medicare officials are urging Utah's 256,000-plus beneficiaries to review their prescription drug plans - and the scores of other options - during the open enrollment window that begins Saturday and continues until Dec. 31. Seniors or caregivers, family or friends assisting them can sort through the plans' costs and benefits at www.medicare.gov.
Many premiums are increasing, particularly in plans offered in southern Utah, said Mark Gilbert, regional administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in Denver.
Plans may be altering their covered drug lists or other benefits in January, and seniors may have changed the prescriptions they use, he added. This year's catchphrase: Plans change. You change. Shop and compare now.
"We want to let people know premiums are up and they need to re-evaluate," said Peter Hebertson, director of Salt Lake County's Aging Services Outreach Program. "It's going to pay them to look."
There are 51 stand-alone drug plans offered statewide, Gilbert said. Such plans accompany health care provided through Medicare. Nearly every Utahn now in a stand-alone plan has the option of switching to another stand-alone plan with a lower premium, according to Medicare.
Among these Utah plans:
27 charge no deductible.
$18.50 is the lowest monthly premium.
Nine do not charge premiums for low-income residents who qualify for extra help.
The number of Medicare Advantage plans - which provide prescription coverage in combination with private health insurance - vary by county, Gilbert added. There are 32 offered in Salt Lake County.
Among these Utah plans:
17 do not charge premiums.
All Utah beneficiaries have access to a plan that does not charge a deductible.
Hundreds of seniors have already called Salt Lake County's Aging Services Outreach Program for help, Hebertson said. The county's staffer who worked on Medicare issues left for another job, so other staff are assisting.
"It's an ever-growing demand on our time," he said.
There is a waiting list of about 75 seniors, but the program will take additional names and arrange one-on-one assistance.
There are new limits on how the plans can be marketed, following concern in Congress about tactics that put "undue pressure" on seniors, Gilbert said. Some examples: companies cannot provide free meals at events, or call or visit people without an invitation.
Seniors should be wary of an agent who represents a single company, said South Jordan insurance agent Mark Snihurowych, noting that agents often receive commissions. He suggests seniors find trustworthy assistance to review the wide array of plans and their different benefits and costs.
Reviewing your current plan should take place annually, he added.
"If my grandparents lived here I'd want them to know these things," Snihurowych said.
