OUTREACH
Process is a Little Different Due to COVID-19, both LCCOA and WCSC’s appointment processes will look different from last year. While both centers have SHIP certified staff to help you this season, comparisons and appointments will fill up quickly, and you will want to make sure that you call early to initiate your comparison process right away.LCCOA will allow for, extremely limited, face-toface appointments this season. WCSC will be conducting comparisons by remote means. Comparisons will be
completed by using a combination of any of the following: phone, USPS mail, secire drop-box, e-mail, and/or fax. Please call the LCCOA or WCSC in advance to discuss their comparison processes. For those that prefer a video conference format, comparisons may also be completed by FaceTime, Zoom, Google Meets, WebEx, etc. Further scheduling details are below.
LCCOA Call to schedule your appointment at 815-288-9236. Please be aware that LCCOA is limiting face-to-face appointments only to those who meet certain criteria, and once those appointment slots are filled, it will be by virtual means only.Our Outreach Assistant, Chelsea, will review the process of the season, update or create your file, collect your Medicare information and mymedicare.gov account login credentials, or permission to create that account on your behalf.You will be asked to supply a prescription list a minimum of 5 days prior to your scheduled appointment.The style of appointment you create will determine how the comparison results are sent to you, but all appointments will end with us calling you at your scheduled time (or your completing our screening process for in-house appointments) to review the information sent ahead of time.We will review exactly as we always have done in the past.
WCSC Call 815-622-9230 Ext. 194 to initiate your comparison process and to receive your WCSC Plan Finder Worksheet in the mail. If you leave a voice mail, please only leave 1 message; we
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return your call based on the order it is received. Once you receive the worksheet from us, fill it out accurately and completely. Please attach an up-to-date, detailed, and legible drug list with it. When complete, please mail, email, or fax the worksheet back to our office ASAP. The worksheets must be returned by Nov. 23rd, 2020. When the WCSC Outreach Dept. receives the worksheet back from you, a comparison will be run based on the information that you give to us, and we will then follow-up with you. We will mail the comparisons we complete to you, along with a summary of your comparison findings. You can choose to make a follow-up phone appointment with us to discuss the results and what your next steps are after the comparisons are done. If you are happy with the results that we mail to you, and do not need a follow-up phone appointment, you are welcome to complete the next steps of enrollment on your own, or you can stay in the same drug plan.You must complete and turn in your Plan Finder Worksheet to be eligible for a comparison. Please keep in mind that we complete our comparisons on a first-come, first-serve basis, and we have limited openings. Any of our trained Outreach
staff can assist you when you call to get you started with the process. If you need to file a Benefit Access Application during the Open Enrollment window, we will only work on and complete these applications over-the-phone on Fridays.
Please Note ... This season will be different for all of us this year. We are optimistic that despite these new challenges we will still be able to assist many of you, as we have in the past. We urge you to call early to schedule your appointment at LCCOA, or start your comparison process at WCSC.Comparison slots will fill quickly this year, and both centers will not be scheduling any comparisons in the final week of Open Enrollment. This time will be used to tie up any loose ends in the season.We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we look forward to assisting you! If you are unable to get a comparison at LCCOA or WCSC, and/or need to compare plans right away, we encourage you to call 1-800-Medicare (800-633-4227) or you can contact the dedicated Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) hotline at 800-252-8966.
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October is now upon us and we are looking at this next season with excitement as we have begun our process for this year’s Annual Open Enrollment Period.Open Enrollment runs each year from October 15 through December 7; this is the time when you can get into a Part D or Medicare Advantage Plan for the first time if you missed your initial enrollment, or compare and change your current plan to something that better suits your needs for the upcoming year. Both centers will be prioritizing Open Enrollment appointments during the October 15th-December 7th time period. If you require an appointment for other Outreach services during this window, please know that Open Enrollment appointments will take priority since there is a limited amount of time to make changes.We will do our best to accommodate other appointment needs and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. We appreciate your understanding as we strive to help every individual.
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WCSC and LCCOA Outreach news and updates
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