Arlington County’s Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program
(VICAP) provides free, unbiased, one-on-one insurance counseling to Arlington County Medicare Beneficiaries, their families, friends and caregivers.
CMS Health Equity Conference
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) held its second annual CMS Health Equity Conference. The event drew thousands of attendees in-person and virtually, including Michelle Thomas, VICAP’s Program Coordinator who was selected to speak about her proposal Health Equity Tours to Engage Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities. Within her presentation, Michelle shared insights into VICAP’s work that ensured older adults, persons with disabilities, non-English speaking, and underserved and minority communities received equitable access to programs, benefits, and services that maintained or improved their quality of life. Review the presentation slides by downloading them from the CMS Health Equity Conference’s Agenda page here: https://cmshealthequityconference.com/agenda.html.
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ABC's of Medicare
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 | 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug Coverage, and Medigap Policies are choices in the Medicare program. Join Arlington County VICAP to learn:
- About Medicare coverage choices (Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Part D Prescription Drug Coverage, and Medigap Policies).
- What Medicare does and does not cover.
- About programs for people with limited income
Register for this virtual class by emailing MedicareHelp@arlingtonva.us, calling 703-228-1725, or by filling the electronic form here.
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Vision Care
According to an article published by the American Acadamy of Ophthalmology, visual impairment and blindness in the U.S. is highest amongst older adults. Racial and ethnic minority populations are especially at high risk for various vision diseases as a result of education, access to healthcare, economic stability, and other social determinants.
Medicare does not cover routine vision care, however in some instances Medicare will provide vision care related to injury or chronic illness. Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers eye exams for diabetic retinopathy once each year if you have diabetes. You must get the exam from an eye doctor who's legally allowed to do the test in your state. Part B also covers these screenings once every 12 months if you are at high risk for developing the eye disease glaucoma. You’re considered high risk if at least one of these conditions applies to you:
- You have diabetes.
- You have a family history of glaucoma.
- You’re African American and 50 or older.
- You’re Hispanic and 65 or older.
Click here to learn more.
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Use Two-factor Authentication to
Protect Your Accounts
Virginiasmp | June 21, 2024
There probably isn’t a day that goes by without you logging into at least one account — maybe you check your email, post to your social media, pay bills, send money to your friends and family, or buy something online. Your accounts can store a lot of personal and financial information. That’s why you protect them with a password. Unfortunately, passwords are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. But there’s a simple way to make your accounts more secure: turn on two-factor authentication. (Read More)
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Dear VICAP Team,
When should I enroll in Medicare?
Dear Medicare Beneficiary,
Your Medicare enrollment depends on a few different factors. Most individuals will automatically receive Medicare Part A premium free once they turn 65. Unless you are entitled to disability or retirement benefits for a certain period of time, you must actively enroll in Medicare Part B. You can enroll in Medicare for the first time during one of the following three periods:
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Initial Enrollment Period (IEP): This seven-month period begins three months before your 65th birthday and ends three months after your 65th birthday. For example, if your birthday is in July, your Initial Enrollment Period would start April 1st and end at the end of October. If you enroll within the first three months of your Initial enrollment period, your coverage will begin the first day of your birth month. Click here to learn more.
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Special Enrollment Period (SEP): This period is for individuals who elected not to enroll in Medicare during their Initial Enrollment Period. This period can only be used if you did not enroll in Medicare because you had employer-based coverage. If you are currently covered by employer-based insurance, you can choose to continue delaying Medicare enrollment for as long as you have that coverage. If you know you will be losing your employer coverage, you have 8 months after losing coverage to enroll in Medicare. Click here for more specific details about this enrollment period.
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General Enrollment Period (GEP): If you do not enroll in Medicare during your Initial Enrollment Period or could not enroll during the Special Enrollment Period, you can enroll during the General Enrollment Period which begins January 1st and ends March 31st. Many people who enroll during this period face gaps in coverage and will face a late enrollment penalty depending on the length of time they have been without coverage. Click here to learn more about the General Enrollment Period.
Keep in mind that Medicare Part D (prescription coverage) has separate enrollment rules. Click here to learn more.
 Contact the Arlington County VICAP team by phone or email:
703-228-1725
MedicareHelp@arlingtonva.us
This project was supported, in part by grant number 90SAPG0064, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy
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