The enrollment period for Medicare is just around the corner, and this week you can talk with local experts who can answer questions you may have about the process.

This week marks National Medicare Education Week. It’s being put on by UnitedHealthcare, and the company is even holding a free seminar that is open to the public.

I talked with a representative ahead of the event. “Our purpose of the event, the National Medicare Education Week, is to really help anybody who is a Medicare beneficiary understand what options are available for them when it comes to Medicare and make sure that they’re making the right selection in their health plan for themselves,” said Melanie Heffelman with UnitedHealthcare Medicare and Retirement in Colorado.

“We understand that it can be challenging. It can be a lot of information, it can be confusing. So we really want to help them feel confident in the choices they’re making with their health.”

Heffelman told me the most common question they get is, “What is Medicare?”

“Medicare is a program that helps individuals, generally over the age of 65, with their health care coverage,” Heffelman said.

“So it’s making sure that they are getting the care that they need within the hospital, with their primary care physician, and then even some do have the prescription drug parts available. It’s often paid for through their Social Security benefits. Some plans, depending on what you select, may have premiums tied to them.”

She refers to the options as an alphabet soup. “There’s traditional Medicare, which is made up of Parts A and B. If you are interested in the Medicare Advantage Plan then that’s going to be what we call Part C. Then there’s also Part D, which helps with the cost of prescription drugs,” Heffelman said.

If you want more information, the UnitedHealthcare MedicareStore in Colorado Springs is hosting a free seminar at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The store’s address is 1412 N. Hancock Ave. You do not have to be a UnitedHealthcare member to attend. It’s open to the public. You can register by calling 1-855-352-7920 or visit www.NMEW.com. If you cannot make it to the event, you can call them with questions you have.

“We will have everyone from our sales team to our operations team. We’re going to have support from the Colorado Springs City Council. They have proclaimed it as National Medicare Education Week for us,” Heffelman said. “We work with Walgreens, if anybody has questions for a pharmacist. AARP is supporting our event, as well. The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging will also be there.”

The health care company says more than 110,000 seniors and beneficiaries in Colorado Springs are eligible to enroll in Medicare or to change their plans.

Open enrollment for Medicare starts on Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7.

If you want more information about Medicare, I put a link on our website www.kktv.com, just click on the red Find It tab.