Medicare education a priority for active senior

The “call of the wild” is loud for Bob Blake, 63, but his sense of community and giving back has an even bigger voice.

“My buddy, Malcolm, and I hike every week,” said Blake, the new Maine Medicare Education Partnership program coordinator at Eastern Agency on Aging. “We climbed Peaked Mountain, also known as Chick Hill. We try to pick different places all the time and we hiked all through the winter as well.”

Not just a “landlubber,” Blake has been canoeing since he was a small child and proudly claims that he’s never capsized, “unless it was on purpose, just for fun, playing around.”

He and his outdoorsman buddy, who canoe on local lakes and streams, will spend the last week of July paddling down the Allagash River.

Blake retired from the state 18 months ago. And while he’s always been physically active, with indoor equipment, he now has time to enjoy the great outdoors that is Maine.

“I am very concerned about health,” he said. “As we age, it becomes a major commitment and you have to work at it.

He’s a busy man, no doubt. And yet his commitment to the service of others is front and center in his life. He is a volunteer for Hancock County Hospice in Bucksport, financial secretary of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Ellsworth and occasionally leads worship, and member of the board of trustees at Buck Memorial Library

And then there is EAA.

“I am working because I want to,” said Blake. “I always wanted to be semi-retired, and chose this position because I felt it would be fulfilling. I am really eager to help and make a contribution, and I enjoy challenges and problem-solving and the personal growth that goes with it.”

Blake may get his wish.

“The primary goal of the Maine Medicare Education Partnership [MMEP] program is to educate Medicare consumers on how to read and understand medical statements so they will be able to detect and report mistakes,” he said. “We train volunteers who then speak with seniors, either in groups or one-on-one, and show them how to examine the Medicare statements and to ascertain whether errors in billing have occurred.”

One way to check for mistakes is to keep track of all medical appointments and procedures. Then when the Medicare statement arrives, compare it to your records, said Blake.

MMEP has made this task easier for seniors and their families by producing the Personal Health Journal. This free, bright pink booklet has ample room to log all medical information and can be obtained simply by contacting Eastern Agency on Aging.

“If there is a problem on a Medicare statement, usually it’s just a billing error – for instance someone typing in the wrong code on a form,” Blake said. That problem can easily be fixed, he added, but seniors need to be on the watch for it. Another common mistake is billing for two office visits when the person only went once.

“This job seemed very appropriate for me at this time of my life, working with this age group,” Blake said. “I can relate to these people and understand their issues.”

As for health of body, mind and soul, Blake has it covered. His wife of 40 years, Shirley, a physical therapist at Sunbury Primary Care in Bangor, would probably agree.

“You don’t really have to think about your health so much when you’re younger but when you’re older you have to pay closer attention. If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.”

To obtain more information, to volunteer for MMEP or to get your free Health Journal booklet, call EAA at 941-2865.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA, call 941-2865 or log on www.eaaa.org.