Medicare Plans and Help in Webster Groves, MO

Webster Groves had 24,010 residents in the 2020 census, spread from Old Orchard to the streets around Webster University. Barnes-Jewish Hospital, BJC's flagship campus, is a few miles away in the city. Mercy Hospital South is to the south on Kennerly Road. SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond Heights is another nearby choice. Veterans can use the VA campus at Jefferson Barracks.

With three big systems this close, BJC, Mercy and SSM Health, it pays to know which one your doctors belong to. A Medicare Advantage plan sets its network each year, and a plan built around one system may treat the others as out of network. Write down your doctors and the hospital you'd want in an emergency, then check them against the plan. Do it again each fall, since networks can change for the new year. A Medicare Supplement works another way. Any doctor who accepts Medicare is covered, with no referrals, and you buy Part D drug coverage on its own.

If you're signing up for Part B or applying for Extra Help, you can do it online at ssa.gov or call 1-800-772-1213. The Social Security office at 8800 Watson Road shares the 63119 ZIP code, and appointments save time. If you'd rather talk through your choices in person with a counselor, Missouri SHIP offers free help and can tell you about local sessions.

For daily life, the Webster Groves Public Library on East Lockwood Avenue is open to all, and the Shepherd's Center of Webster/Kirkwood plans classes and outings for adults 55 and older. Meals on Wheels of St. Louis City and County delivers to homes here, and Aging Ahead runs meal programs and caregiver help across St. Louis County. When you want plan prices that match your doctors, call us for a free review.

Where to go from here: read how Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans differ, look at Part D drug costs, or lay out your turning-65 dates.