Dealing with Social Security and Medicare is like playing Chutes and Ladders, except with extra chutes and no ladders. You move along the spaces thinking you’re getting somewhere and then you land on the chute that takes you back to the beginning.
After many spins of the spinner when my mom first moved to town, we were told verbally that her address had been changed with Social Security. I assumed this was true because her checks starting showing up in the bank account I opened for her here. But then I discovered Mom’s Medicare statements were still being mailed to my sister in Ohio, where my mom had lived previously. Not only that, but Medicare is changing her prescription drug plan and it’s based on her Ohio address.
After working through several layers of sub-menus and many minutes on hold, I managed to talk to a live person at Medicare who required me to answer about a dozen questions before she was authorized to tell me she could do nothing for me. They get all changes of address from Social Security and they’ve never received one for my mom. Also, she couldn’t tell me what prescription drug plans are available in Missouri. I’ll have to call back between October 15 and November 15 for that information.
So I called Social Security and found out that, nope, they have no record of an address change, after the same sub-menus/dozen questions journey. But they do have it changed now. The guy promised me.
We’ll see if I hit the top of another chute on October 15.
Did I mention my mom got a jury summons? This actually made me laugh. The fun never ends.
Gen BLT 