ACAP Indy Metro North

The Medicare Maze: Your Free Guide Before The Clock Runs Out

Free ProgramIn-PersonMedical & Health
SEP08

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

5:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET

The Medicare Maze: Your Free Guide Before The Clock Runs Out
Here's a date that matters more than most people realize: October 15. That's the day Medicare's Annual Open Enrollment window swings open — and by December 7, the decisions your parents make (or don't make) will lock in their coverage for all of next year.

Most families find this out too late. They discover it in a doctor's office, when a prescription suddenly isn't covered, or when a plan they didn't choose renews automatically. The confusion isn't a personal failing — it's by design. Medicare has four parts, dozens of plan options, and an entire industry built around selling you the "right" one. Sorting fact from sales pitch is genuinely hard, even for sharp, capable adult children trying to help their aging parents.

That's exactly why this program exists — and why it's free.

The Medicare Maze” arrives at the perfect moment: just weeks before Open Enrollment begins, giving you and your parents real time to prepare instead of scrambling in November. Unlike the Medicare “seminars” that fill your mailbox every fall — most of which are lead-generation events for a single insurance product — this program is genuinely unbiased community education. No plan is being sold to you here.

You'll leave with clarity on:
What Medicare actually covers — Parts A, B, C, and D explained in plain English, and how they fit together (or don't)
How to use Medicare.gov — to complete paperwork, track your parents' coverage, download the current year's manual, and compare physicians, hospitals, and nursing homes side by side
What SHIP (State Health Insurance Program)  is — and why it's your best-kept secret — free, unbiased, one-on-one counseling from a certified state counselor who has no product to sell you
Where Medicare and Medicaid paperwork intersect — and who to call locally when questions come up
How to walk into Open Enrollment season with a plan, instead of a deadline you didn't see coming

Meet Your Presenters

Bruce Mueller, State SHIP Coordinator, brings the insider's view of the Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program — the free counseling resource most families have never heard of, and the one place you can get Medicare guidance with zero sales agenda attached.

Shawn Jones, Founder of Medicaid Advisors, has helped families navigate the Medicaid process since 2009. He brings deep, practical expertise in how Medicare and Medicaid plans actually work in the real world — helping translate the fine print into decisions that make sense for your family, and showing how Medicare and Medicaid fit together as part of the same planning process.

Together, they give you both halves of the picture: the official, unbiased resource and the on-the-ground expertise to put it to work.

Bring Your Questions
Whether you're helping a parent choose a plan for the first time, untangling a bill that doesn't make sense, or just trying to get ahead of this year's enrollment window before it closes — this is the room to ask.

Free. No registration fee. All caregivers, adult children, and seniors welcome.

Thanks to our Program Sponsors:  The Harrison Community and the Marion County Public Health Department  - The Brain Initiative/Vital Minds

Program Sponsors

The Harrison CommunityMarion County Public Health Department; The Brain Health Initiative