Bruce & Karen’s Medicare Moment: Staying active and making a new neighborhood home
Karen & Bruce
Aetna Medicare Advantage members since June, 2018
Bruce: We moved from Pennsylvania to Charlotte about a year and a half ago.
Karen: I think the deciding factor, of course, was the grandchildren. They were growing up so quickly, and we wanted to be part of their lives on a daily basis and take advantage of it while we still could.
A buyer came up quickly, giving Bruce and Karen just 3 weeks to leave their home
Bruce: We had to really scurry. And it was traumatic. Most of the trauma came from moving from a 3,500 square foot house into a 1,200 square foot condominium.
Karen: Making the decision of what to keep and what not to keep is very hard. But the good news is, is that, once it's all said and done, it's very freeing. I feel a lot lighter.
Moving meant finding a new Medicare Advantage plan
Bruce: An Advantage program, for us, is good. It's easy to understand. And it's all-encompassing.
Karen: SilverSneakers® was important because we wanted to be part of that whole program.
Bruce: When we came here, the big determining factor was the fact that there's a gym that's available seven days a week, and SilverSneakers allows us to make use of all of the facilities.
SilverSneakers is more than an exercise program – it helped them make new friends
Karen: The lady that teaches our class asks every time, "Is there a birthday or anniversary? Would somebody like to share something?" She's just the best. And if somebody doesn't show up for a couple of weeks, she finds out if they're ill and then we write a get-well card, and so it's really a very welcoming group.
Bruce: I'd say 90 percent of the people we met down here we met as a result of SilverSneakers. And it’s a social thing.
Karen: Yes.
Bruce: We get there 20 minutes before the class starts, and so does everybody else, and we're all exchanging recipes. And, "What did you do last night? We saw a show.” We've gone to dinner with them. We've gone to shows with them. We go to church with them. We've become social butterflies here. We know as many people here in a year as we knew up there in 40 years.
Staying active in a new city
Bruce: We walk a lot and we go to the SilverSneakers gym, three days a week.
Karen: I also got involved with volunteering and I think volunteering is an important part of an active life once you're retired.
Bruce: I have a website, and I continue to work maybe eight or ten hours a week on selling stamps all over the world.
Karen: I think we're looking forward mainly to seeing our grandchildren grow up.
Helping members stay active and healthy is what Aetna Medicare is about
Christopher Ciano
Senior Vice President for Aetna Medicare
Christopher: I have this experience of being a caregiver to my 92-year-old parents.
We had a health crisis that sort of was a trigger that ultimately had them sell their home and move to Florida to be near me.
They didn't want to leave their home. They loved their home. They didn't want to disrupt their friends and being near their friends. So, it was really, really hard.
Four or five years later, they've transitioned, and they've made new friends in the community. And they're very happy and living, you know, active lives.
It's given us the opportunity to spend more quality time with them and create memories at this later stage of life.
I'm able to reflect on this personal experience that I've had through my parents and translate that into a mission and a focus to improve the way seniors experience health care across the United States.
Christopher leads Aetna’s Medicare business
Christopher: Our connection that we make with members I think is what sets Aetna apart in the industry.
We're designing benefits and programs to help members in their journey of aging actively.
We have Resources For Living®, a program that's very tailored and unique that helps seniors know and understand what resources are available in the community.
There's a whole gamut of what seniors want to do. And our goal is to meet them where they want to be met so we can help them on their path.
Whether it's to be able to spend more time with your family, to swim, to exercise, to eat healthy, whatever it may be.
Our approach is really looking at the member as a whole and building programs around them. And that's unique because traditional Medicare doesn't do that.
To learn more, visit www.AetnaMedicare.com/Engage
Aetna Medicare is a HMO, PPO plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in our plans depends on contract renewal. See Evidence of Coverage for a complete description of plan benefits, exclusions, limitations and conditions of coverage. Plan features and availability may vary by service area.
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NR_0001_17790_C 09/2019
