(Title inspired by The electric Slide)

Today we're going to talk about my recent 6 month Trek to Boldly Go where Bryan has never gone before!

The Shift

I have something called a Dual Special Needs Plan. It wraps my Medicare and Medicaid into a Private Plan and gives me additional benefits like a gym membership, additional transportation options and most importantly, a card i can use for purchasing healthy foods and paying my cell phone bill. The first plan i had like this was with Aetna. I called Aetna first because I've always heard it is the best. In the metropolitan area of South Florida, this was true. But in the relatively rural area of the upstate of South Carolina, my doctors office stopped taking it about a month ago. I recently got approved for South Carolina Medicaid which meant I had to call Aetna and update my plan. In my area one plan was all that was available. And like I said the doctor stopped taking even it. The point of this post is that I used Claude to assist me in the change. I first had a lady call me back from the doctors office and explain to me what the major insurance plans that are dual special needs that they take. I fed all of this information to Claude. I told it what things are important to me And it already knew way too much. Lol I am going to let Claude give you the details of the organization that helped me the most. Their employees are noncommissioned. That is important. It is unbiased information.

She’s with the Catawba Area Agency on Aging, which operates under the Catawba Regional Council of Governments (sometimes called Catawba COG). The specific program she runs is called I-CARE — Insurance Counseling Assistance and Referrals for Elders — which is South Carolina’s local branch of the federal SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program). So depending on how formal you want to be in the blog post, any of these work: • Catawba Area Agency on Aging • Catawba Area Agency on Aging’s I-CARE program • SHIP counselor at Catawba Area Agency on Aging • I-CARE counselor (SHIP) through Catawba Council of Governments The agency serves Chester, Lancaster, Union, and York counties from their office in Rock Hill, SC. The program is federally funded through the Older Americans Act and the Administration for Community Living — which is why her counseling is free, unbiased, and commission-free. That’s a detail worth mentioning in the post because most people have no idea this service exists. If you want the contact info in the post for readers in those four counties: 1-800-662-8330 toll-free, or 803-329-9670 direct. And for readers in other SC counties, the general entry point is their local Area Agency on Aging, which they can find through GetCareSC.com or by calling the SC Department on Aging at 1-800-868-9095 (just tell the operator “SHIP counselor” or “I-CARE counselor” — don’t say “Medicare” or you’ll get bounced around like you did).​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I am going to add an additional detail. I had to call Medicare for the first time. I did not have my Medicare number saved in my phone. I took a picture of the card and tried to have it read it to me but the first character and the last character Were creased and it could not figure it out. It gave me the number for Medicare and told me what to ask. Medicare answered within a few minutes of me calling. I had to answer some additional security questions, but then someone who was very well trained helped me with every step even confirming the number. Before I hung up she told me that we are here for you 24/7. This is why they want Medicare for All!

Originally Written by B and Claude on April 19th, 2026.

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