By Blake Deshazo | The Selma Times-Journal

Picking the right healthcare plan can be a daunting task, but the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission is hoping to make that decision a little bit easier for people eligible for Medicare.

The ATRC is hosting two events, one on Oct. 20 and one on Nov. 4, to offer free help to people who are choosing their 2017 Medicare plans for medical and prescription.

“The big important thing as to why people need to come is first of all, they may be missing out on help they can get on paying for all of this,” said Clayton Davis, State Health Insurance Assistance Program coordinator.

“There are a lot of people that don’t even know they will qualify, and it makes a big difference.”

The Oct. 20 event will be at the Dallas County Department of Human Resources, located at 200 Samuel Mosley Drive, and the Nov. 4 event will be held at Valley Grande Baptist Church on County Road 16. Both events will be from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

The commission is asking people to evaluate their healthcare plan because of large decreases and increases in premiums and co-payments for 2017.

Davis said many plans have also dropped a number of drugs from their coverage list, which could affect people that are not aware of their plan not covering their medicine any more.

“We have people every year who fall asleep at the wheel and say, ‘Well, I like my plan. I’m not going to fool with it. I’m just going to keep it,” Davis said. “And then in January we hear from them and they can’t get their insulin because it was dropped. It is always something expensive.”

People are asked to bring their prescriptions, Social Security cards, Medicare and other health or prescription cards, as well as their date of birth and income information.

The open enrollment period for 2017 is Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

The events will also help people sign up for extra benefits that will help them pay for medicine and other medical care.

For more information on the events, call the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission at 1-888-671-5246.