Free help for people signing up for Medicare 

In a tiny office in the Waltham Council on Aging, people find help for the sometimes confusing, often difficult task of signing up for Medicare. The second-floor office is the home base for five trained volunteer counselors in Waltham’s Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Everyone, or Shine, program

The logistics of selecting a plan can feel overwhelming. In 2024, Massachusetts Medicare recipients chose among 98 Medicare Advantage plans, 21 Medigap plans and 21 drug coverage plans.

“This time of year we’re really just encouraging folks to review their plan options for open enrollment,” said Michelle Gucciardi, the director of the MetroWest Shine regional program. Gucciardi is a Waltham resident and mother of two boys at the James FitzGerald Elementary School. “If they don’t want to see us, they don’t have to. But everyone [should] check their plans every fall. And if they do want to see a Shine counselor, they should call and make that appointment early, in September. Because we fill up quickly!”

The service is popular. In 2024, 84,857 people used Shine in Massachusetts, including 9,214 client contacts for MetroWest Shine and 638 client contacts by Waltham residents. 

One large challenge is publicizing the program, especially to people from marginalized groups, said Fred Keuthen, the longest-tenured counselor with Waltham Shine. He noted that one of the Waltham counselors had connections to the Ugandan community and another speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese. 

Contacting the Shine program

For people already enrolled in Medicare, information on new or updated programs will be released Oct. 1, and the annual enrollment period for existing Medicare users is from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. The time to schedule a Shine appointment is now, however, as the schedule fills up well before October. 

“It’s our busiest time of year. We try to get the word out to everyone,” said Gucciardi.

The statewide program, which receives federal and state funding, is confidential and free. “We’re all volunteers and there’s no bias,” noted Keuthen.

Waltham residents can call the main number at the Council on Aging (781-314-3499) and speaks to the receptionist; a Shine counselor will return the call within a few days. 

New Medicare users can meet with SHINE volunteers throughout the year, at the time that they join Medicare. 

Choosing a plan

According to Keuthen, the most common question counselors hear is, “How do I sign up?” Someone new to Medicare — typically someone aged 65 or older — first contacts Social Security to get enrolled in Medicare Part A, which covers hospitalizations, and Part B, which generally covers outpatient care. Younger people with disabilities can also receive Medicare, and Shine counselors are equipped to help them. 

After the initial sign-up, the individual needs to make a slew of decisions. To help out, a Shine counselor sits down with the person or their caretaker, identifies their needs and concerns and uses the federal Medicare Plan Finder to identify appropriate plans for them. The appointment typically lasts an hour and can be done remotely.

An early decision is whether to choose Medicare Advantage or original Medicare. Medicare Advantage programs are run by private health insurers, restrict coverage to a network and provide drug coverage, along with many possible benefits such as vision or dental. In contrast, people who choose original Medicare are not restricted to a network, but they typically need to sign up for Medigap coverage for out-of-pocket costs and a drug plan from private health insurers. 

It’s a 50-50 split between people signing up for Medicare Advantage and those choosing original Medicare, according to Keuthen. “Employers have changed from traditional indemnity plans, and so people have become comfortable with HMOs and PPOs and are more likely to consider an Advantage plan,” he said. 

With new plans every year and evolving changes to Medicare, Shine counselors go through extensive training, Gucciardi explained. They must receive approximately 50 hours of training, pass a state certification test and spend three months shadowing an experienced counselor. Then, each year counselors attend two-hour monthly training meetings and take a recertification test.

In addition to their skills and training, Shine counselors have special access to a Medicare customer service hotline. Counselors can also help people who are eligible for the Medicare Savings Plan, run by MassHealth for people with low incomes.

More about Shine

Massachusetts was an innovator with this program for peer volunteer elder health benefits counseling, which was initially designed, implemented and directed by Walthamite Carol Greenfield in 1983. A few other states also were experimenting with the concept, and eventually the federal government expanded it into State Health Insurance Assistance Program, which now has programs in all 50 states.

The MetroWest program covers 22 cities and towns, from Brookline to Westborough, along the Mass Pike corridor. 

The program is funded by the federal government and has received earmarks from the state since 2020. Costs are relatively low in this mostly volunteer program. Even so, federal support was briefly uncertain earlier this year, but funding through June 2026 came through. Gucciardi noted, “We were concerned because we know how much the program benefits people. If open enrollment came around and people called the senior centers, saying, ‘Can I make my Shine appointment?’, [staffers] would have had to say the Shine program doesn’t exist anymore. That would be really difficult for people.”