Three doors, all worth knowing. For free, unbiased counseling on plans and enrollment, SHIBA, Oregon's State Health Insurance Assistance Program, at 1-800-722-4134. For local services such as meals, rides, caregiver support, and in-home help, the Area Agency on Aging or Aging and People with Disabilities office that serves Lane County, reached through the Aging and Disability Resource Connection at 1-855-673-2372, or the national Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116. And for one dedicated advocate who does the ongoing work with you, bills, denials, appointments, and benefits, Understood Care, covered by Medicare for most members: call (646) 904-4027 or get started online.

Yes. Medicare has paid for professional healthcare navigation (Principal Illness Navigation and Community Health Integration services) since January 2024. Part B covers about 80% and a Medigap plan typically covers the rest. We check your coverage and tell you exactly what, if anything, you will owe before your first session.

Per CMS enrollment data for 2025, Lane County had 96,953 Medicare beneficiaries: 61,374 on Medicare Advantage plans (63.3%) and 35,579 on Original Medicare, with about 17,860 dual-eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Understood Care advocates work with both: Original Medicare covers it, and we confirm Medicare Advantage coverage plan by plan before any work begins.

Per the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, about 31,353 of Eugene's 177,520 residents are 65 or older (17.7%), within a county of roughly 78,251 seniors (Lane County). Most become Medicare-eligible at 65, and every one of them has the same federal benefits an advocate helps put to work.

Per CMS Timely & Effective Care data (period ending 09/30/2025), the median ER visit at Sacred Heart Medical Center - Riverbend runs about 242 minutes, and local hospitals range 117 to 242 minutes; Oregon's statewide median is 157 minutes. An advocate cannot shorten an ER line, but avoiding the ER for non-emergencies is advocate work: same-week appointments, urgent-care routing, and follow-up coordination.

No. Understood Care is fully virtual, delivered by phone, video, and secure messaging, so it works the same in Eugene as anywhere else in Oregon's 36 counties. Where the nearest specialist is a long drive away, an advocate you can reach without the trip is often the practical option; if leaving home is hard, that is exactly the situation the service is built for.

Advocates work virtually and are matched to you, not to a zip code. You get one dedicated advocate with their direct phone, email, and text (One Advocate, For Life), and they work with Oregon's programs, free SHIBA counseling, the Medigap birthday rule, the Medicare Savings Programs the Oregon Department of Human Services runs with no asset limit, in-home care through the Oregon Health Plan, and the local services that apply in Lane County.

Oregon's Medicaid in-home care runs through the Oregon Department of Human Services' Aging and People with Disabilities program under the K Plan, for adults 18 and older on the Oregon Health Plan who meet Oregon's service priority levels. You can hire your own homecare worker or manage a budget through the Independent Choices Program, and adult children and other relatives can be paid. A spouse can be paid only through the narrow Spousal Pay Program (full assistance with at least four of six daily activities and a nursing-facility level of need, among other requirements), and the person's designated representative cannot be the paid caregiver. People 60 and older who are not on Medicaid can ask about Oregon Project Independence, which charges a sliding-scale fee and has waiting lists in some areas. PacificSource PACE serves parts of Lane County; eligibility goes by ZIP code. To start, call the Aging and Disability Resource Connection at 1-855-673-2372. Families we serve in Eugene, Corvallis & the Southern Valley use these programs. Our advocacy is billed through Medicare, so for dual-eligible families the split works well: you run the caregiving, and your parent's advocate handles the Medicare side.

In Oregon we are in-network for Original Medicare (traditional fee-for-service Medicare); UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans (~27% of Oregon MA members); Aetna Medicare Advantage plans (~3% of Oregon MA members). Together that covers roughly 61.6% of Oregon's Medicare beneficiaries. Market-share data: 2025. Plan networks change, so we confirm exactly what your plan covers before any work begins.