Universal Wealth Management finds COVID-safe ways to offer Medicare guidance

KAREN EMMA, president of Universal Wealth Management LLC, is structuring her annual Medicare informational sessions differently this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. / COURTESY KAREN EMMA
KAREN EMMA, president of Universal Wealth Management LLC, is structuring her annual Medicare informational sessions differently this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. / COURTESY KAREN EMMA

CRANSTON – Faced with restrictions on group gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Karen Emma is still finding ways to hold informational sessions on health plan enrollment for retirees.

For about 20 years, Emma, president of the Cranston-based Universal Wealth Management LLC, has hosted free group meetings across the state during the Medicare open-enrollment period to help guide people age 65 and over through an often-complicated process.

This year, Emma is still offering information, albeit in a slightly different format, through Dec. 7.

Sessions are taking place virtually, or in-person with members of just one family meeting with Emma at a time.

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At least one nursing home has participated in a Zoom meeting for residents, who may not be tech-savvy enough to navigate a virtual event on their own.

Emma, the author of the recently released “Medicare Untangled: A Translation of Healthcare Gobbledygook,” has met with about 1,000 people so far this year and expects to see 2,000 by the end of open enrollment.

Normally, twice that amount turn out for the sessions, Emma said.

Although the pandemic has kept many older people at home, the need for well-informed decisions on Medicare and other health plan coverage is still pressing, she added.

“With COVID-19, I think people certainly need more help to do this. COVID is on everyone’s mind, they do want to know am I covered for that,” she said. “People … don’t realize the benefits that are out there for them, and that there’s help. They are so confused about how to deal with the retirement process, and we’ve been really able to simplify that.”

Universal Wealth Management, a health care and wealth-management agency, offers the annual information sessions as free guidance for older people who are considering enrollment in Medicare, Medicaid or other health plans.

To sign up for a session or find out where sessions have been scheduled, call 401-331-7600, ext. 4, or visit http://www.universalwm.com/events.

Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.

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