Q. My mother is living in California and has Kaiser Permanente health care from my father’s retirement as a federal employee. He has passed. My mom is to the point of needing to move closer to my sister in Newport News area, in Virginia. Where can I find information about health care providers in that area? She always has been with Kaiser Permanente, so she is comfortable with HMO-type providers. She never applied for Medicare and says getting it now would cost her too much. She is 86. Is there an HMO her Kaiser health care would transfer to, or is she required to sign up for Medicare? Her continued health care is a great concern to her.
A. To find out if the same plan is available to her in the Norfolk area, call the Kaiser Foundation at 1-877-574-3337. If they don’t have a provider there, go to www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp, click on Plan Information, then scroll to the map and click on VA. That will get you to a list of plans available in Virginia.
