Medicare Help in Hastings, NE

Hastings is about 111 miles from Bill Jurey's office in Lincoln, west on I-80 and then south on US-281. That is roughly a two-hour drive, so Bill works with Hastings residents by phone and video, and welcomes them at 285 S 68th St Place when they are in Lincoln. The carriers pay him, so his help costs you nothing.

Hastings, the Adams County seat, counted 25,121 residents on July 1, 2025, essentially unchanged from 2020 (Census Bureau), and roughly 18.6% of them are 65 or older (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024). Countywide, 6,504 people were 65 or older in 2025, about 20.9%, an increase of 11.8% over 2020.

How does Bill work with people in Hastings?

By phone and video. Have your medication list, your doctors' names and your plan's Annual Notice of Change letter in front of you. The review runs in the same order every time: medications, then doctors and hospitals, then what a bad year would cost you, then your budget.

Plenty of people start on their own, and Bill thinks that is fine: "A lot of people try to do it themselves, and they'll go to Medicare.gov, which is a great website to get started on, and they'll put their information in, the medications or doctors and whatever, and some plan will come up and say, based on the information provided, this is going to be the best plan." His point is what comes after that first result. The details underneath it decide what a plan really costs you.

What should Hastings residents check about Mary Lanning Healthcare?

Mary Lanning by name, in every plan you consider for 2027. Mary Lanning Healthcare, at 715 N St. Joseph Ave (402-463-4521), is a not-for-profit hospital founded in 1925 and a state-designated general-level trauma center. Its own pages do not describe it as part of a larger system, so you cannot read its network status off a Bryan Health or CHI Health listing.

Check, in order:

1. Mary Lanning Healthcare.
2. Your Hastings doctor or clinic.
3. Any specialist you see in Grand Island, Kearney, Lincoln or Omaha, and the hospital they use.

HMO plans typically limit you to their network, apart from emergencies. A PPO lets you go outside the network, though you usually pay more. Original Medicare paired with a Medigap policy lets you use any doctor or hospital nationwide that accepts Medicare, which matters if your care is spread across several towns. Medicare Supplement in Grand Island covers the central Nebraska Medigap picture. Plan options, premiums, networks and benefits vary by county and get reworked every year.

What changes for Adams County plans in 2027?

A returning carrier. Aetna sat out 2026 in Adams County, and the 2027 CMS plan data puts it back, one of nine central Nebraska counties it re-enters, Buffalo and Hall among them. People who had to leave an Aetna plan last year can consider it again. Read your current plan's Annual Notice of Change as well, since every company adjusts benefits and costs each year. Annual Enrollment, from October 15 to December 7, 2026, is your window to compare and switch.

Where can Hastings residents get local Medicare help?

Hastings has something most towns on this list lack: Midland Area Agency on Aging is headquartered here, and Midland is the designated SHIP office for the region. Nebraska SHIP, formerly SHIIP, gives Medicare counseling that is unbiased and costs nothing.

• Midland Area Agency on Aging, 2727 W 2nd St, Suite 440: 402-463-4565 or 800-955-9714. It serves Adams, Clay, Hall, Hamilton, Howard, Merrick, Nuckolls and Webster counties.
• Golden Friendship Center, 2015 W 3rd St (402-460-1246): open weekdays 8 to 4.
• SHIP's statewide hotline: 1-800-234-7119, if Midland's line is busy.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY 1-877-486-2048), which takes calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Nebraska SHIP guide sorts out who does what.

What if your income is tight?

Ask about the help programs before you pick a plan. Nebraska's Medicare Savings Programs can pay your Part B premium, and the most generous one, QMB, also covers Medicare deductibles and coinsurance. In 2026, QMB's monthly income limit is $1,330 for one person and $1,804 for a couple, with higher limits for the SLMB and QI programs and a resource limit of $9,950 for one person. Extra Help, the federal program that lowers drug costs, has a 2026 income limit of $23,940 a year for one person.

Bill worries most about people just over those lines. He calls it "the sour spot." Applications for the Medicare Savings Programs go through Nebraska DHHS on iServe Nebraska or at (855) 632-7633; Bill does not take Medicaid applications. SHIP counselors at Midland can explain the programs and how to apply. See Medicare Savings Programs in Nebraska and Extra Help.

What should you have ready for a phone review?

A short packet makes a phone or video review go quickly. Gather your Medicare card, your current plan's Annual Notice of Change, every medication with its dose, your pharmacy, and the name of each doctor and the town they practice in. For everything else worth bringing, use the Medicare review checklist.

Hastings is where Edwin Perkins invented Kool-Aid in 1927, and the Hastings Museum still tells the story. Veterans should note there is no VA clinic in town; the Grand Island VA Medical Center is the closest VA medical center. Neighbors in Kearney face a similar 2027 market. When you want help sorting it out, talk to Bill.