The Dallas County Hospital Foundation will be hosting their next free community lunch and learn event soon, and the focus on this occasion will be Medicare.

The event will be held Friday, February 28th at noon in the hospital’s community room, and it’s free to attend and open to the public. It will be conducted by Lou Hoger, the hospital’s counselor in the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP). Hoger says his typical Medicare informational events tend to take a long time, so to accommodate the lunch and learn schedule, he’s pared it down to the basics. “It’s going to be a very brief luncheon, rather than my ‘Welcome to Medicare’ seminar. So I tried to key in on some key elements, mainly ‘Medicare surprises’ I’m calling them this time. Because I find that a lot of people come into my office with some expectations (or) some pre-understanding of what Medicare might be like, and often times they’re quickly disillusioned!”

Some of the surprises Hoger will cover during the event include: when you don’t need to enroll in Medicare; contacting the Social Security Office before enrolling; the multiple choices available; and the sticker shock people sometimes have when finding out the actual cost of Medicare coverage. Registration is required for the program, and a complimentary meal will be served. To sign up, go to RVR.com and click on this story. To register, contact Macinzie McFarland at 515-465-7516 or mmcfarland@dallascohospital.org. To learn more, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and online.