Have Medicare? Don't worry about Obamacare.

There seems to be a lot of confusion in the retiree community regarding what Medicare participants need to do when the Obamacare "exchanges" start doing business on October 1.

The answer is simple: If you currently are participating in Medicare, you do not need to do anything! Medicare will continue uninterrupted for you. Enrollment in health insurance in those "exchanges" you'll be hearing about on TV is for those under 65 who are not covered by Medicare.

There is something happening in October, however, that Medicare participants need to think about: The annual "open enrollment period." Between October 15 and December 15 you can change your Medicare coverages for "medigap" policies and part D drug coverages. You can also switch from traditional Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan (or vice versa). All of this can be accomplished at medicare.gov. See "I saved $700 in 45 minutes last Sunday."

Here's an article from the Wall Street Journal titled Seniors: Obamacare marketplaces don't change Medicare.