Medicare Help for Ridgeland, MS

Ridgeland counted 24,340 residents in the 2020 census. The city runs from Northpark Mall on County Line Road up past Renaissance at Colony Park, with the Ross Barnett Reservoir along its east side and the Natchez Trace Parkway passing through. Most of the region's big hospitals sit just south in Jackson. St. Dominic's Hospital is on Lakeland Dr., and Mississippi Baptist Medical Center and the University of Mississippi Medical Center are both on North State Street.

Those three hospitals belong to three different systems: FMOL Health, Baptist Memorial and UMMC. A Medicare Advantage plan sets its own network each year, so a plan that includes your St. Dominic's heart doctor might leave out a UMMC specialist. Before you enroll, write down every doctor and hospital you use and check each one against the plan. A Medicare Supplement works another way. It pays with any doctor in the country who takes Medicare, and you add a separate Part D plan for drugs. Some Ridgeland residents also use UMMC Madison in Canton, which became part of UMMC in 2025, so add it to your list if it's closer.

Getting to appointments takes some planning. JTRAN is the City of Jackson's bus system, and Ridgeland isn't part of its service area, so most people here go by car or get a ride from family. The CMPDD Area Agency on Aging in Pearl can tell you what senior rides and home-delivered meals are open to Madison County residents. Call 601-981-1511 and ask for information and referral.

Close to home, the city's senior adult program for people over 50 meets at the Ridgeland Recreational Center in Old Trace Park, with exercise classes, bridge, bingo and a garden club. The Ridgeland Public Library on Highway 51 is a quiet spot to use a computer or print forms, and it belongs to the Madison County Library System along with branches in Madison, Canton and Flora. For free one-on-one Medicare counseling, call Mississippi SHIP. For prices on the plans sold in your ZIP code, give us a call and we'll review them with you for free.

Next steps: see how Medicare Advantage compares with a Medicare Supplement, check your Part D drug costs, or map out your turning-65 deadlines.