Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘Plan G’

Jan 18

“I Wish I Had Talked With You Sooner”

I talk with many people every day about their Medicare situation.

In most situations, the people I talk with are about to go on Medicare so they still have the opportunity to choose a Medicare plan that will give them maximum access to the health care they may need now or in the future while having their costs paid 100 percent.

However, I often talk with people who are already on Medicare and who may not have realized the fact that bad Medicare choices can be permanent and irreversible.

Such a situation happened last week. A gentleman named Roger called me from Atlanta who had left regular Medicare when he turned 65 two years ago and enrolled in a private, for-profit Medicare Advantage plan from Humana.

Read more

Jan 14

The Most Important Fact To Know About Medicare

If you do not enroll in a Medicare Supplement when you first go on Medicare, you may never to able to get one.

Read more

Jan 14

Enrolling In Medicare Online

In today's internet-savvy world many people prefer to make their own decisions about Medicare without feeling pressured by someone on the phone or even a stranger sitting at their kitchen table.

The good news is you can do just that with all four major parts of Medicare - Medicare Parts A and B, your Medicare Supplement and your Medicare Part D Drug Plan.

To enroll in Medicare Parts A and B - or Medicare Part A only - all you need to do is go to www.socialsecurity.gov.

You can click on the following link to get detailed instructions on how to enroll

Click here for instructions for enrolling in Medicare online

Read more

Jan 14

Why Plan G Instead Of Plan F

I often hear the following from someone going Medicare who in the past has cared or currently is caring for a parent or other family member:
"My had a Plan F Medicare Supplement and it covered everything and that is what I want."

I understand that point of view completely. There is no better frame of reference for what any us of can expect with our health in the future than what we have seen or see with our parents or other older loved ones.
With a Plan F Medicare Supplement, our older loved ones can go to any doctor or hospital anywhere in the country that accepts Medicare - as almost all do - and all of their costs are covered 100 percent.

Read more

Jan 13

Delaying Medicare…Penalty or No Penalty?

There is only one acceptable answer to this question and that answer is "you."

However, if you make the wrong decision about how to receive your Medicare, your health could be managed by an insurance company's budget analyst often more concerned about the profits of his employer than your best health outcome.

When you first go on Medicare - usually at age 65 but often later if you are still working - you can choose to receive your Medicare benefits through regular Medicare combined with a Medicare Supplement and a Medicare Part D drug plan.

Or, you can instead assign your Medicare benefits to a private, for-profit, restricted-choice Medicare Advantage plan such as Humana Gold Plus or Kaiser Permanente.

Read more

Jan 13

Managed Care Medicare? Why You Should Avoid

As you probably know by now, when you are about to turn 65, you receive a large amount of unwanted mail trying to persuade you to enroll in a specific Medicare plan.

At first, it can be very confusing. Prior to becoming eligible for Medicare, Medicare seemed like a simple program. You turn 65 and go on Medicare.

Unfortunately, Medicare has become more complicated as the government has allowed private, for-profit companies such as Humana to steer you into Managed Care Medicare Plans that can provide far less access to the health care you need and require you to pay far higher costs than you should.

These plans are very profitable for these companies at the expense of your health and financial well-being. The high profits these companies make from these plans are the reason they spend so many millions of dollars advertising them on television and in your mailbox when your are about to turn 65.

Read more

Jan 13

Your Most Important Medicare Goal

You have one goal when choosing a Medicare plan that far outweighs any other goal.

That goal is as follows:

At some point in your life - and I hope it never happens - you may be diagnosed with a serious health condition for which you want to use the doctor or hospital with the most experience and expertise for your condition and who therefore gives you the best chance for the best health outcome. If this happens, you should be able to get this care as soon as possible with little or no cost.

Being a doctor is a noble profession. But a doctor is not a commodity. Some doctors simply have more experience and expertise for certain conditions than others.

Read more

Jan 13

Medicare’s Enrollment Timeline

If you do not enroll in a Medicare Supplement when you first go on Medicare, you may never to able to get one.

Read more

Jan 12

What Are Captive Medicare Agents? And Why you Should Avoid Them

As you go through the process of learning about Medicare and choosing a Medicare plan, there are different people you can talk to about your options.

It is an excellent idea to work with a Medicare agent who represents several different Medicare Supplement carriers. This agent will be able to focus on what is right for you.

A type of Medicare agent that you want to avoid is called a "Captive Agent". A Captive Agent only represents one insurance carrier and usually can only offer one plan. They are almost always directly employed by an insurance company.

Read more

Jan 12

Who Is Managing Your Health?

There is only one acceptable answer to this question and that answer is "you."

However, if you make the wrong decision about how to receive your Medicare, your health could be managed by an insurance company's budget analyst often more concerned about the profits of his employer than your best health outcome.

When you first go on Medicare - usually at age 65 but often later if you are still working - you can choose to receive your Medicare benefits through regular Medicare combined with a Medicare Supplement and a Medicare Part D drug plan.

Or, you can instead assign your Medicare benefits to a private, for-profit, restricted-choice Medicare Advantage plan such as Humana Gold Plus or Kaiser Permanente.

Read more

Jan 12

Real Medicare Versus Private Medicare

The question I receive more than any other when someone is turning 65 and becoming eligible for Medicare is "What do I do about Medicare if I am still working and have coverage through my employer?

There are several different issues to consider when answering this question.

The first thing to know is when you turn 65 and are still working, you have a choice between staying on your employer's coverage or leaving that coverage and going on full Medicare.

Read more

Jan 12

What Does “Covered” Mean?

September is the month in which I go through training for the upcoming Medicare Annual Enrollment Period and 2019 calendar year.

It usually takes around a week to take the courses and pass the tests required to verify that I know what I need to know to help people who are going on Medicare understand how Medicare works and what their options are with Medicare.

This year one phrase in the training stood out because it discussed a very deceptive part of Medicare Advantage plans.

As you probably know if you have read any of my writings, I strongly believe Medicare Advantage plans are one of the most deceptive and harmful ideas the government has ever allowed to be perpetrated on the American people.

Read more

Jan 10

Choose the Medicare Supplement Company …Not the Initial Price

Almost every day I receive a request from someone who is about to go on Medicare to provide them with Medicare Supplement quotes for their area.

While I am happy to do this, I always feel the quotes I am providing to them are misleading.

The reason for this is there is virtually no relationship between the monthly premium you pay for a Medicare Supplement at age 65 compared to other carriers and what you will pay over the course of your lifetime.

In many situations, the Medicare Supplement carrier with the lowest premium at age 65 will cost much more than other carriers both in the near future and the rest of your life.

Read more

Jan 10

Your Most Important Medicare Goal

You have one goal when choosing a Medicare plan that far outweighs any other goal.

That goal is as follows:

At some point in your life - and I hope it never happens - you may be diagnosed with a serious health condition for which you want to use the doctor or hospital with the most experience and expertise for your condition and who therefore gives you the best chance for the best health outcome. If this happens, you should be able to get this care as soon as possible with little or no cost.

Being a doctor is a noble profession. But a doctor is not a commodity. Some doctors simply have more experience and expertise for certain conditions than others.

Read more

Jan 10

Choose the Medicare Supplement Company …Not the Initial Price

Almost every day I receive a request from someone who is about to go on Medicare to provide them with Medicare Supplement quotes for their area.

While I am happy to do this, I always feel the quotes I am providing to them are misleading.

The reason for this is there is virtually no relationship between the monthly premium you pay for a Medicare Supplement at age 65 compared to other carriers and what you will pay over the course of your lifetime.

In many situations, the Medicare Supplement carrier with the lowest premium at age 65 will cost much more than other carriers both in the near future and the rest of your life.

Read more

« Older Entries