Medicare Review Time Is Here

It’s that time of year again, and this doesn’t refer to Christmas, but instead Medicare plans.

Every year it’s a very wise move to review all Medicare plans in the family. Certainly this can be done at any time of the year, but it’s even more critical right now since it is open enrollment time until December 31st, 2009. This is when seniors have the option to change their existing Medicare Part D prescription plans and Medicare Part C Advantage plans.

When dealing with Medicare Advantage Plans, make it a point to speak to an expert health insurance broker, as there are a number of changes relating to the Medicare Advantage plans that will directly affect coverage. Currently, many seniors are now scrambling to find other health insurance coverage since Medicare Advantage has been cancelled out from under them.

The open enrollment period lasts six weeks and it’s a good time to evaluate the four parts of Medicare – Part A, Part B, Part C and Part D. Most of the seniors in Medicare have Part A and that provides them with hospitalization and rehab after they get out. Part B includes visits to the physician, some home care services and medical equipment. In some instances, seniors will also have an employer sponsored supplement or a private pay Medigap policy in addition to Parts A and B.

Most seniors are also very familiar with Part D, the fourth plan, because it covers drugs. Part C is the infamous Medicare Advantage program that came into being in 2003. Parts C and D were both created at the same time and actually Medicare Advantage was a dusted off and jacked up combination of the Medicare and Choice programs that had been in existence since 1997. With Medicare Advantage, seniors got the private insurance version of Parts A and B. If they signed on for Part C, then A and B no longer covered them. Now, Medicare coverage is run by private health insurance contracts with various insurance companies.

With all the changes to Medicare coming in 2010 and the cancellation of Medicare Advantage, it’s time to speak to a knowledgeable Medicare health insurance agent and find out what’s new for the future, who it will benefit, how it will benefit them, and how to get signed up.

To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.

Medicare Senior Power

If seniors banded together to make a difference in their health care costs, silver power would be a new word for the future of health care in America.

It’s a fact that most seniors have limited resources and need to watch their spending carefully. Nowhere is that more apparent than when it comes to health care needs. The way it works in the U.S. right now is that when a person turns 65, they become eligible for Medicare.

Medicare Part A is the hospital insurance portion and seniors get this free if the individual or spouse has 40 or more quarters of Medicare-covered employment. The rest of the medical insurance part, which is Medicare Part B, is for individuals who enroll at 65, and it’s fairly minimal; for example Medicare Part B was an average cost of $96.40 for 2009.

What these figures mean is that the cost for Medicare premiums is less than people were paying before they turned 65, and that is good news. The bad news is that Medicare does not cover all health care costs, which isn’t exactly new, but a lot of people forget this point.

Most seniors definitely need supplemental coverage to fill in the gaps for extra money they pay out for things not covered by Medicare. While that may sound depressing, there are 12 different Medicare supplement plans and so many Medicare insurers and HMOs to choose from, that not only is there a lot of variety and different prices, it’s sometimes tough to figure out which way to go. Just because something is good for one person, does not make it good for another.

Seniors can definitely control the costs of their health insurance coverage by keeping up-to-date on the latest information that relates to their plans and by making it a point to speak to an expert health insurance agent. They will do best by talking to an agent that sells what they need, not just someone who has many things they are able to sell.

It’s time consuming for seniors to find plans that suit their budgets, but this is definitely a doable proposition with the right health insurance agent that works with seniors one-on-one and finds them what suits their needs. If more seniors got together and became a powerful voice for Medicare insurance they could count on and afford, silver power would be a new word in health care circles when it came to Medicare.

To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.

Medical Homes Now in More States

Are medical homes a good idea and just what are they anyhow?

It appears that the current administration in Washington will be launching a 3-year medical home program that may be an option for qualified Medicare beneficiaries in states that are participating in this program. What it boils down to is those who do qualify will live in Medicare housing where they will be seen on a regular basis by primary care doctors and other health care providers. Those other providers would possibly include social workers, therapists and nurse practitioners.

This is initially a pilot program to see if all goes well and to assess if Medicare recipients do get a high level of care offered to them. Overall though, the main reason behind this pilot program is to ideally reduce costs. Evidently the new program will offer access to things like dietitians and physical therapists, something not usually covered by the “original” Medicare. So this program may just be a step in the right direction and be a benefit to Medicare recipients who need these kinds of specialized services.

What is happening right now is that if a senior is on Medicare and needs a service that isn’t covered under their plan, they have two choices – either pay for the service out-of-pocket or buy Medicare supplemental insurance. Generally speaking, it’s a smart move for seniors to have Medicare supplemental insurance so they are covered for things they may need. Buying this later often becomes more expensive.

To make this new program work, it seems that Medicare will be joining hands with Medicaid, state and federal health care programs, and private insurers in states that will offer the medical home program. For instance, Vermont already has a medical care home model in operation. By all reports, it seems to be doing what it was created to do, provide “uniform standards for advanced primary care.” It’s not just Vermont that has implemented this kind of a model either; so have Maine, Colorado and Massachusetts.

Never before has Medicare taken part in something this big and different. It breaks all the traditional rules and blazes some new trails. In addition to this it will be the first time that private insurance companies and primary care physicians will actually be on the same page when it comes to compensation. Of interest is that Vermont doctors get an extra patient bonus of $1.20 to $2.39 a patient, per month, to look after their care and get a further bonus if a patient’s health improves based on certain criteria.

If you’re making plans for the future, now is the time to call about making changes to your Medigap plans or improve your Medicare coverage. It is open enrollment until December 31, 2009.

Richard Cantu is with Medicare supplements resource, GoMedigap.com. To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.

Seniors Need to be Cautious About Medicare Ads

Despite what you may get in the mail, read everything you get with a grain of salt and lots of caution.
It’s that time of the year for seniors about to be eligible for Medicare. Your mailbox is going to be jam packed with ads about Medicare supplements and Medicare Part D drug coverage. Not that the information isn’t useful, but there is so much of it and it’s terribly confusing to boot. This is where you need to reach for the phone and call an expert Medicare insurance agent in your area and talk turkey about all the stuff you’ve been getting.

One thing you should definitely know right up front is that open enrollment for Medicare Part D started November 15th and runs right through to December 31st every year. You may or may not know this however, that Medicare supplements do not have an open enrollment period. The only open enrollment you make take advantage of is the one that relates to Medicare Part D drug coverage, period. The reason this is so important to know and remember is because a large portion of the senior population think open enrollment is for Medicare supplement plans. This is not the case.

This isn’t to say that you can’t attempt to make a change to your Medicare supplement at any time, but having said that, there are a lot of companies that will ask medical questions. The answers you give to those questions may either allow you to change plans or not, as the case may be.

Here is another area of confusion now, and likely in the foreseeable future, Medicare supplements are also called Medigap policies and they are identical by plan. So what that really means is that if you want to buy plan J from AARP, you will get precisely the same benefits with a plan J offered by American Progressive. In other words, it doesn’t matter where you buy the plan, it is the same plan.

The only thing that does tend to change is the premiums the various companies charge. Sure, you could shop for the cheapest deal, but you will want to know you are dealing with a company with a good reputation for honoring their claims. Just because the ads you get in your mailbox say company X is the biggest and best and is really aggressive about chasing your business, does not mean they “are” the best. So be wary.

The interesting thing here is that when you look in your stuffed mailbox, the ads you see are strictly regulated by the Center for Medicare Services. That may be all well and good, but that still does not help you sort out some very confusing and misleading ads. Remember this as well, that just because your banker or best friend has a plan that works for them, does not mean it is suited to your particular circumstances. Ask questions and don’t stop until you get answers that make sense, and get a plan based on your needs, health and budget.

Richard Cantu is with Medicare supplements resource, GoMedigap.com. To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.