Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people 65 and over; for disabled individuals who receive SSDI through Social Security; and those with Lou Gehrig’s (ALS) or End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Your (red, white and blue) Medicare card has your unique identification number and the effective dates of Part A, Part B, or…
You can only enroll in Medicare during certain times of the year or when special circumstances allow you to do so. What follows are six important enrollment periods. You may want to review ‘Medicare’ under Services, and my blog ‘Original Medicare Costs for 2023’ first. Initial Enrollment Period (IEP). This is the first opportunity that…
Medicare plans from private insurance companies fall into three groups: Medicare Advantage plans, Prescription plans, and Medicare Supplement Insurance. This blog is about Medicare Supplement Insurance. For people who do not want a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare Supplement Insurance helps to offset the costs of Original Medicare.** For this reason, Medicare Supplement Insurance is also…
Every Medicare Advantage plan has a Summary of Benefits (SB). It helps answer the question, “Is this plan for me?” The SB includes the plan’s medical procedures, what they cost, and a list of extra benefits. Most Medicare Advantage plans include prescription medications. The abbreviation for Medicare Advantage plans is MA. If the plan includes…
I’m sure you’ve seen the television commercials where you’re urged to call an 800 number to find out about the free extra benefits that come with a Medicare Advantage plan. You may be led to believe that extra benefits have no limits and will never cost money. This is not the case. Vision, hearing, meal…
In most cases, the answer is ‘yes.’ But read on! Background: The Medicare Part B premium is a fixed cost set by the federal government. Part B covers medical services in the community. This premium has nothing to do with your Medicare Advantage plan. Even if you didn’t have a plan, you would still pay…
With millions of enrollees on medications, how does Medicare prevent private insurance companies from charging whatever they want? Each year, Medicare publishes a ‘standard benefit’ that insurance companies must meet to sell medications. Insurance companies can do better than the standard, but they can’t do worse. There are four stages or phases of drug coverage….