Medicare Part B Premium: Do I Have To Pay it?*

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 answers the question, “Is this plan for me?” The SB includes the plan’s medical procedures, their 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 prescription drug…

You’ve seen television commercials where you’re urged to call an 800 number to find out about the extra benefits that come with a Medicare Advantage plan.   You may be under the impression these extra benefits are unlimited and never cost money.  This is not true.  Let’s look at a some extra benefits that typically come…

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 three stages of drug coverage:  The Deductible Stage 1. Deductible: You pay the full price of the drug until you fulfill your deductible. The standard…