Here in the state of California we actually have what’s called the Birthday Rule for Medicare Supplement policies. What the Birthday Rule states is that you can switch your Medicare Supplement plan like to like or you can also switch plans if you are downgrading Supplemental plans. Medicare Supplement plans are standardized by the government […]
HR and Benefits Mangers get tons of questions about Medicare. How do we know? We talk to HR and Benefits Managers all the time because they get approached by employees looking for direction on what to do about Medicare. Answering those questions can be difficult as Medicare is outside the scope of what HR and […]
October is here which also means it’s the Medicare Open Enrollment. Starting today, October 15th until December 7th you will be able to make changes to some of your Medicare plans. If you are happy with your Medicare plans, there is nothing you need to do. Your plans will automatically renew for 2019. However, if you […]
When it comes to getting your Medicare plans set up, there are really two ways to do so. The first way is to contact the insurance companies directly (Do-It-Yourselfers). The other way, which we think is more advantageous for Medicare recipients is to use an independent Medicare agent. Here’s why: 1. There is No Cost […]
There are four things that we take into consideration when choosing a Medicare Supplement/Medigap Insurance Company: 1. Price – Each company is free to charge different prices for their plans even though Medicare Supplement plans have standardized coverages. That means a Plan F from ABC Company has the exact same coverages as the Plan F […]
IRMAA stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. This is an additional Part B and Part D payment that Medicare recipients must pay if they are higher income earners. What determines if someone is a high income earner? Centers for Medicare Services are going to look at your Adjusted Gross Income and they always look […]
When it comes to Medicare Advantage, I think there are three very important things to be aware of before enrolling in a plan. 1. They Are Mostly HMO’s – The All-In-One Medicare Advantage plans are mostly HMO plans where you need to choose a primary care doctor and will need referrals to go see specialists. […]
There is a rule of thumb that you can use when trying to figure out what services are going to be covered by your Medicare Supplement/Medigap plan. The rule of thumb goes, if Medicare covers the service, the Medigap plan will cover the service. If Medicare does not cover the service then usually the Medigap […]
Most Medicare plans out there that are available on the market today include some sort of program that provides free gym memberships. The one that people hear about the most in Southern California is called Silver Sneakers. With that program, you have access to all sorts of gyms in the area and there is no […]
If you haven’t heard already, I wanted to make sure you know that Medicare will be sending out new Medicare Cards automatically starting in April of 2018 and will be sending them through April of 2019. There are tens of millions of people receiving Medicare benefits so be patient if you don’t receive your new […]