Everything is Beautiful in its Own Way, Even Medicare

You're listening to the network and TruthNetwork.com welcome to finishing well brought you by Cardinal� Certified financial planner belonged to child and best-selling author and financial planner helping families finish well over 40 years of finishing well will examine both biblical and practical knowledge to assist families in finishing well, including discussions on managing Medicare IRA long-term care life insurance and investments and taxes. Now let's get started. Finishing well welcome to finishing well today with certified financial planner Hans Schild today show, we stole it from Ray Stevens. You might remember the song, everything is beautiful and I well how about Medicare and I watch the think about Medicare and Philippians 484 me for a minute. You may think that's a bit of controversy but let's just think about Medicare and think about the statement and this is Paul speaking to you mouse you better listen up. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, when it was lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. Now I would not of really understood that verse quite as well as I do today had not two things happen when my father passed away on March 19 of this year and number two is John Eldridge who many now is you know one of my favorite Bible teachers talked about his own father's death and that he went into a deep depression afterwards and and what really really helped him was to go out and find beauty.

Now he found that being John Eldridge out in the mountains and elk hunting or wherever he was out looking it in a sunset or whatever, but the idea being that God's heart is really good towards us and we just have the hardest time believing that with you to do.

Ever since Eve thought now I've gotta take a by that Apple is no end and Adam went along with it.

We have a hard time believing that God is not holding out on them somehow but when you get out there and you begin to look at things how beautiful they are you and you realize that God's heart isn't holding out on you and really when I look at Medicare and the situation is you brought it out to my attention this morning. Actually Hans and E and a text you sent me that this is really a beautiful thing well in in is a say you know you listen to the song in you read the verse you're only going to see the beautiful if you're actually looking for right okay and if you're looking for the opposite or the cost or the difficulties or the challenges are the bad things within something and I think where this applies to Medicare is I work and talk to people about Medicare every day and the people that are on Medicare. My clients and their use. I never hear any really complaints or the bad things about Medicare and really hear them food to sell them better than never.

I seldom it's the people coming on the Medicare the people anticipating Medicare.

The people that are much younger that are looking at it there. Read the news there experiencing signing up for Medicare they're seeing in there that they're not seeing the good there, failing to see the good and this is really the message that I've run into you this morning is in my work. I want to lead people to look at all things and see the good and let's start with that doesn't mean we can ignore the bad things were the costs.

It just means that working to start with the good meaning that there's gotta be some good and Medicare if it's covering all the people 65 and over in the United States. I mean I just I know there's a lot of good in Medicare because I work with it every day.

I love this, that he sent me this morning.

This text and it said, and he was tell me Robbie one Medicare, which observed its 50th birthday in 2014 was enacted into law on February 9, 1964 Pres. Lyndon Johnson said one of the most urgent orders of business at this time is the enactment of hospital insurance for the aged through Social Security to help old to help older people meet the higher cost of illness without jeopardizing their economic independence while as I thought about that statement. I thought about my father's own situation. The last six months of his life. I can assure you it is medical bills were at least $175,000. Yet because of Medicare. He still had an estate to give to his family and what his his economic independence was not in jeopardy because of Medicare. Oh yeah in is what we we broke his situation down a little bit and I you know would take $175,000 in bills which sounds pretty common for a person at the end of their life that's battling a number of things as he was hundred and $25,000 of that, this is a gas, but it's a pretty educated guess is party is going to the hospital bills them hospital bills were especially when he was in intensive care probably hundred 25, maybe a little more than 125 and that's part a of Medicare and what I want, just forget the supplement.

Forget all the stuff that we we talk about on the show just Medicare itself paid $123,600 that hundred and $25,000 part a bill means that you pay a deductible one time of 1400 bucks if you don't have a supplement Medicare pays the rest for 60 days in the hospital. It's definitely fun, and then so his supplement paid the other 1400 and I I've seen the bills of course he didn't have to pay any will then we moved to part B and part D were guessing $50,000 in expenses this Medicare paid.

If we assume the deductible is met earlier in the year you know you take $50,000 in bills Medicare pays 80% under part B Medicare paid 40,000 to 50,000 in this. I've said all along I'm a Medicare supplement salesperson so you know I this really seems a little counterintuitive, but the supplements the Medicare supplements with people like your dad and I did talk to your dad Billy was living about his supplement. I think the supplements get too much credit, you know, in other words, if you're a senior and you just gone through something like this and you've had $175,000 in bills and you're still alive talk about it and you know you got 165 of them essentially hundred 64 paid by Medicare and 11,000 paid by the supplement you're going to give too much of the credit toward the supplement guy because that's what you see that's what you're paying for.

But you're not really gonna look at this breakdown Medicare by itself is phenomenal taught me how I think you know you when you look at the beauty of that was that. You know, the government decided to take care of our ancient to make sure that they would have that kinda care because it wouldn't matter what my dad station was in life right with those products. He was gonna get that level of care. You know, no respecter of persons. What it is so get back to what were talking about is I want people and I want clients that are coming in to see me. I want to lead them to seeing the beauty and Medicare and to where we can all experience in gratitude because we've all put this together through our taxes immunity. Since the Lyndon Johnson's get the credit as the president to sign the bill and gave the speech and that quote by the way is right on my book the complete cardinal guide to planning for living in retirement and it's out of the Medicare chapter which you can find it cardinal guide.com task at place to pause and say yeah his book the complete cardinal guide to planning for living in retirement. You can get a free download of the chapter were talking about today. Medicare right is one of the seven words tab there and you know you get it there in the PDF for free order again with we always say you can email Hans, tell me what the book he will hook you up or you go easily and to Amazon. You can find Amazon you can find the book on Amazon through our website. You get a lot of ways to get the point is this whole radio show is based upon the book and we follow the chapters along the book and the sections in the worries he and what I'd like to be leading people to do is to start with the beauty and some things and most folks are if you listen to the news and you you know you read about it you experience signing up for Medicare and you look at part a part B, part C, part D it's confusing you get premiums and then you talk to somebody like me and you need to buy a supplement plan G.

It sounds like alphabet soup and then you read that the governments gonna go broke in and they're talking about Medicare for all.

And people say it's not that in people just can't get it general feeling just it's just negative there. There and what ice also see is once they get on Medicare and they get a good supplement and then they get a part D drug plan.

They're generally very very happy with this and the realizing that they're in a better position to use healthcare than they were before there on Medicare much better position. I've been itching to go back up to 10,000 feet for minute and say okay it cardinal guide.com to always talk about cardinal guide put the guide after the Cardinal cardinal guide.com you see is a seven words tab of the reason like he has that there any hazard in the book is it even want you to worry, God is going to take care of this stuff and and and you know there's it's interesting enough for such a time as this. You tune into the radio show to find out that they Medicare is really a great thing for people United States of America and God. He's got your back.

In this case he's got it. He's got your back through Medicare and don't miss what's going on. Even though it's very hard to understand but it's been worth my time over the last year and have to be really understand what's going on because I can see the beauty of it so much.

Clearly as I went through this tough-minded, so I guess we we don't we.

We busted our first segment may be beginning to see that everything is beautiful in its own way like Ray Stevens sang about the we come back we got more stories we got more stuff, more ways to look at this and, in more ways for you to see RR to be able to take advantage of what God is giving you here. Through this program so thank you for listening to finish.

Well, if we always tell you get the podcast we have to do is tell Siri your phone hey I want a list of the finishing well podcast hello let never works out for you cardinal guide to Hans and I would love to take our show on the road to your church, Sunday school, Christian or civic group. Here's a chance for you to advance the kingdom through financial resources and leveraging Hans expertise and qualified charitable contributions veterans aid and attendance IRA Social Security care and long-term care. Just go to cardinal guide.com and contact Tom to schedule a live recording of finishing well at your church Christian or civic group contact Tomczyk cardinal guide.com that's cardinal guide.com welcome back to finishing well, a certified financial financial planner Hans Schild and today show we been talking about Medicare but from a different angle being that you know everything is beautiful going Ray Stevens in its own way and will you and to connect to your story with John Eldridge, is if you can move you to go through life in you need to see the beauty in things and if you know everything and with Medicare. I work with it every day I work with clients and I work with problems with it every day but I start with the beauty and so you know that this the story that I bring in when you if you take the time to read my book, or even just a chapter of the book which we talked about earlier how you can get that cardinal guide.com I have a story which is similar to your dads that I plugged into the book in these recent clients of mine that bought Medicare supplements. Both of them and that Megan and Jason there on page 33 and 34 of the original cardinal guide and the story was really doesn't have anything that spectacular different than your father story, just maybe, the bills were 1/4 of $1 million instead of $175,000 but Medicare paid most of the bill under part a and part B and the supplement came in and paid the difference. These people were both thrilled with the result and it even paid for some skilled nursing for him for really the whole hundred days. The suspect through four years ago, so it's a little bit different wanted to bring it up but as you brought your dad story into it when I be the first to say. Not only did they pay for the hospitalization Medicare path paid for that, but then encompassed can encompass home health they paid for that and they did a wonderful job even had a physical therapist come in and you know a couple times a week and this was after he was at home but at the end. You know they pay for hospice which was right there to the very end of his life.

You know at and that was the deal but one of things I would like to to bring out is that you know if we did. If my dad had known you know, 15 years prior to this he could save a lot of money on a supplement and any and even got the part. He was frustrated with the supplement because he didn't really understand it and and that was the beauty of having people like you and is in his life to understand what it was, he really did have an employee was paying too much for what you did had was a plan F writing which is the highest benefits basically pays all the deductibles and copayments so he really ended up in this hospitalization owing nothing going for you and rice, potatoes nothing and he could have used his pain too much for me was up in his 80s, he had the same supplement since the very beginning when he was 65 and he dissipated thought it was good and it was good. He could have been paying half okay because it it it it it's a common misunderstanding about Medicare supplements now is that the government almost 30 years ago made him identical, so your dad had a plan F and a plan F from Blue Cross Blue Shield is exactly the same as a plan F from Mutual of Omaha is exactly the same as a plan F from AARP United healthcare. They're all identical or standardized so the moral of that story is is you need to shop around and you need to do it consistently every few years. Now if you're after a serious illness. They may not accept you right after a serious illness of changing supplement so you need to be when I say in reasonably good health week. We get a lot of people was some real severe conditions that still change supplements and if it's done in the right way, you can be better off for it.

We recommend every 2 to 3 years and as you shop this and you get identical benefits from the new company. It's just it comes in at a much lower rate and thus the discussion that younger people need to have her parents because her parents may not know about it.

That's exactly right mean for those of you that are listening that are under 65, or even if you're just 65 your parents are still living. I just had some people in my office yesterday that there's been very little discussion between mom in the adult children okay about money about insurance, about any of these and just let me tell you this is the pops up a 63-year-old son is got unbelievable experience.

I thought I had a lot of good conversations with my dad. I didn't have nearly as many as I probably should have right Hans, but Vladimir, the Medicare insurance might be a safe place to start this discussion of them. If you go through the seven chapters are the seven worries in the book we find them on the website Social Security, Medicare, long-term care IRAs investments life insurance and estate planning and income taxes. I mean, you go through all those seven things.

If you coming to see me or your parents come in to see Mary coming together redo it on the phone were to go through all seven of those things were to have a discussion and ultimately were to find out where they stand with all seven and what I'm saying were talking about Medicare today is if your 55 and mom or dad is 80 or 85 and you haven't talked about any of these seven things are you just talk lightly about and you just had some conversation and and you haven't Medicare might be the best place to open the conversation. It might be the safest and to really get in there and look at it and see where they stand and that they might be just, you know, five you know any you might face.

All I'm fine with that. I like that I'm not changing that well just peered through that a little bit� Let's just take a look at it and see what it is and what I'm trying to tell you with the Medicare supplement is the policies are identical from company to company, and typically if I met your dad a few years ago we might've changed into a G from an F to a G and I want to get into the details of that that the G is almost as good as the and probably about $400 less expensive than I would've also changed in probably to a different company and I would've picked. I can tell you exactly what that company is as we represent over 30 of you can go onto our website. If you want to shop Medicare supplements. You don't even need to call us or tell you tell us who you are immune you can just go in cardinal guide.com click under the Medicare tab and there's a rate calculator right there putting your ZIP Code, your age, gender, click, and there is it'll give you a list of every company that sells it in your ZIP Code or your parents ZIP Code and there's your comparison right there you'll be shocked at the differences between the bottom. One of the most expensive one in the top one which is the least expensive distracts out so the moral of that is with Medicare supplements.

Make sure you shop them regularly. You know I'm saying every 2 to 3 years if they have been looked at in a while.

Let's take a look at him then you get into part D okay and that's that's that's another thing that I think you know my fortunately based on our conversations in my mother-in-law you know she she saw some on TV in like here I go. I feel this is my deal right now and boy oh boy. I mean, it can affect your life. Big time. Oh sure, I mean, especially with drug prices as they are today and again I want you to see the beauty in this guy how you see I have a guy yesterday. They were talking to his wife is taking a cancer drug that is $12,500 a month to that's a lot of money and you know he taste something this gentleman was wonderful because he could see the beauty and because this this drug has kept his wife alive, but a lot of folks there to say all those drug companies there ripping your offer, you know, they just well I mean maybe that's true but I want to see the beauty in this you know the beauty of this she still alive, and she's covering and she's recovering the type of cancer that she has is never going to go away, but it can be managed out of the beauty of it is is inside that drug company that whoever might be corrupting the drug company, but there was a guy who wanted to help people who was willing to stay up all night doing research to figure out how to create something that would stop this evil is done company might've bought it from that guy. Even I like working with test tubes out his garage or something like I was behind something.

What will sure and in in.

That's why it's so expensive, and now becomes our problem to make recommendations to try to make that right.

And you know he's able to get a scholarship through that drug company where they're going to pay for part of it, but the point I want to make about it is, is it with Medicare you got part D in the same part D plan doesn't work for everybody. There are several available to you. This is the time year.

You can't really change your part D plan. Now unless there's some special situation got away till fall for that, but it's fine to be talking about it now is if you have a discussion with your parents.

We need to look into that. To me there's penalties with those if were talking to you and your on Medicare.

You can look at your Medicare supplement 365 days a year so we we were changing those for people every day or just affirming what they have is pretty good chance that we probably represent the company you have it with now, we represent most of them we can give you an analysis and then there's Medicare advantage which, again, that another challenge when and we sell those as well. By and large, if you can afford to supplement you can afford to pay the premium without taking Brett off the table.

You're going to be better off with original Medicare and Medicare supplement and a part D plan. The primary reason is you gonna be able to choose your doctor is going to be able to go to the hospital and the doctor of your choice okay your dad bounced around a few miler and had an original Medicare. That's good anywhere he might have a little bit of trouble over there in rural area around Reidsville or whatever getting a Medicare advantage plan set up for Winston-Salem to accept that. I don't know for sure whether he would or not. My general recommendation with that is to lean toward getting Medicare and a supplement that is not the same for everybody. There's many people that we write Medicare advantage plans on that are very happy with them and they're the right thing for that. But, as always, this is an area to seek out counsel and seek out wise counsel and that's what I'm recommending I write about it in both of my books which you can get the chapters and I really just want to impress upon folks that I'd like to move the conversation to start with the beauty in all these programs as they were created by God and it's our job to order things so they work out best for you. God has our back in this country in some amazing ways and so were so grateful for a little map that got her way through the complete cardinal guide to planning for living in retirement again. Cardinal guide.com seven ways to have all that stuff emailed Hans if you want the book were so grateful that you listened and that your see in the beauty in it like us right now.

Thank you and God bless and we hope you enjoyed finishing well brought you by Cardinal guide.com visit cardinal guide.com for free downloads of the show previous shows on topics such as Social Security, Medicare and IRAs, long-term care and life insurance, investments and taxes as well as constant best-selling book, the complete cardinal guide to planning for and living in retirement and the workbook once again for dozens of free resources past shows when you get Hans book go to Cardinal guide.com if you have a question, comment or suggestion for future shows. Click on the finishing well radio show on the website and send us a word. Once again that's Cardinal guide.com Cardinal guide.com