The 5 Decisions of Medicare Annual Enrollment

Welcome to finishing well to you by Cardinal guy.com certified financial planner style 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 in taxes. Now let's get started with finishing well, finishing well today. We got more urban legends, urban legends, finishing well here the last few shows and today's urban legends were talking about Medicare and urban legends and end up there's this Proverbs 1019 may have heard it. It's what I think about a lot when you're around sales minutes is up with many words, sin is not absent, and when I think of Medicare just fits into that category that all my goodness this is the most complicated thing. If you sit down and try to make something more complicated.

You could put more words in it and that the challenge that that is when there's this many words in this much complication since not absent is pretty easy not to mitt Mitt hit the mark.

When you can't comprehend it without getting the decoder ring of some kind will yeah and was so who are the teachers here so we got the public out there that's turned 65. There are over 65 are coming on Medicare their own Medicare. They need information they want to make decisions they need to make decisions where the teachers right and I stop that you even think at the cereal company that Sonia decoder ring.

That's the part he left, but it's actually the insurance companies as insurance goes in the government and write the government which I found the hard way. If you type in Medicare there all of a sudden given you hoping that you'll know you can go to our website in Col. guy.com and you can pull up the government guides we have them there and they need to be there in their 60 7080 pages long talk about a lot of words and their accurate words, but you can't make heads or tails and sell at and then again we've we've talked about moving the cheese and this is a moving target.

Every year there changing things just like one of the big urban legends. When I think about it. Hans is down the hall. I heard it for my mother-in-law headed for my father, you know, but from what I understand, the doughnut hole in 2019's going to be fried dough. There's no more whole is actually at the end of night 2019. Also, good news is you know fried dough from Alan. I mean, just think about something is like a government program, which is what Medicare is and it's got four parts per day. Part B, part C and part D and it's only part D that has a domino okay yeah so that's what deep down that I finally Said good, but then you think about it. If you going to Krispy Kreme or Dunkin' Donuts, or in you get doughnuts round thing I hole in the middle were really not talking about the doughnut because the doughnut time of the doughnut hole and then you've got. Also, you can buy the time he got his antonyms you get doughnut holes, but they still look like they got down yet they do and so were talking about the hole in the part D program that's really the reason it was called the doughnut hole. It's where's the hole and I don't think is teachers of this thing were doing a very good job because if you survey people that are on Medicare and affected by the doughnut hole did not want them to what it does to them or what the effect of it is or where it is and so we don't want to spend a lot of time on this show explaining with the doughnut holes were just bringing that up to be there at 11.

If the point is that it hears all these things that a lot of people are really concerned about when the things it really is you enter into this process.

There's there's things to know and just relying on what you did back when you set up your parents and Medicare's things of change reaches of the consumers themselves and I have 6000 of them that are clients and many more that I talked to they spend a lot of time thinking, talking, deciding about this stuff and then most of what the conclusions drawn are not incorrect.

The correct but they're just talking about one little piece of one of the parts and most of them just don't have a real good grass of Medicare itself.

So maybe if we could talk a little bit about that today of like what you need to know to make good decisions about Medicare right just here's the basics and your hearing that from certified financial planner Hans shot out and this shows brought you by Cardinal guy.com we call it finishing well because here we are in the end, and in planning for right and living in retirement is his Hans book you know things have changed and so is certainly always been your passion to help teach along these lines, because it just it's easier to deal with this definition actually begin to comprehend what the structures are so this Today is right. Medicare and supplement insurance.

If you go to the seven worries tab you can get this part of the workbook you can get this part of the book is.download the PDF just got my so you could read. Then we went through that in the workbook's 13 pages long and it's got some pictures in there so if you boil it down about eight or nine pages of actual text and if you could read through those eight or nine pages and you could read it with an open mind is just fax in the workbook. No stories, but then you get done with that I would even say mastered you to be much further ahead most likely than where you are right now with the whole Medicare program and like what you do about and what your decisions are so you can finish well without the benefit of all those many words yeah getting to the basics. Hans so so I've been selling Medicare supplement insurance for a long time. As you know I started in 1976 selling Medicare supplement insurance yet is 42 years ago and in the beginning there was only part a and part B so it was somewhat simpler made sense you get you get a get beat and back then people would could be if they could be explained understand it pretty simple okay had a vignette to be and you had a supplement policy if you bought that for me and then that would pay the half-day menus ARP are they so so so let's talk about in a is the same thing today as it was Brandon Sosebee part a was your hospital so so that's hospital insurance coverage to pay your hospital. Part B is your doctor and now outpatient things that are done outpatient. So if you go to the hospital as an outpatient fall under part B, not part can in that's pretty simple. Just get your hospital bill. Whatever party does goes toward that get you Dr. Bill in the outpatient land that can things can be under part again you could pretty well understand. It was pretty simple back and what with the supplement. Therefore, it supplement would pay the deductibles and copayments under either a or B and then it would when a or B would run out of benefits than it would provide catastrophic coverage and insurance coverage. 40 K.

Pretty simple. Now then you start talking about when do you get this when you sign up for so most people sign up for Medicare part a and part B right when the 65 day but if you're still working and getting group insurance in your 65. Like a lot of people now you got a decision to make with part a there's really no decision. You sign up for because you don't have any out-of-pocket costs it that you don't have a premium to the government when Chauncey discussed sign up for that particular decision to make about part B because you have to pay a premium for that spent hundred 40 bucks a month and it comes out.

Typically your Social Security check curfew not getting one yet you send it in, but you may not want to sign up for B if you're getting health insurance through some work and a lot of people are still working with your 6566 67, so yeah decision-making in not enough time in the air to really go through all that decision us. What we do with clients as we help them make that decision now with the supplement does is both of those part a and part B has have deductibles and copayments got limits in the supplement just comes in and fills in with Medicare and the government. Okay three simple okay Yep but then you got a whole bunch of supplements different supplements that you can choose from K coming then and there called just coincidentally, a B, C, D, and so on is up to tantalum and they all have a letter but there called plans where as for Medicare itself.

They call them parks to get part a part B and then to supplement part a and part B, you got plan a plan B me.

This is the alphabet soup and again stilled and sent to confusing but along about 15 years ago the government decided in organ and small parts. They forget about other parts because part St. parts when it comes to take as our same with many words in a sin is not absent, so we'll be back with more of finishing well, a certified financial planner Hans Schild and that brought you by Cardinal guy.com the complete Cardinal guide to planning for and living in retirement will be right back. We hope you are enjoying finishing well brought you by Cardinal guy.com is a Cardinal guy.com for free downloads of preview shows including episodes about Social Security and Medicare, IRAs, long-term care, life insurance, investments and taxes as well as Hans best-selling book, the complete Cardinal guide to planning for and living in retirement. Plus the accompanying workbook. If you want to follow along with today's topic download free PDF Cardinal guy.com by going to the seven worries tab of today's show topic, just scroll down to useful documents once again for free resources shows going to get Hans book the complete Cardinal guide to planning for and living in retirement or the workbook go to Cardinal guide.com you have a question, comment or suggestion for future shows. Click on finishing well radio show and send us a word.

Once again that's Cardinal guide.com Cardinal guide.com now finishing well brought by Cardinal guide.com welcome back to finishing well certified financial planner Hans Schild in brought you by Cardinal guide.com today were talking about urban legends, urban legend when it comes to Medicare and we are trying to get to the simplicity of how complicated it is Wednesday oxymoron rate week we covered a it would cover babe.

It actually there's there's still another partner see well so the government was under Bush. They decided they needed prescription drugs and that was a good thing they came up with party before then. Back when I first started selling the first several years was really very little coverage for prescription drugs in a long time ago.

Prescription drugs weren't that expensive that people could kinda make do. Just paying for themselves, but Alanna Partida right that's part D so I'm just explaining what happened is before 2004 there wasn't any part C and part D so this is pretty simple yet party hospital. Part B Dr. and you had a supplement is.

It is so simple even I could do it. 18 then along in 2004 we added part C and part D's and I got four parts of Medicare instead to get done. Sound that complicated. But what part C is is really a combination of a and B, so you have to have a and you have to have B in order to get C and would see is easier now receiving your Medicare from a private insurance company says the government's attempts to privatize Medicare said so instead of actually offering you the coverage directly from Medicare you're electing you the consumer saying I don't want to have regular traditional ANB you know I'm signed up form even though I paid form. I want to receive the benefits from a private insurance company and then that private insurance covers a whole list on they offer you were supposed to be better benefits under part C, but you have to play the game their way okay which generally means now you gotta go to their doctors and their hospitals. She got a network and then the other things you got deductibles and copayments that are different than thereunder under traditional Medicare part a and part B she get a B and now were talking about C tendencies K sense is already insurance you don't have supplements or plans that would go with that correct that you can even buy a Medicare supplement scans the law is to guess love for me to sell you a Medicare supplement if you have a Medicare advantage because it just wouldn't work. Now the part C also includes a part D plan. Most of the time all the time. Most of the time it's called an MA PD/Medicare advantage prescription drug MA PD, which is really part C that includes a part D drug plan and by the way, you don't have choices and that part here. If you buy this Medicare advantage, part C, you just get this part D the comes with subpart D. Now I hesitate for Donovan has a deeper truck so it cannot help you. Remember that the RD is the drug is the drug plan and so so get a we get B we get C we get D and you got decisions to make in all this. You don't have much of a decision with days as he turned 65% of that would be no point signing up for it. If you're relying on other insurance because you gotta pay a premium for its makes sense to delay your signing up of the we can help you through that decision, but sometimes it makes sense to buy and sign up.

Even if you have other insurance because you can be covered better under Medicare supplement. But that's a decision that you have to make her you have the ability to make then with C, he got another decision which is do I want to see it all came to a new I want to do this. I want to start receiving my Medicare part a and part B from a private insurance company and you got a further decision you make is a rich private insurance can exist.

Several of these avail and you know if you answer in and one of them you call them up on their 800 number. Then I can tell you about the other lenses can tell you about the one you called about you got a call the other one.

Then I can compare and this is the season right because that all a lot of enrollment thing is another thing that confuses yet it's called it's got AEP annual enrollment. So October 15 December 7 and it has nothing to do with traditional medic and nothing to do a supplements you can change or supplement any time of the year you want to, but that's another urban legend as people just think that they have to wait to change anything your supplement. You can make changes and that all your law.

It's the part C in the part D that your annual enrollment period, which is about seven weeks that you can collect to go onto a part savings you can say the heck with the supplement. Now when I go to Medicare advantage and on the go with this one. This particular company. This is the one I want and then you're now going to receive your Medicare for all and next year through that part C plan and then by the way, whatever part D comes with that is just what you get. Okay so I grits on the plates breakfast in cell you don't order grits. They just come okay and so there's your part C and then with part D, you get choices as well because the choice is if you're not on a part C you're on traditional Medicare part a and part B and a supplement you don't have any drug coverage so you need to enroll in a part D plan and when you're enrolling in just part D, you can choose from about 40 different insurance companies that offer you various combinations of part D plans and then they all have their preferred pharmacies set out part D plans are all similar to parks elected on through insurance companies and their all done through insurance, yes, that's interesting. I am not that you know I did not know that yeah it is just so that the part D plans is this whole business of Medicare part C and part D, which came out in 2004 2005, it was all about privatizing Medicare. It's about taking the Medicare benefits and administration of it and pushing it out to the insurance company and what a lot of Medicare beneficiaries don't realize is Medicare sends a big check to those private insurance companies for either or both. Part C and part D really did pay you the benefits that's with thereafter, the little small premium that they have are the no premium thereafter.

The month you know that the allotment that they get from the government for that open enrollment to his for part D as well that correct so there's this other thing that you know it may be an urban legend or something, but I've seen it. It's called extra help what my world is extra help can extra help is a federal program that you're not low income enough to qualify for Medicaid.

Medicaid is the ultimate extra help. This is that you just don't have the resources and so you just get on Medicaid, which would include Medicare with extra help is is for the in between people so your your low income and is a struggle for you to pay for all this insurance stuff in the deductibles and copayments and sees a special program is called special extra help and you have to apply for these rules as income limits asset limits you qualify for all that the government is going to give you extra help there and pay your part B premium for you.

There also going to give you much lower copayments on your drug plan plus a few extra things and I would encourage people that are out to investigate. We can help them do that and we do a lot of that title work is helping people access government programs, but now when you mentioned earlier there's no supplements for part C, whether kind are there some insurance that's been invented is not a Medicare supplement in the traditional defined sense but it is a supplemental health insurance policy that pays benefits to fill up some of those gaps.

But you know when you get to that in your buying extra insurances, like what's the point why don't you just go with traditional Medicare. ANB and the supplement and then get your you get your him really and most cases that works for most your clients is just Medicare and be in the supplement.

A lot of times around around the choices mean people you know when I get to Medicare, one moms on Medicare. I didn't want her limited to one particular insurance company set of doctors if one thing she spent part of the year in Florida part of the year traveling to us so and when she got real sick leave moved, or appear permanently and Medicare advantage plans don't travel well so in a really if you want to go to a research hospital so he wants to come over here in a Baptist hospital or they want to go to Duke or UNC or the Mayo Clinic with a Medicare supplement policy original Medicare. Medicare, a Medicare B you going where you want so that that's the biggie with people that they don't really allow them understand when they're turning 65.

We pointed out to him is that you want choices you want options and you have more of those with traditional Medicare, which is plan a plan B in a supplement and then they can still get plan. Dietrich covered front correct yeah and then they can change it. Dad every year. So all our customers are going be talking to us during the next couple months and were going to be reviewing their drug plan to make sure they're on the best one okay and at the same time were to make sure that the supplement insurance policy that we sold them the year two, three, five years ago was the best deal form.

If it's not working to change into a new company just right within our agency ferry County list and to finishing well today show on Medicare there urban legends. I have, we can find out all about this wonderful resource here at the complete cardinal guide for living complete cardinal guide to planning for and living in retirement front to buy cardinal guide.com again. The book all that's available you can just email Hans and find out all about it right there cardinal guide.com thanks Hans a lot of fun. Thank you. We hope you enjoyed finishing well if you buy cardinal guide.com visit cardinal guide.com for free downloads of this show previous shows on topics such as Social Security, Medicare and IRAs, long-term care and life insurance, investments and taxes as well as cons best-selling book the complete cardinal guide to planning for and living in retirement and the work once again for dozens of free resources past shows what 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