Below is the Transcription of Medicare Explained: Parts A, B, Medicare Supplements and More! To watch the video please click here.
Jocelyn:
“Hi I’m Jocelyn White. If we are all lucky enough, we’ll live to the age of sixty-five. We will get to think about retirement and vacations and spare time and grandkids and also Medicare. Now that’s a topic that can be very confusing and, let’s face it, intimidating. So today we thought we’d shed a little light on the subject and help you navigate the alphabet soup of Medicare.”
Tim:
“Medicare is made up of a few parts. Part A and B is what we call Original Medicare. That’s your red, white and blue Medicare card that you get in the mail. Medicare supplement plans also have a letter associated. There are ten of them. The most popular are Plan F, Plan G and Plan N. So Medicare has parts, supplementals have plans, and to complicate it even more, you have Part D which is what we call a prescription plan. There’s also what we call Part C which are Medicare Advantage Plans.
A supplement comes in and picks up where Medicare leaves off. It’s going to help you pay deductibles, co-pays, coinsurance. Without a supplement you have the full twenty percent that Medicare does not cover. That’s up-capped. This is what necessitates a Medicare Supplement.”
Jocelyn:
“If you’re new to the system as many people are, and every year more and more people are coming of age, what are some of the basic guidelines that you should know? Because it almost takes an expert to really navigate all of this.”
Tim:
“So that’s kind of where our company comes in. What we like to do is to sit down with you or take an initial phone call and just say, look what’s your situation? Do you currently have coverage? Are you aging in? Have you been sixty-five and you’ve had a job and you’ve continued to work? Let’s look at all this. What we like to do is try to do a little apples to apples comparison. Here’s your work coverage that you are able to keep if you’d like. Here’s what Medicare and a supplement can provide and let’s sort of put you on a path to where the coverage that you desire is going to be the best thing for you.
The most important enrollment periods typically start when you’re new to Medicare. That’s when your health can’t be held against you if you’ve got pre-existing conditions. Those are going to be covered. Every year we have what’s called Medicare annual enrollment period. AEP, that’s what we call it. This is when people on Advantage plans and drug plans can all make changes to their coverage. Any change they make takes effect in the following year.
Jocelyn:
What if you turn sixty-five and you’re still working? Because the majority of the workforce does continue to work at age sixty-five.
Tim:
It’s very common to still be on a work plan as you age into Medicare at sixty-fix In a situation like that typically you’ve paid into the Medicare system your whole life, so Part A ,which is hospital coverage, will be generally premium free for you. So there is no reason not to pick up a Part A. The decision comes on Part B. If you like your work plan and you want to hold onto it, what you can do is delay that portion of Medicare and stay on your work plan. Then, whenever you retire, you can come onto full Medicare with a supplement a drug plan. If you’re already receiving Social Security, you’re going to get Medicare automatically. If you’re delaying your Social Security benefit, you do physically need to sign up on the Social Security website.
Jocelyn:
If you have a chronic illness and you’ve been able to get insurance coverage for it now you’re worried because everything is becoming glaringly apparent once again because you’re basically signing up for something new like Medicare.
Tim:
So when you’re new to Medicare and you’re new to a Medicare supplement, the insurance company is not allowed to ask you any health questions. They are not allowed to ask you a single health question so you’re just like any other sixty-five year old that’s coming into Medicare. They can’t raise your rates based on your personal claims so they’re never looking at what you’re doing at the doctor or the hospital and making increases to your plan. It doesn’t work like that. What you need to be careful about is if you do have a major diagnosis, and this is what we will work with you on, you might need to stay on that supplement plan for a long time because you won’t have the ability to switch or move around. You want to make sure you get it right the first time. Think about a plan that is going to age well with you. You can’t think about just now. You have to think about it the coverage that’s going to age well with you.
Jocelyn:
At Plan Medigap, what do you do that’s better than all the rest?
Tim:
As a company, we have a lot of companies that we work work. We have tons of options for you. So typically no matter where you live, if you are in Texas or New Mexico or California etc. we can help you with a supplemental plan. And typically we can save you money if you’ve already got one. Our service is free. We’re always transparent here. We get compensated by the insurance company so if we work with you and we submit and application for coverage that insurance company pays us a small commission. So you don’t pay us a dime.