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Choosing the Right Medicare Advantage Plan

When it comes to decide on a Medicare Advantage plan , you have to make sure that you fully understand the coverage and its limitations.  Many people I speak to tell me that they have Medicare Supplement coverage when in fact they have a Medicare Advantage plan. There is a big difference. Medicare Advantage Plans are network driven health plans. There are 3 types of plans: HMO, PPO and PFFS. The 2 most common ones are HMO’s and PPO’s.  HMO require referrals to see specialists. With this type of coverage, your primary care provider(PCP)will “quarterback” your care.  Under PPO’s, referrals are not required to see specialists and you are covered both in and out of network. However, out of network  will cost more. Most Medicare Advantage plans include Part D drug coverage along with extra benefits like dental, vision, Silver Sneakers, etc… When selecting plan you need to make sure that your doctors accept the plan you are applying for. If there are important doctors that you need to se
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Retiring & Needing Medicare Coverage

If you are retiring or losing employer coverage and are in need of obtaining Medicare coverage, there are some simple steps that you will need to do to ensure that you get your coverage on time. If you went on Medicare while you were employed and you decided to only get Part A of Medicare, you will need to get your Part B started. You just can’t go online and apply for Medicare Part B . There are a couple of forms you will need to take down to Social Security or mail into Social Security.  You need to know that you need both Part A and Part B to obtain Medicare Supplement coverage or a Medicare Advantage plan (For Part D drug coverage you only need Part A OR Part B. You do need both) This is necessary because if you cannot prove “credible coverage” you cannot start Part B whenever you want and you will be penalized 10% per year that you went without “credible coverage”. To avoid this call or email me and I will provide you with both forms.  There is one form you to fill out another
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Evaluate Your Medicare Drug Coverage Every year

Most people select a Part D Prescription drug plan and don’t ever change it.  This is a huge mistake. What few people realize and that the drug companies change their formularies (list of covered prescriptions) each year. A drug they may cover one year, they may not cover at all the next.  A drug that was considered a Tier 1 (lowest cost tier) may change to a Tier 3 the following year thereby increasing the cost of that prescription. Your drug plan premium may also increase each year, as well.  Obviously, this too will increase your cost. So even if your prescriptions do not change, your drug coverage needs to be looked at each year.  I work with many people on their Medicare in Florida and many of them save money by me evaluating their drug coverage and moving to a plan with the lowest overall cost. Overall cost is defined as the monthly premium for the drug plan + the cost of the prescriptions at the pharmacy.  Whichever plans comes in the lowest that would be your best option fo
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Why Working With A Medicare Insurance Broker in Florida Is Your Best Option

Working with a broker will afford you the opportunity to make better decisions on your Medicare coverage. This is probably the most important thing to know about choosing the correct coverage for yourself. Most people work with an agent who is either employed by one company or an agent who only represents one or two companies. If this is who you have worked with either now or in the past, you are making a critical error. Whether you are shopping for a Medicare supplement coverage , Part D prescription drug coverage or a Medicare Advantage Plan, you need to know what all your options are from each company that offers this coverage in your area. In Florida where I am located there are approximately 15 to 20 companies that offers Medicare Supplement coverage, Plan A through N. In Florida, Medicare Supplement are standardized coverage, meaning based on plan letter, the coverage is the same from company to company. The only difference is the monthly premium. Unless you know what each com
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5 Reasons Generic Drugs Are Cheaper

Have you ever wondered why generic drugs are cheaper than their branded counterparts? Well, wonder no more because I will give you the top 5 reasons generics are cheaper than branded drugs. They Don’t Have to Recoup the Cost of the Patent When a drug company markets a drug, it is usually the end product of years if not decades of research and development as well as stiff regulatory proceedings. This means that the company invested vast sums of money before it could even get the drug to market. To make matters worse, not all R&D projects bear fruit many other projects were abandoned as failures. Hence the drug company will want to recover its investment in the drugs that they succeed in eventually selling. Generics Don’t Pay Licenses Fees. When a Drug company succeeds in developing and marketing a drug it owns the patent for the Drug. Normally, if another company wants to make a similar drug then it will have to pay a license fee to the original developer. This fee can be quit
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When To See Your Doctor (And When Not to)

Let’s face it, nobody wants to go to the doctor. I wouldn’t be surprised if doctors don’t like going to the doctor. Personally, I only go to the doctor because I need to get prescription meds refilled. Let me tell you about situations when you should go to the doctor and when you should not. See your Doctor When Symptoms Persist How often have we heard this term? It almost sounds boring to keep listening “if symptoms persist consult your doctor.” Yet this is worth remembering because most common illnesses go away after a week or two on their own. That cough that has been going on for two weeks? Might be Pneumonia or Tuberculosis. Best to have an expert confirm that you just need more rest and maybe stronger medicine than wind up in grave danger. Don’t’ See Him If You Just Came From Web MD Sadly, the internet does have its downsides. Web MD is the bane of the layman looking to find what is wrong with him. When you just spent a whole lot of time searching Web MD you are probably pan
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Why It Is Not Okay to Pay The Penalty for Not Having Health Insurance

The Affordable Health Care Act requires a penalty to be paid for those who do not have health insurance. Some people view this as a tax and most who have to pay it do not like it. Some who pay the penalty do so as a form of protest. Let me tell you why it is not cool to pay the penalty. You Are Paying To Get Nothing The ACA penalty has no benefits to the person paying. The penalty is a disincentive for those who choose not to get insurance. In effect, the person who insists on paying it will receive nothing in return for his payment. Honestly, it just doesn’t make sense to pay and get nothing. You are Doing a Patriotic Duty The ACA creates a system whereby the people who cannot afford insurance are subsidized by those who can afford to pay. Think of it as a system where there are ten people eating dinner, and two are unable to pay for their meal. The other eight will pay so that the two can eat. While this may seem unfair consider that someday you might fall on hard times and you
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