Insurance

Medicare Enrollment Help is PlentifulMedicare

October 13, 2016

“Open enrollment starts Oct. 15 for people who’ve signed up for Medicare benefits and must buy into or change their supplemental Advantage or Part D prescription drug plans.

The Medicare Rights Center in New York tells me that you can ‘make as many changes as you need during this period’ and that ‘only your last coverage choice will take effect Jan. 1.’

A long list of resources appears at the end of this blog to help Medicare beneficiaries through the enrollment process. But there’s a lot of hoopla around the Oct. 15-Dec. 7 enrollment period, so it’s important to know what Oct. 15 is not about.

One’s birthday – and not a date on the calendar – determines when people should initially enroll in the Medicare program. Most people turning 65 who are not covered by their own or their spouse’s employer health insurance at work are required to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B during a seven-month period that starts three months prior to their 65th birthday. During this seven-month window, new Medicare participants must also sign up for their Part D drug plans – or risk paying a lifelong penalty. Oct. 15 is not the trigger date for selecting Medigap plans either.”

Read more about Medicare

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Long-Term Care Combo Policies

by Terry Savage

August 9, 2016

“Needing long-term care is an unpleasant thought as you approach retirement age.  But ducking this issue could be the most expensive mistake you make about your retirement.

Aside from the obvious reluctance to think you might need help with basic activities of living, you might figure you’ve saved enough to cover the costs of care.  Think again.

According to the latest Cost of Care survey by Genworth, which sells long-term care insurance, it now costs an average of about $3,800 per month for in-house care for a year, a similar amount in assisted living and about $7,700 per month for a private room in a nursing home.

Need for care typically lasts only about two to three years, but extended care for Alzheimer’s could wipe out (your) savings….

According to Home Instead Senior Care, one of the largest franchisers of care-giving services, only about 20 percent of its clients pay for care through long-term care insurance policies.  The rest are digging into their own pockets.”

Read more about long term care

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Medicare Advantage: Know the Pitfalls

Source:  http://squaredawayblog.bc.edu/squared-away/medicare-advantage-know-the-pitfalls/