September 13, 2011
Various
sources (including Medicare’s official handbook,
Medicare
& You 2011), state that under new law, in 2011
Medicare covers physical exams.
This is inaccurate.
Please read this July article put out by AARP to better
understand the situation: AARP.org
August
3, 2011
Alert:
The Annual
Election Period for Medicare Advantage and Part D
Prescription Drug plans has been changed this year to
October 15th through December 7th.
During this time, Medicare beneficiaries can choose to
change plan benefits and/or the company that is providing
these benefits. Also, Medicare beneficiaries who have not
previously enrolled are able to do so now.
July 21, 2011
Did you know…
Medicare will start the first day of the month in which you
turn 65. The exception is that if your birthday is on the
first day of the month, Medicare Part A and Part B will
start the first day of the prior month.
July 15, 2011
Part D
premiums could be higher based on income. If you earn more
than $85,000, Social Security will notify you of the
additional premium. Click
here to learn more.
June 17, 2011
A Catch-22
for 65 year
olds? If you
are under an high deductible
plan, once you enroll in
Medicare Part A or Part B you
are no longer eligible to
contribute to your HSA account.
However…currently
if you don’t
enroll in
Part A it
could affect
your Social
Security
Benefits.
Click on
this article
to learn
more:
benefitspro.com
June 2, 2011
How do employer sponsored
HSA medical plans affect employees that are 65 and
older?
Once an
employee elects Medicare Part A and/or Part B, they can
no longer make contributions into the HSA account.
Qualifed HSA medical plans are NOT considered creditable
coverage for the purpose of prescription drugs. .If the
employee stays on the group insurance when turning 65,
the individual will need to purchase a Part D
prescription drug plan in order not to incur the IRS
penalty.
May 9, 2011
Did you know your premiums for
Medicare Part A – D can be reimbursed via an HSA
distribution (if deducted from Social Security) for
those aged 65 or older?
March 10, 2011
There will be a 50% discount on brand-name drugs (this is
contributed by the manufacturers).
Also, there will be a federally subsidized 7% discount on
generic drugs.
Over the next 10 years these discounts will get larger,
so that by 2020 you will pay no more than 25% of the cost of
any Part D drug in the doughnut hole.
* The Medicare doughnut hole is a Medicare Part D
coverage gap, the difference of the initial coverage limit
and the catastrophic coverage threshold.
February
16, 2011
MEDICARE INFORMATION:
In order for a
prescription drug to be covered under the
Medicare Part D drug program, it needs to be
FDA approved – not all prescription drugs
are necessarily FDA approved – Utilize the
link below to determine if the drug
prescribed to you has been approved by FDA:
www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda
September 29, 2010
MEDICARE ARTICLE!
Medicare restrictions prevent any commentary in a public
forum. However, this article is interesting and relevant for
all who are on Medicare.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704129204575505870259644884.html
September 8, 2010
Today’s,
Wall Street Journal headline “Health Insurers Plan Hikes”.
According to the WSJ, (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703720004575478200948908976.html),
insurance carriers in other states have filed requests with
their state regulators to raise premiums due to additional
costs resulting from new preventative care mandates.
Undoubtedly skeptics will proclaim this a ruse by the
insurance carriers to make more money; the insurance
companies in turn will insist it is necessary for
profitability.
Without access to their actuarial statements we don’t
know for certain who is right.
However, we do know the health reform act has required
companies to cover some procedures that weren’t previously
covered. This is good news for patients, but obviously it is
going to result in additional costs that someone down the
line will have to pay for.
There is a silver lining for Montanans – because primary
carriers like Blue Cross Blue Shield, New West and
Allegience already offer some sort of preventative benefits,
similar rate increases shouldn’t be as extreme as other
states are experiencing.
We will continue to monitor this situation.
|
DEBBIE JONES
Tel: (800) 398-0793
|
 Debbie Jones sells Medicare products and is willing to answer your questions regarding Medicare and/or any available insurance products. Give her a call today at: (406) 258-0030, (800) 398-0793 or via email
djones@mymontanahealthinsurance.com |
