The Annual Election period for your Part D Prescription Drug Coverage is coming up soon: October 15 through December 7. This open enrollment is your only opportunity to search for the drug card that is best suited for your prescription needs. All the cards make some changes to their formularies or plan design so everyone should search to ensure they have the best card available for their individual needs. If you are on brand name drugs and you do not get the best drug card for your specific list of drugs, you be making a costly mistake. We have seen differences of thousands of dollars if the wrong drug card is selected. Key changes to Part D in 2017
In September, all of our existing Medicare Supplement clients will all be receiving an email and a letter with some additional information about providing us with your latest drug list so we can analyze your Part D plan for 2017. If you are not currently a client of Senior Advisors, you can still take advantage of a FREE Part D analysis by submitting your latest drug information to us. We will be sending more information in the coming weeks leading up to October 15.
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Quite often, we run into situations in which people are currently on a Retiree Medical plan, and they did not shop around Medicare plans before selecting the Retiree Plan. Sometimes, Retiree Medical Plans are Cost Effective... In some cases, the Retiree Plan will be the best option based on Cost & Coverage. For example, we have heard of a Verizon retiree plan that is very good coverage for very little premium. Another case is the Public Teacher benefits for teacher's that have worked long enough to get the full Medical benefits; they pay little to no premiums for very good coverage. Other Times, you could be overpaying by thousands of dollars per year! There are numerous other organizations and situations in which Retiree Medical Coverage is not the right option for people. We have seen some recent examples with Lockheed Martin & Lucent Retiree Plans. There are also private schools that provide retiree coverage that are not cost-effective. Additionally, state employees and teachers that haven't worked the full requirement of years and they are paying significant costs for their retiree benefits. In these cases, people could save thousands of dollars per year switching to a Medicare Supplement & Part D plan. You can watch the short Youtube video here for more information. You can download a FREE Customized Cost Comparison Report to see if your retiree plan is the right coverage for you!
Or, if you prefer, you can call us for the FREE Customized Cost Comparison Call now (1-908-272-1970) Cranford Office or (1-856-866-8900) Moorestown Office Top 5 Mistakes on Medicare Here are some other resources you may find helpful: Download the FREE guide for the Top 5 Mistakes People Make on Medicare Video: #1 Biggest Mistake on Medicare Video: #2 Biggest Mistake on Medicare Video: #4 Biggest Mistake on Medicare Video #3 & #5 Biggest Mistakes on Medicare (Coming Soon) We hope you find these resources useful and that you are able to avoid making the Top Mistakes people make on Medicare! Last week, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new tool that allows individuals to check CMS ratings of hospitals. In NJ, there were no hospitals that received the top rating of 5-stars. There are 64 quality measures used in the rankings and more information can be found at the link below.You can search the rankings for specific hospitals at the link below. Transparency is Key There are some Congressman pushing back on the release of these rankings and some politicians that believe they were just released too soon. From my perspective, this tool is a huge milestone in moving in the right direction for healthcare. Transparency is critical in healthcare improvements and providing consumers with the information needed to make educated decisions. I would not suggest that this ranking system is perfect. I would actually bet there are numerous flaws in the weights and logic used, since the tool was just released. It will take time to fine-tune just like any other new system. Even with the flaws, this is another resource that can be used by individuals to make educated decisions and by hospital systems to drive improved care. Additionally, the ratings system should only improve over time to become more accurate and provide the correct weights for the right categories of scoring. Overall I am disappointed that NJ has no 5-star rated hospitals, but I am thrilled that this new tool is available; and I will be surprised if next years ratings don't include a 5-star hospital in NJ! Medicare Advantage versus Original Medicare If you have a Medicare Advantage (HMO) plan, you are limited to certain hospitals within your service area. On the contrary, Original Medicare with a Medicare Supplement allows you to use ANY hospital in the country that accepts Medicare. You will pay more for your monthly premiums with a Medicare Supplement, but you are able to choose from the best hospitals in the country. If you are interesting in a Medicare Supplement, give us a call today to see if you would qualify. Call now (1-908-272-1970) Cranford Office or (1-856-866-8900) Moorestown Office Upcoming Medicare WorkshopsWe are starting to fill up our Fall/Winter schedule for Medicare workshops.
Have you registered for one of our events? If not, click here to find upcoming times & locations of our workshops. If you work at a corporation/organization that would benefit from an educational workshop on Medicare - fill out our online form to request a workshop in your location. There is NO fee and the workshops are purely educational. You can also watch our Medicare workshop as aired by TV35 here! If you need help with your Medicare Planning or if you would like a FREE review of your Medicare plans - give us a call today! Se Habla Español!! Call now (1-908-272-1970) Cranford Office or (1-856-866-8900) Moorestown Office Have a great week! Best Regards, Justin Lubenow Senior Advisors 908-272-1970 justin@senior-advisors.com 23 North Avenue East Cranford, NJ 07016 |
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