Two million people are receiving letters from Social Security to let them know about the Extra Help program for their Part D drug coverage. This is not junk mail and it is not a scam. Eleven million, or 30% of…
Medicare does not cover long term care. Yet 38% of Americans in a recent survey thought Medicare would help with nursing home care or home care. An article from McKnight’s reported: Thirty-eight percent of people surveyed as part of the…
Florida man says he killed his sick wife because he could not afford her medicine. 86-year old William Hager told deputies his 78-year old wife was in pain and he could not afford her medicine – so he shot her while…
Individual health insurance in Arizona may not be available in 2017 – for people who live outside Maricopa or Pima counties. The Arizona Republic reports that only Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBS) has filed paperwork to sell individual…
A Medicare Advantage report by the Kaiser Family Foundation examines the enrollment growth in Medicare Advantage plans around the country. Enrollment in the private plans reached 17.6 million in 2016 and is increased in almost all states over the past year.…
The UnitedHealthcare Compass network is lousy in Tucson, AZ but this is not a big news story. The big story in the news this week is that UnitedHealthcare is dropping out of the under-65 health insurance market in many states. I…
Some Medicare Advantage networks are large and some are small. Some Medicare Advantage networks change often while others rarely lose doctors. About once each month, someone calls me to say they are moving from California to Arizona and they need…
This story was originally posted in 2011. My client was shocked by his $126,000 hospital bill. When you spend the night in the hospital, you would assume you had been “admitted” to the hospital – but you could be wrong. …
Don’t get caught up in a coordination of benefits mess when you enroll in Medicare. Some people have Medicare as well as employer health insurance. This has caused confusion for a few of my clients. If a person has two…
The world has seen a nearly fourfold increase in diabetes cases over the last quarter-century, driven by excessive weight, obesity, aging, and population growth. In 2014 422 million people were affected by diabetes worldwide. Nearly 10% of Americans have some…
Insulin prices are skyrocketing. I have written about clients of mine who are severe diabetics and are clobbered by the cost of their insulin. Their stories are sad and disturbing.
Each year at this time I like to look at Medicare Advantage enrollment in Tucson and which plans added members and which ones lost from one year to the next. Tucson (Pima County) has lots of competition in the Medicare…
I don’t recall hearing so much last year about Obamacare tax questions. But this year I’m seeing all kinds of emails about new paperwork requirements for tax forms and how insurance agents can help their clients. It is time for…
I’ve had questions recently from clients who have Medicare and health savings accounts (HSA). They were wondering how they can use their HSA once they are on Medicare. Some highlights from a Money Magazine article I just read are: *There…
Who qualifies for help with Medicare costs? People in Arizona can use an online application at www.healthearizonaplus.gov QMB income & resource limits in 2016: Individual monthly income limit* $1,010 Married couple monthly income limit* $1,355 Individual resource limit $7,280…
Congress barred Medicare coverage of hearing aids 50 years ago because “people thought hearing loss was just a normal part of aging,” said Dr. Cassel, one of the authors of a recent JAMA editorial on hearing health policies. “They didn’t…
If you use your Medicare card when you see your doctor (you are not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan), you can set up an account on mymedicare.gov. This account will allow you to see what Medicare has paid for…
If you are eligible for Medicare and still working, or if you have employer health insurance through your spouse, there are some rules you need to know. If you are 65 and still working – and your employer has fewer…
Don’t make this Medicare Advantage Dis-Enrollment Mistake.
Medicare Part B premium in 2016: Most people on Medicare will not see an increase in their Part B premium. But… people who are new to Medicare in 2016, or who are not collecting Social Security, will pay a higher…
The deadline for getting health insurance that would begin on January 1 is being extended to Thursday, December 17th. The original deadline was last night at midnight, December 15th. The health insurance Open Enrollment Period runs through January 31, 2016…
The Arizona Department of Insurance has deemed the Meritus health insurance cooperative to be insolvent and has ordered them to stop doing business as of January 1, 2016. Meritus will continue to cover the 59,000 Arizonans enrolled in its health…
OCTOBER 30, 2015: Congress approved a budget deal that stops the Medicare Part B premium from going up to $159 in January 2016. It will only go up to $120 (from $104.90). Most people on Medicare will not get hit with…
I just read that two million people who get help with their health insurance premiums are missing out on extra help with their deductible, co-pays, and MOOP (max out-of-pocket). They missed out because they did not sign up for a…
Signing up for Part B can get complicated when a person works past 65. Jim had to make multiple trips to the Social Security office to prove he had employer coverage after he turned 65
The Medicare Part B premium is going up in 2016 – way up. But this increase will not affect everyone on Medicare.
For 2016 the Part B premium is supposed to go up to $159.30 because of a complicated formula connected to what Medicare spends on Part B services.
