I got a call from a client complaining about how her drug costs have gone way up, even though they are generics. Her co-pays should not change during the year, so I did some research by putting her prescription list into the Medicare.gov Plan Finder.
I got a call from a client who had her Medicare supplement canceled. It turns out she had some upheaval in her home and she had to move out for a few months. She did not get her mail, so…
Medicare seems to be cracking down on drugs that are prescribed for “off label” usage. I got an email from a client who has been using the Lidocaine Patch for years. Now she’s being told her Part D will no longer pay for the patch.
I had a call yesterday from a client who got a bill from her gynecologist. She has a Plan F Medicare supplement and I have told her she should never get a bill – because Plan F fills every gap…
Seniors enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan who move to a new state (or even another county), can get a Medicare supplement with “guaranteed issue”.
Have you heard that Medicare Advantage plans have no future? If that is true, why are the biggest insurance companies buying Medicare Advantage plans?
Centene to Buy HealthNet….unless United steps in and offers more for Health Net.
A friend sent me an email recently about a senior who was told by a doctor that Medicare will not pay for “observation status” in the hospital. This new rule is supposedly part of the Affordable Care Act – but I knew this was not true.
Big players in the Medicare Advantage market are looking at buying their competitors – or being bought by them. How will that affect Medicare Advantage plans in the future?
I attended a meeting in which Social Security employees talked about Social Security and how it works, how benefits are calculated, and special situations.
How Social Security benefits are calculated.
Here is some info on applying for Medicare or Social Security.
When it comes to Medicare enrollment special situations sometimes occur. The Social Security representative explained some of the different scenarios.
I got a call yesterday from a woman who takes a lot of insulin to control her diabetes. She said she went to pick up her insulin at the pharmacy and was told her cost would be $340 – which is eight times what it has been.
Kaiser Health News has an article about Medicare and cataract surgery and how a simple and inexpensive procedure is costing Medicare a lot more than it should.
UnitedHealthcare is the largest health insurance company in the country – – and its “customer service” people are not aware of changes in Medicare rules that affect same-sex couples with employer coverage.
Although 70% of older people will need long-term care, very few people buy long-term care insurance.
No federal agency provides notification about Medicare eligibility to individuals not yet collecting Social Security benefits.
Novolin N and R can be bought at Walmart for $24.88 without insurance. With a Medicare Part D plan, the cost is $110. Why?
Most people should sign up for Medicare Part B, but some don’t need to.
Medicare covers non-emergency ambulance transport, but Medicare often refuses to pay such bills. Apparently, the devil is in the details – and it is up to seniors and their families to understand those details to avoid ambulance billing problems.
Helping people enroll in a health insurance plan is like solving a puzzle – a health insurance puzzle.
I got a call from a client who is very annoyed by phone calls from her Medicare Advantage plan asking her to agree to a home visit from a company nurse. Asta asked me if she had to comply…
How can a health savings account be used with Medicare? A client asked me this question recently. She is self-employed. She is turning 65 in July, and she has $10,000 in a health savings account (HSA). Irene enrolled in a…
Millions of people now have health insurance because of Obamacare. But do they understand how to use it? For many people, even those with a college education, the answer is “no”. I recently got a call from a client who…
The Trans Pacific Partnership is a free trade deal being negotiated in secret. Some of the rules, written in secret, affect Medicare, Medicaid VA drug costs. When it comes to Medicare and the TPP, it will mean higher drug costs for seniors and perhaps the end of discounted prices for those who go into the donut hole.
