Month: February 2014

Your Medicare company plan dropping off network? I have heard this quite a bit lately from many clients here in Ohio. As I try diligently to keep up with this ever changing landscape of the Medicare / insurance industry, it became apparent to me that the average American does not have the time to keep up with all the changes taking place. I have warned in several previous blog posts regarding cuts to Medicare Advantage that Ohioans will see in the coming years. Here are some cliff notes of a recent Reuters article highlighting cuts on Medicare payments to insurers: Cuts in Medicare Advantage plans will mean fewer Doctors and networks accepting these plans along with higher out-of-pocket costs to the consumer. The proposed cuts were originally 6-7%, however, it appears that they will now…

Your initial enrollment period for Ohio Medicare is three months before, the month of, and the three months after your 65th birthday. Almost everyone in Ohio aging into Medicare at 65 should enroll in Part A as soon as possible. It costs you nothing, i.e. no premium! (If you don't have enough Social Security credits to qualify for premium-free Part A, you should defer enrollment until you quit working.) Consumer Reports recently put out a great article that I wanted to share with you below: When to sign up for Part B If you don't sign up for Part B when you should, you will be hit with a harsh penalty: a permanent increase in your premium of 10 percent for every year that you should have been enrolled but weren't.…

With all the information available today, it is very difficult to decipher how to find the best medicare supplement in Ohio...or anywhere in the country for that matter. No matter what your opinion of the changes of our healthcare system, we cannot deny the fact that it has led to a confused nation. These changes have led insurance brokers like myself scrambling to get the most up to date information available. My studies have found that these 'rule changes' are much more about protection of Big government and Big business than they are a Big percentage of the U.S. population...our Boomers and Seniors. As such, I humbly recommend that my loyal Ohio customers stay on Original Medicare -it appears to have remained intact- as long as possible. The purchase of…