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Medicare Open enrollment 2021

8/27/2020

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​Medicare open enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans and Part D Drug coverage starts October 15, 2021 and ends on December 7, 2021. 

Some seniors will just automatically re-enroll in their current plan. I would advise against this. There are quite a few reasons why. 

#1) Plans change from year to year. You always want to make sure your aware of how your plan changed and if there might be a different one that will suit your needs better.
#2) Your needs change. Maybe you’re on a new medication or you were diagnosed with a new condition over the past year. Does your current plan still do the best job of covering this new condition or medication? 
#3) Prices change. Not all plans have rate adjustments annually but some do. So make sure you aware of this before you just auto re-enroll. 

Starting in September, you will receive the “Annual Notice of Change” from your current plan. This will tell you how the plan has changed including cost, coverage and services being offered for the new year. Review this document carefully!

During AEP (Annual Enrollment Period), you can switch Medicare Advantage plans or switch from Medicare with a supplement to Medicare Advantage. You can also switch your drug plans (Part D). 

To determine which MA (Medicare Advantage) plan best suites your needs, there are a few things to consider. First off is does your doctor take the plan anymore. With MA plans, they are network based and some doctors and facilities only take certain varieties of plans. Secondly is does the plan do an adequate job of paying for your medications. Every company has slight variations in the formularies.  So not all plans are created equal with respect to some medications. Thirdly are you in the plan that suites your wants. Do you want an HMO with a low premium or do you prefer the flexibility of a PPO?  You may have noticed I didn’t even mention premiums yet. Well often premiums are not a big deal on MA plans. Most of the premiums are less than $30 or $40 each. So premium is often not a big consideration. 
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My recommendation is to talk to a licensed Medicare Broker. A broker will be allowed to look at all of the carriers in your service area and then go over those plans in detail. They will do a full summary of coverage review of the plans.  I, myself, am licensed with most of the major carriers you could possibly want to sign up for. So if you would like a full review of your current plan and the 2021 plans let me know. We can start talking about the 2021 plans on October 1, 2021. 

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Cancer Plans 101

8/18/2020

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We all know cancer is a catastrophic life event. The simple words “you have cancer” is devastating.  Its not just emotional and mentally devastating but it can also be financially devastating. 

Just last year, I had a healthy 50 something client go for her annual mammogram. She was in shock when she learned she had stage 4 breast cancer that would require not only chemotherapy but also a double mastectomy. One of her first calls was to me as her agent to see how we would navigate this with her insurance and her finances. 
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According to the American Cancer Society, there were over 1.7 million new cases of cancer in 2019.  140,000 of those cases were under 45 and the remainder for over 45 years. The cases were virtually 50/50 male vs female. So, no matter of your age or gender you are.

The good news for cancer is increasing survivability rates.  Over 5 years, the survivability for whites went from 39% to 70% and for African Americans it with from 27% to 64%.  Obviously, we have gotten better at detecting cancer early and treating. 

So what does cancer cost?  In 2015 cancer was estimated to cost $80.2 Billion dollars. 52% of that costs was hospital outpatient/doctor costs. 38% of that total was from inpatient hospital costs. It is also estimated that cancer costs $94 Billion in lost income earnings due to cancer. 

Cancer not only affects the person diagnosed but also affects the whole family and even friends.  Cancer diagnosis will often require over night stays in hotels while the patient gets treated. Lost wages affect the whole family.  

So why a cancer plan? Some will say I have great insurance, I don’t need it. As I said how do you replace wages? How do you pay for the out of town trips for treatment? This can mean $1000s in money. A simple cancer plan help you replace this lost income and pay for out of town expenses as well as even pay your deductible on your health plan. 

Many companies offer plans for cancer. Cigna, United, BCBS, and many smaller companies all offer competing plans.  These plans work very simply. They pay a preset amount upon diagnosis of cancer. Most of these plans pay anywhere from $5,000 too as mush as $100,000.  The premiums are very affordable. Most plans are just a few dollars a day. As you can imagine, a $25,000 policy would help pay for months of lost wages and travel as well as help cover the plan deductible. 
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Here is the link to the pdf from the American cancer society I used. 
https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2020/cancer-facts-and-figures-2020.pdf
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    Just my thoughts on the industry! I have been in the industry for over 4 years. I am here for you. Ask questions!

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Halbert Insurance |  469-337-9837 | jarrod@halbertinsurance.com

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