50+ Lifestyles

High Costs of Healthcare Increase for Medicare Folks

By Richard J. Schillig, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF
Independent Insurance and Financial Advisor

When we visit with prospective clients aging into Medicare my first comments are “congratulations!!” The
disgruntled response I normally receive is “Congratulation for what?” Congratulations is in order because we’ve made it this far. The alternative of NOT hitting the 65 year old milestone is not appealing!

If this is your situation – if you are turning age 65 over the next several months and you are one of the fortunate ones to be aging into Medicare, then I know you are receiving lots of mail solicitations on various Medicare Insurance products to consider. There are 10 Medicare Supplement plans – you get to choose ONE. 18 Medicare Prescriptions Drug plans are available in these Medicare regions – you get to choose ONE. Further – there are 8 Medicare Advantage Plan in these Medicare regions – you get to those ONE.

Medicare choices are confusing. I know if you are aging into Medicare, your mail box is full of advertisements daily. How do you make sense of all that stuff? Call us for a review of your situation. We are independent agents representing most of the major insurance companies offering Medicare plans. We welcome the opportunity of visiting with you to review your personal situation and perhaps suggest a Medicare option that may be appropriate for you. Call us (563) 332-2200 or email: rjsandassoc@att.net.

Health care costs remain a risk to our retirement assets and income. As we age, these costs do not decrease. Aging brings about a substantial increase in health care costs due to more frequent doctor office visits, increased medical procedures including surgeries. Frequency of use of prescription medications continue to increase. Along with frequency of use comes increased costs. When retired, these costs can be a real concern. Medicare and the options that come with Medicare eligibility are complex. Further as age continues, costs of medical issues as well as costs of prescriptions continue to escalate. Each month our agency hosts a Community Meeting to bring information to folks aging into Medicare. September meetings are on the 19th & 21st at 10 a.m. here at our agency office conference room in Bettendorf.

With the fall season rapidly approaching, the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period begins in mid-October. This is the opportunity for beneficiaries already on Medicare to change their choice of plans if they chose. Assuming you are satisfied with your choice of Medicare plans, those plans will renew automatically without need for reenrollment. However as costs of medical issues and prescription drug costs increase, do you have the most appropriate Medicare choice for your situation? The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period begins October 15 and runs to Dec 7. If your Medicare choice of plans needs to be changed – this is the time to implement change. The effective date of new plan changes is January 1.

Our congress continues to debate and discuss the Affordable Care Act – more prominently known as Obamacare. This law mandates everyone to carry major medical insurance. This law applies to Medicare eligible folks too. If you are currently on Medicare and have opted for a Medicare Supplement and Prescription Drug Plan then you are in compliance with Obamacare’s mandate of carrying major medical insurance. Advantage Plan beneficiaries are also in compliance with the law. Changes often occur with the plans. Our monthly community meetings will begin to address these changes. The law allows disclosure of plan changes after October 1 each year.

Richard J. Schillig, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF is an Independent Insurance and Financial Advisor with RJS and Associates, Inc. He can be reached at (563) 332-2200.