Medicare

As we’ve stated before, there is no one best plan. While, there are two main types, your current health, financial resources, lifestyle, and travel habits will influence your choice.

• Medicare Supplements Also known as Medigap Plans, these augment Original Medicare. These give you the greatest flexibility in determining where you receive care as they have no geographic restrictions. These require a separate Prescription Drug Plan.
• Medicare Advantage Plans These offer the convenience of network providers and minimal paperwork. These often have lower monthly rates and can include a Prescription Drug benefit.
• Prescription Drug Plans – PDP’s These afford significant cost savings towards the cost of prescription drugs. An analysis of your medications on Medicare.com and other sites will allow us to compare plans to determine the least costly option. Plan formularies frequently change, so it’s prudent to review them annually to insure they match your needs.

Long Term Care

While Long Term Care insurance solution needs to be tailored to your physical needs, at the end of the day it also must meet your budget. An appropriate Plan Design must take into consideration your assets, your wishes, and setting for future care, as well as your family and support structure. This is a decision that must be made before the need arises. You can’t get it after you need it. It is the only way to control what this stage of your life will look like.

Recovery Care (Short Term Care)

While Medicare is available for people over the age of 65, it offers little in the way of coverage for recovery care. Should you require a stay in a skilled nursing facility, Medicare Part A requires at least a three-day hospital confinement before they will cover the first 20 days of recovery and even then only covers skilled care. After 20 days, Medicare coverage shrinks, requiring you to cover the per day coinsurance out of your own pocket for the next 80 days and then coverage stops for that confinement. Each year the coinsurance amount goes up. Medicare only offers coverage for intermediate care to patients who are confined to their homes and only under very specific conditions. It offers nothing in the way of coverage for custodial care, which includes assistance in performing activities of daily living, such as bathing, eating, and dressing. Custodial care services can be integral to recovery from a debilitating injury and costly if paid out of pocket.

Fortunately, there is a solution. Short Term Recovery Care products are an excellent way to limit exposure to unforeseen and potentially devastating facility-based costs in a variety of settings for all levels of care. These types of policies provide inexpensive coverage for any incident that may result in a recovery situation requiring confinement in a convalescent facility. They can be a cost-effective cornerstone to any retirement protection plan.

Dental – Vision – Hearing

There is no benefit in Medicare for non-medical solutions to these common needs for seniors. To minimize out-of-pocket costs it is advisable to put coverage in place to help you with the cost you know you will incur. You can add a DVH benefit to both Advantage and Supplement plans.

Major Medical – Non-Medicare

The traditional view of retirement at age 65 has been tossed out the window for the baby boomer generation. While many have experienced gains in financial wealth not seen in previous generations, others have seen their careers ended prematurely due to changes in the economy. So whether you have retired early by design or you find yourself without healthcare coverage due to employment changes, you still need to protect yourself from a potentially catastrophic healthcare expense until you are eligible for Medicare. This is an important safeguard to your financial assets and retirement.