Tag: medicare 2022

Physical Therapy Education Presented by Fort Loudon Medical Center

by citizensmedicare, posted in Medicaid, Uncategorized, Veterans' Benefits

Join Citizens Insurance Solutions, partnered with Ft Loudon Medical Center, as we continue our summer My Health Matters educational series!

You don’t want to miss this! This informational presentation by Pam Ollard, Physical Therapy Manager from Fort Loudon Medical Center, will focus on Physical Therapy Education. Come to learn more, get your questions answered, and make your health a priority!

This event will take place at 145 Awohili Drive, Loudon, TN 37774 on Friday, July 14th at 9 AM. We look forward to seeing you there! 

Future Status of Social Security

by citizensmedicare, posted in Medicaid, Social Security, Uncategorized

Social security is changing, join Heather Majka the owner of Citizens Insurance Solutions to keep up with the changes.

To sign up for this seminar call the Tellico Village public library at  (865) 458-5199.

This event is on July 11, 2023 at 4 pm at the Tellico Public Library located at
300 Irene Ln, Loudon, TN, United States, Tennessee.

Free Veterans Breakfast

by citizensmedicare, posted in Medicaid, Social Security, Uncategorized, Veterans' Benefits

Join Citizens Insurance Solutions at the Kodak United Methodist Church, 2923 Bryan Road, Kodak, TN 37764 for a FREE veterans breakfast!
We invite Veterans of all branches of the service, all eras, and their guests to enjoy hot food and warm fellowship at no cost.

This event takes place on July 8, 2023 at 2 pm.

Social Security Class offered at the Tellico Village Public Library

by citizensmedicare, posted in Uncategorized

The Social Security class we will offer will help you understand the ins and outs before you begin collecting. We invite you to join us for a special presentation at the Tellico Village Public Library.

You will learn:

– How to decide when to collect your benefits. 
– How to coordinate benefits with your spouse. 
– The Social Security options available to divorcees.
– How the death of a spouse affects your Social Security benefits. 
– How work affects your benefits.
– How your benefits are taxed and what you can do about it.

Call The Library to Register: 865-485-5199

Event Location: Tellico Village Public Library
300 Irene Lane
Loudon, Tennessee 37774

Inflation Causes a Delay in Retirement for Americans 

by citizensmedicare, posted in Uncategorized

With inflation and the rise of consumer costs, Americans of any age are impacted monetarily. 36% of Americans needed to diminish their savings and 21% needed to reduce their retirement savings. Because of the need to reduce, their retirement will be postponed.

How Americans are Offsetting Increased Cost of Living 

80% of Americans were surveyed plan how they planned to counterbalance expansion to the expense of ordinary things.

  • 42% are changing the way they shop for groceries
  • 46% are either quit going out to eat or scaling back
  • 31% are driving less to try not to purchase gas
  • 23% are dropping or spending significantly less on vacations 
  • 22% are dropping memberships/subscriptions 

Best practices to assist Americans with overseeing through the inflationary periods

The most ideal way to oversee finance is to make a month-to-month and yearly spending plan, have. the composed monetary arrangement, and meet with a financial guide month to month.

Tips to keep up with the rising rates of inflation 

  • Survey and change your spending plan to represent the increasing expense of each and every day things.
  • Evaluate your continuous costs, for example, web-based features, link memberships, rec center enrollments or mobile phone intends to arrange lower costs or check whether any of these can be decreased or disposed of.
  • Delay high-end buys. Some cost increments might be impermanent, in which case it could be advantageous to stand by.
  • Survey regularly scheduled installments, like the property holders’ or accident coverage, to guarantee it is suitable and you are maximizing your cash.
  • Talk with a specialist to assist with guaranteeing your investment funds and spending objectives are still on target. On the off chance that not, adapt.

Author

Medicare and Cobra

by citizensmedicare, posted in Uncategorized

Cobra is temporary insurance that allows people to remain on their group health plan after leaving employment for up to 18 months.  It is the same health insurance as before except you pay 102% of the premium (including what the employer was contributing).  This can be the best option coverage wise and even pricewise for some if under 65.

If you are 65 or older and you or your spouse is offered COBRA, YOU MUST GET Medicare to avoid any penalties. Medicare DOES NOT consider COBRA coverage as good or better than Medicare (“not creditable”).  What’s worse if you do NOT enroll in Medicare not only will you be penalized but COBRA will not pay your bills because they are secondary. 

When an insurance company is secondary that means that their contract and applicable laws dictate that they reduce their payment by the amount the first (primary) company would pay their share and that the second company pay only AFTER the first company. The Medicare Secondary Payer rules are complex. Much of the bill-shuffling takes place behind the scenes.

If you are 65 and over, you can apply for Medicare at ANY time (while covered by employer health insurance/group health insurance).  You also have up to 8 months are to sign up for Medicare when your group coverage ends. The problem with signing up after coverage ends is that YOU WILL have a lapse in health insurance UNLESS you take Cobra.

Most HR personnel and the average person do not realize that COBRA is not as good as Medicare and that YOU should sign up for Medicare before you (or your spouse) leave your employer. Here is the bottom line: RETIREMENT AFTER 65 = SIGN UP for Medicare (whether you are taking COBRA, Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage, Tricare, VA, or your employer’s retirement plan).

Heather Majka, CPCU, CSSCS

Doctors and Medicare

by citizensmedicare, posted in Uncategorized

​The biggest concern most people have when switching to Medicare is how—and by whom—their health care services will be delivered. Will you still be able to see their same doctor? If you don’t currently have a primary care doctor, will you be able to get one under Medicare? What if you need a specialist? Will you have any say in choosing that specialist, and will the bills be covered under Medicare?

When you keep original Medicare as your primary insurance (and you may or may not choose to buy a Medicare supplement also known as a Medigap plan) – the federal government pays your doctors (they hire a contractor to do it on their behalf). A recent survey from KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) showed that only 1% of providers nationwide do NOT accept Medicare patients.  That does not include providers that accept Medicare but not accepting new patients with Medicare.  Every three months Medicare sends out a summary notice to show you all claims presented and paid.  Learn more here.

When you choose a Medicare Advantage plan, the private insurance companies pay your doctors, hospitals, etc.  Providers have to be in the plan network and rules must be followed for your care to pay for.  Nationwide 46% of providers participate in a Medicare Advantage network.  Important questions to ask before selecting a Medicare Advantage plan are:

  • How do I find out which providers are in network?
  • How much do I pay for in network services?
  • Will my plan pay for out of network services and if so how much do I pay?
  • What rules must be followed to get care
  • What if I need covered treatment and there are no providers in my network available in my area?
  • What if my doctor stops participating in the plan’s network?
  • When can I make plan changes and what restrictions are there regarding changing?

Learn more about Medicare Supplement plans here, learn more about Medicare Advantage plans here.

No matter which way you receive your Medicare benefits (even if you have retirement health insurance, Federal Insurance, Tricare, VA, and more) we can help you and answer all of your Medicare questions.

$300,000 for Healthcare in Retirement

by citizensmedicare, posted in Uncategorized

Plan on spending $300,000 for healthcare in retirement

This year’s estimate marks a new milestone high, up 30% from 10 years ago when the amount was $230,000, but just 1.7% from 2020 ($295,000) as health care inflation has remained relatively flat over the last few years. Fidelity began measuring in 2002 to build greater awareness of estimated health care costs and the importance of starting to plan and save early to meet those anticipated expenses. Since then, the estimate has risen a total of 88% (from $160,000). Fidelity’s estimate assumes both members of the couple are enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A and B, along with a Part D drug plan.

​According to Fidelity, a 65-year old, opposite-gender couple retiring this year can expect to spend $300,000 in health care and medical expenses throughout retirement. For single retirees, the 2021 estimate is $157,000 for women and $143,000 for men.

​Fidelity’s annual release of health care costs in retirement provides an opportunity to remind clients that:

Status of the Medicare Trust Fund

by citizensmedicare, posted in Social Security, Uncategorized

There has been a certain amount of educated speculation about the effect of COVID-19 on the Social Security and Medicare systems. The 2020 OASDI Trustees Report, which was prepared before the pandemic gained a foothold and showed financial results through 2019, projected an exhaust date of 2035 for the combined OAS and DI funds. In April, Alicia Munnell of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College issued a brief saying that if the COVID-19 economic collapse causes payroll taxes to drop by, say, 20% for two years, the depletion date would move up by about two years, to 2033.The latest weigh-in has come from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Its September 2020 report, CBO Outlook for Major Federal Trust Funds 2020 to 2030, projects the following exhaust dates:

  • Medicare HI Trust Fund (pays benefits under Part A): 2024
  • Social Security Disability (DI) Trust Fund: 2026
  • Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund: 2031

The CBO report also explained how trust fund financing works. It’s basically an accounting mechanism to link earmarked receipts (that is, money dedicated to a specific purpose) with corresponding expenditures. Retirement, survivor, and disability benefits, for example, are paid out of the 12.4% payroll tax collected from employees and employers. Medicare Part A benefits are paid out of the 2.9% Medicare tax as well as the additional 0.9% paid by couples with income over $250,000 and individuals with income over $200,000. When the receipts from these taxes exceed the amount that needs to be paid out, the overage is held in the respective trust fund and invested in special-issue Treasury securities.

It should be noted that when Congress and the president are planning their spending, they use the unified budget perspective. Rather than attaching an expenditure to the earmarked receipts (e.g., payroll taxes), the expenditures are based on the underlying authorizing laws. Both Social Security and Medicare are mandatory expenditures, making up about 60% of the total federal budget. This means they are protected from the appropriations process. The only way these expenditures can be reduced is to change the authorizing laws, which requires a 60-vote majority in the Senate.

If the trust funds were to run dry, the United States would still be obligated to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits. The trustees, in their annual reports, generally say that when the trust funds run out, payroll taxes will be sufficient to pay X% of benefits (depending on which trust fund they are talking about). But the Social Security Act of 1935, as amended, requires benefits to be paid. There would be a conflict between two federal laws. Since we’ve never been in this situation, it’s impossible to know how it would be resolved.