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<!-- Alternate text for non-supporting browsers --> <div id="right"> <h2 style="color: #663300">Medicare Overview</h2> <p>Trying to find an appropriate supplement doesn't have to be overwhelming. First, let's look at the way Medicare is set up and why you need to supplement this benefit. Original Medicare is essentially a national healthcare program for people age 65 or older or for folks under age 65 with certain disabilities and/or with ESRD, or end-stage renal disease. Although Original Medicare covers quite a bit there are many gaps (deductibles, coinsurance, copays, etc) that it doesn't cover.</p> <h2 style="color: #663300">Overview of Medicare Parts A, B , & C</h2> <p><em>Medicare Part A</em> is also known as "Hospital Insurance" and helps cover inpatient care in hospitals as well as skilled nursing facility, hospice, and home health care. This is typically a benefit that you do not pay a premium for while receiving it.</p> <p> <em>Medicare Part B</em> is also known as "Medical Insurance" and helps cover various outpatient services including doctor's visits as well as some preventive services. The Part B premium fluctuates based on income but for most it is $96.40/month or $110.50/month depending on when you enrolled.</p> <p> <em>Medicare Part C</em> is also known as "Medicare Advantage". There are 3 options including PPO, HMO, and PFFS. These plans are privatized with a Medicare contract. These plans are offered by a private insurance company which pays your Medicare benefits. These benefits typically have to be received through a of network of doctors. In the case of "PFFS" plans you can go to any doctor you wish as long as that provider will accept the terms and conditions of the plan Many Medicare recipients have come to realize that a much smaller number of doctors are typically willing to accept these plans than regular Medicare. These plans will often cost less than Medicare supplements and will also often include your part D drug plan within them and possibly some additional benefits. You will still have to pay your part B premium. <u>Remember, with Part C of Medicare, your benefits are paid by an insurance company not Medicare!.</u> If you get a Medicare Advantage plan you should not buy a Medicare supplement. A Medicare supplement will only supplement original Medicare <u>not</u> a Medicare Advantage plan. <strong>Important</strong>! <strong>Do not assume that a plan is a good value if it has a low premium!!</strong></p> <h2 style="color: #663300">Choosing a Medicare Supplement Policy</h2> <p>A Medicare Supplement policy is health insurance sold by insurance companies to help cover costs left by regular Medicare parts A & B. These policies do not work with any other coverage including retiree plans from companies or unions, VA benefits, TRICARE, or Medicare Advantage plans.</p> <p> Medicare supplement policies help pay the Medicare copayments, deductibles, and coinsurance. Some Medigap polices even cover benefits that are not covered by original Medicare. Medigap policies will give you a peace of mind that regardless of your claim , your out of pocket costs will be minimal.</p> <p> All Medicare supplements have been standardized by the government. This makes it easier for you to shop for a supplement since they offer the same benefits from company to company. The price will vary from each company depending on their claims experience and certain industry trends. It is a good idea to look at companies that offer a low rate and have some experience in pricing supplements.</p> <h2 style="color: #663300">Medicare Part D</h2> <p>Medicare Part D is also known as Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage( PDPs) and helps Medicare recipients cover the cost of medications. This program is also run through private insurance companies and can be somewhat confusing as to how to choose the right plan for your situation. Since the inception of the Medicare Part D coverage, we have diligently tried to provide our customers with the proper plan to meet their prescription drug needs.</p> <p>Luckily, Medicare provides a tool called the "Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder" that allows you to enter your drugs in and will tell you which plan should save you the most money within this year. It's important to re-evaluate your plan choice each year because, even though your drugs might not change, the drug plan's formulary and costs can change each year and another drug plan may make more sense for the next year. In order to make our recommendation accurate, we generally need the name of the medication that you take including the dosage and frequency.</p> <p> The time to re-evaluate, and switch plans if necessary, is between October 15th and December 7th of each year. You can find the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder at <a href="http://www.medicare.gov/">www.medicare.gov</a>.</p> <p> There are approximately 30-35 Medicare Part D plans available in most states . Today, we can access the Medicare site and find the most cost effective plan, depending on your needs from a matrix of the various options</p> <p>Many of our clients are eligible for other assistance to help with the cost of their medications. We can help those individuals find out which plans they might qualify for and help direct them to the best plan.</p> <p>Additionally, many plans offer other discounts and value through such things as mail-order programs. Our agents are certified each year to give accurate representation and solutions to meet the needs of our customers.</p> <h2 style="color: #663300">New 2010 Medigap Benefits and Plans</h2> <p> </p> <h3 style="color: #663300">New Hospice Benefit</h3> <p>All plans will now include the Hospice Benefit as part of the "Core Benefits". Medicare pays for all but very limited co-payments for outpatient drugs ($5). Included in all Medigap plans a benefit to pay this co-payment will be included.</p> <p>Medicare provides coverage for inpatient respite care up to 5 days less a co-payment amount of 5% of the daily benefit. The new Hospice benefit will pick up this 5% co-pay.</p> <h3 style="color: #663300">New Plans</h3> <p>The new regulation also makes the following two new plan options available to beneficiaries, which have higher cost-sharing responsibilities and lower estimated premiums:</p> <ul> <li><strong>New Plan M</strong> includes 50 percent coverage of the Medicare Part A deductible and does not cover the Medicare Part B Deductible. Plan M has all the core benefits plus the foreign Travel Emergency Benefit.</li> <li><strong>New Plan N</strong> does not cover the Medicare Part B deductible and adds a new co-payment structure of $10 for each physician visit and $50 for each emergency room visit (waived upon admission to the hospital). Plan N has all the core benefits plus the foreign Travel Emergency Benefit.</li><br /> </ul> <h3 style="color: #663300">Benefit Chart of Medicare Supplement Plans Sold for Effective Dates on or After June 1, 2010</h3> <p> <table width="100%" border="1"> <tr style="background-color:#663300; color:white"> <th scope="col">A</th> <th scope="col">B</th> <th scope="col">C</th> <th scope="col">D</th> <th scope="col">F/F*</th> <th scope="col">G</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Basic, Including 100% Part B coinsurance</td> <td>Basic, Including 100% Part B coinsurance</td> <td>Basic, Including 100% Part B coinsurance</td> <td>Basic, Including 100% Part B coinsurance</td> <td>Basic, Including 100% Part B coinsurance</td> <td>Basic, Including 100% Part B coinsurance</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance</td> <td>Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance</td> <td>Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance</td> <td>Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>Part A Deductible</td> <td>Part A Deductible</td> <td>Part A Deductible</td> <td>Part A Deductible</td> <td>Part A Deductible</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Part B Deductible</td> <td> </td> <td>Part B Deductible</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Part B Excess (100%)</td> <td>Part B Excess (100%)</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Foreign Travel Emergency</td> <td>Foreign Travel Emergency</td> <td>Foreign Travel Emergency</td> <td>Foreign Travel Emergency</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p>*Plan F also has an option called a high deductible plan F. This high deductible plan pays the same benefits as Plan F after one has paid a calendar year [$1900] deductible. Benefits from high deductible plan F will not begin until out-of-pocket expenses exceed [$1900]. Out-of-pocket expenses for this deductible are expenses that would ordinarily be paid by the policy. These expenses include the Medicare deductibles for Part A and Part B, but do not include the plan's separate foreign travel emergency deductible.</p> <p> <table width="100%" border="1"> <tr style="background-color:#663300; color:white"> <th scope="col">K</th> <th scope="col">L</th> <th scope="col">M</th> <th scope="col">N</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Hospitalization and preventive care paid at 100%; other basic benefits paid at 50%</td> <td>Hospitalization and preventive care paid at 100%; other basic benefits paid at 75%</td> <td>Basic, Including 100% Part B coinsurance</td> <td>Basic, Including 100% Part B coinsurance, except up to $20 copayment for office visit, and up to $50 copayment for ER</td> </tr> <tr> <td>50% Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance</td> <td>75% Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance</td> <td>Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance</td> <td>Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance</td> </tr> <tr> <td>50% Part A Deductible</td> <td>75% Part A Deductible</td> <td>50% Part A Deductible</td> <td>Part A Deductible</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Foreign Travel Emergency</td> <td>Foreign Travel Emergency</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Out-of-pocket limit $[4440]; paid at 100% after limit reached</td> <td>Out-of-pocket limit $[2220]; paid at 100% after limit reached</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> </p> <p> <strong>Contact us today! </strong>Please call us with any of your questions @ (888) 671-0890 (toll free).</p> </div> <!-- left navigation begins --> <div id="left"> <h3>Senior Health Specialists</h3> <ul> <li><ul> <li><a href="aboutus.cfm" title="Our Agents">Our Agents</a></li> <li> </li> </ul></li> </ul> <h3>Product Information</h3> <ul> <li><ul> <li><a href="sms_annuity.cfm" title="Annuity">Annuity</a></li> <li><a href="sms_health.cfm" title="Individual Health">Health</a></li> <li><a href="sms_lifeins.cfm" title="Life Insurance">Life</a></li> <li><a href="sms_ltc.cfm" title="Long Term Care">Long Term Care</a></li> <li><a href="sms_med.cfm" title="Medicare Advantage">Medicare Advantage</a></li> <li><a href="sms_medsup.cfm" title="Medicare Supplement">Medicare Supplement</a></li> <li><a href="sms_medpartd.cfm" title="Medicare Part D (Rx)">Medicare Part D (Rx)</a></li> </ul></li> </ul> <h3>Calendar</h3> <ul> <li id="calendar"> <div id="calendar1"> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> <!-- Begin var now=new Date(); var ThisDay=now.getDay(); var ThisDate=now.getDate(); var ThisMonth=now.getMonth()+1; var ThisYear=now.getYear(); if (ThisYear < 1000) ThisYear+=1900; function DayTxt (DayNumber) { var Day=new Array(); Day[0]="Sunday"; Day[1]="Monday"; Day[2]="Tuesday"; Day[3]="Wednesday"; Day[4]="Thursday"; Day[5]="Friday"; Day[6]="Saturday"; return Day[DayNumber]; } var DayName=DayTxt(ThisDay); function MonthTxt (MonthNumber) { var Month=new Array(); Month[1]="January"; Month[2]="February"; Month[3]="March"; Month[4]="April"; Month[5]="May"; Month[6]="June"; Month[7]="July"; Month[8]="August"; Month[9]="September"; Month[10]="October"; Month[11]="November"; Month[12]="December"; return Month[MonthNumber]; } var MonthName=MonthTxt(ThisMonth); var d = new Date(); var h = d.getHours(); document.write("<br><FONT color=#1555B5>"+"<B>"+DayName+", "+MonthName+" "+ThisDate+", "+ThisYear+"<BR></B></FONT>"); //zero-based months if (MonthName == "January") PrintMonth(0); else if (MonthName == "February") PrintMonth(1); else if (MonthName == "March") PrintMonth(2); else if (MonthName == "April") PrintMonth(3); else if (MonthName == "May") PrintMonth(4); else if (MonthName == "June") PrintMonth(5); else if (MonthName == "July") PrintMonth(6); else if (MonthName == "August") PrintMonth(7); else if (MonthName == "September") PrintMonth(8); else if (MonthName == "October") PrintMonth(9); else if (MonthName == "November") PrintMonth(10); else if (MonthName == "December") PrintMonth(11); else document.write("<br><FONT color=red><B>Error Processing Calendar!</B></FONT>"); // End --> </script> </div> </li> </ul> <p> </p> <div align="center"> <a href="http://www.bbb.org/knoxville/business-reviews/insurance/senior-health-specialists-in-lenoir-city-tn-5570" title="BBB - Senior Health Specialists" target="_blank"><img src="images/bbb.jpg" width="122" height="114" alt="BBB" border="0" /></a> </div> </div> <!-- left navigation ends -->
