Embed This Image On Your Site (copy code below):
2018 Medicare Costs: The Numbers
Almost every year, it seems that retired persons healthcare costs go higher and higher. In order to keep your financial planning and retirement needs on track, you must be aware of all your 2018 Medicare costs. This is a vital part of your financial snapshot if you are in this phase of your life.
It is a common myth that retirees have free healthcare. For Part A, that’s generally true. However, it is not the case for Medicare Part B, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, or Medigap plans. Below you will find useful information on which costs are not free and what the costs are for 2018.
MEDICARE PART A – 2018 Medicare Costs
Medicare Part A provides for inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing, and rehabilitation after a deductible is met and up to specific limits. An example would be if you require hospitalization for longer than 60 days, you will be required to pay a share of the expenses; after 90 days you’ll be responsible for 100% of your bill, if you’ve already used up your 60 lifetime reserve days.
You Can Get Part A Premium-Free If:
- You are already collecting benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board.
- You’re eligible to get Social Security or Railroad benefits but haven’t filed for them yet.
- You or your spouse had Medicare-covered government employment.
If you’re under 65, you can get premium-free Part A if:
- You received Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits for 24 months.
- You have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)and meet certain requirements.
For most people, Part A premium is free. However, some people do not qualify for it to be free. You need to have served at least 40 quarters of employment (10 years) of paying Medicare and FICA taxes while working, to be able to qualify. If you paid Medicare taxes for 30 quarters or less, Part A premium is $422. If you paid Medicare taxes for 30-39 quarters, the Part A premium is $232.
Generally, if you decide to buy Part A, you must also have Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) and pay monthly premiums for both Part A and Part B. Contact the Social Security Administration to learn more about Part A premiums.
MEDICARE PART A – Inpatient Hospital Deductible & Coinsurance:
Deductible $1,340 (for each benefit period)
Coinsurance
- Days 1-60 $0 (for each benefit period)
- Days 61-90 $335 (per day for each benefit period)
- Days 91+ $670 (per each “lifetime reserve day” after 90 days for each benefit period (up to 60 days over your lifetime
- Beyond lifetime reserve days: You pay all costs
MEDICARE PART B Premium – 2018 Medicare Costs
The 2018 Medicare costs for the monthly Part B premium is $134, but it can be higher depending on your income (see IRMAA below). If you are already collecting Social Security benefits, the premium may be less; on average $130.
The standard premium amount of $134 pertains to you if:
- You are enrolling in Part B for the very first time
- You are not collecting Social Security benefits
- You are directly billed for the premiums
- You are on Medicare and Medicaid, and your premium is paid by Medicaid (your state pays the standard $134 premium amount)
What is IRMAA?
IRMAA stands for “Income Related Monthly Adjusted Amount”. If your modified adjusted gross income on your IRS tax return 2 years prior is over a certain amount, you will have to pay the standard premium amount plus an IRMAA. In short, it is an additional charge on your Part B premium (More information about IRMAA). See table below:
Important Note: If you’ve had a life changing event, i.e. you just retired, you might be qualified for a reduction on any of the above amounts. Call Social Security at 800-772-1213, to find out more.
MEDICARE PART B – Annual Deductible
The 2018 Medicare costs for the annual Part B deductible is $183/year. Once you meet that deductible, then you pay 20% coinsurance (the Medicare-approved amount) for covered services, which includes:
o Most doctor services (including while you are in the hospital)
o Any outpatient therapy
o Durable medical equipment
Clinical laboratory services: Cost is $0 for Medicare-approved services
Home health services:
– $0 for home health care services
– 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for durable medical equipment
Outpatient mental health services:
– You are entitled to a free yearly depression screening, provided that your physician or health care provider accepts assignment.
– You pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for doctor or other health care provider visits, to diagnose or treat your condition. Part B deductible will apply.
Please note: you may be asked to pay an additional copayment or coinsurance amount to the hospital if you get your services in a hospital outpatient clinic or outpatient department.
Mental health services requiring partial hospitalization:
– You pay a percentage of the Medicare-approved amount for doctors’ services or other qualified mental health professionals, provided they accept assignment.
– You will also pay coinsurance for services in a hospital outpatient setting or community mental health center, while you are an inpatient, and the Part B deductible will apply.
Please be aware that in 2018, there may be limits on physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech language pathology services. If there are, there may be exceptions to these limits.
Outpatient hospital services:
– Your share is 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for physician or other health care provider’s services. Part B deductible will apply.
– You will usually pay a copayment for all other services in a hospital outpatient setting. That copayment might be higher if in a hospital outpatient setting as opposed to a doctor’s office.
– Some screenings/preventive services might be at no cost, since your coinsurance, copayments and Part B deductible will not apply.
If you have any questions about your 2018 Medicare costs, please visit Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) for more information. TTY users call 1-877-486-2048.
New Medicare Cards – What You Need to Know
Did Medicare tell you that new Medicare cards were coming? Did you receive a notice to be on the lookout for it? Do you know what to do with your old Medicare card? Know when to start using the new one?
With the ever-increasing incidence of personal identity theft, Medicare is finally taking action to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards. They are doing this by issuing new Medicare cards with new Medicare numbers. This plan was put into place several years ago, but it has taken some time to implement the change. The new Medicare cards will finally begin going out by mail in April 2018.
We fully expect this change to result in much hassle for seniors, doctors, and us. However, it is certainly far overdue and is a change that had to be made. Here are the bottom-line FACTS that you need to know about the new Medicare cards changeover:
When Will the New Medicare Cards Be Sent Out?
The new Medicare cards be begin to be mailed out in April of 2018. They are being sent out in waves, a few states at a time. The first wave of cards will go out between April 2018 and June 2018. They will be sent to residents of the following states: Alaska, American Samoa, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Maryland, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Other states will fall into other groups (total of 7 groups), and their cards will be mailed out in subsequent months. Those have not been publicly announced yet, but it would be after June 2018. The mailings of the new Medicare cards will be complete by April 2019. If you want to know exactly when your Medicare card will be sent, you should periodically check the CMS website.
Do I Need to Do Anything Before the New Medicare Cards are Sent?
You should always make sure that your mailing address is correct with Social Security. If you currently receive mail from them, then it should be correct. But if your address needs to be corrected, contact Social Security at ssa.gov/myaccount or 800.772.1213.
Also, it is important to note that there will likely be many unscrupulous scam attempts as a result of this change. Do not give out personal or private information to anyone who contacts you about your new Medicare card. Social Security/Medicare will never ask for your personal information or require you to give anything in order to get your new Medicare card.
Again, and we cannot reiterate this enough, you should never give out your personal information by phone to anyone claiming to be from Social Security or Medicare. This includes your Social Security number, Medicare claim number and any other personal information. Medicare will not ever call you to obtain this information.
What Changes with the New Medicare Cards?
The new Medicare cards are part of a “fraud prevention project that removes Social Security numbers from Medicare cards to help combat identity theft and safeguard taxpayer dollars.” Your Medicare benefits will not change in any way as a part of this change.
What will change is the identification number that is listed on your Medicare card. It will no longer be tied to your, or a spouse’s, social security number. On the contrary, it will be a unique number that is 11 digits and is alpha-numeric. This number will be unique to you.
What Should You Do When You Get Your New Medicare Card?
When your new Medicare card arrives by mail (between April 2018 and April 2019), you should destroy your old card and start using your new card right away.
It is important to take care when destroying the old card. Remember, the reason for this change is to remove personal, sensitive information from the Medicare card, so take care in your final step of destroying the card to avoid your personal information is not still accessible (i.e. don’t just throw the whole/complete Medicare card in your household trash).
Does Anything Change As Far as How You Use Your Medicare Card?
No, the new Medicare cards will be tied to your personal Medicare account. You will just start using the new Medicare card right away and providers will be able to use the new identification number as a way to file claims and communicate with Medicare about your benefits.
It also does not affect anything about Medigap/Medicare Supplement insurance or Medicare Advantage insurance. You would keep using those cards as you do now, and no identification numbers on those cards are changing.
__________________
If you have any questions about this change or if we can help you with anything related to this process or Medicare/Medigap itself, you can contact us here or by calling 877.506.3378.
Should I Consider an Attained-Age Medigap Policy?
You might have heard the terms attained-age, issue-age, and community rated, when doing your research on which type of Medigap policy to buy. These are the three methodologies for rating the Medigap policies that various insurance carriers offer.
It is important to note that, while you can certainly select a preferred rating methodology to sign up for, there is no guarantee that plans using this methodology are available in your state. In some states, all the plans use a certain rating system by law. In many states, there are only one or two very high priced options for community rated and issue-age rated plans. Nationally, attained-age rated policies comprise, by far, the majority of policies that are offered.
We’ve clarified the nuances of each of these three rating methodologies below:
Community Rated Medigap Policies
These are probably the easiest to comprehend of all three plans. They may also be known as “no age-rated” plans. Everyone is grouped together, no matter what your age, gender, or health condition. In other words, you are charged the same premium as other people living in your area regardless of your age, whether you are a male or female, or whether you are in good health or not.
This type of rating may be advantageous for someone living in expensive areas as opposed to those living in rural areas. It also may be beneficial for males versus females, since male Medigap premiums tend to be higher than their counterparts. In addition, in some larger states, as Pennsylvania or Texas, community rates may differ depending on which part of the state you are in. These plans can be less expensive over time, even when taking inflation and other factors into consideration. However, they do still go up – each year in most cases – based on inflation, changes to Medicare and other factors.
Issue-Age Rated Medigap Policies
This rating class is also known as “entry age-rated.” The premium depends on your age at the time of your application (when it is issued). For example, John is 75 and purchases Medigap policy with a premium of $187 per month. Judy buys a policy when she is 69 years old and pays $148 per month. John’s plan costs more because he is older when he buys it. This premium will not increase based on your age, but it will be affected by inflation and other factors, causing an increase in rates. In most cases, this is something that happens annually.
Attained-age rated
This rating classes bases your premium on your “attained” age, the age you currently are when you buy the policy. Attained-age-rated policies generally are cheaper at age 65, but their prices increase automatically as you age. The following will illustrate a situation in which attained-age rating is used:
Jim Bailey is currently 67 years old and buys a Medigap policy, with a premium of $125. When he turns 68 years old, his premium will increase to $128. At 72, he will pay $142.
Other Considerations
Again, please note that in certain states, insurance companies are required by law to sell “issue-age” policies only. Georgia and Florida are examples of this. As a result, rates are generally higher but possibly more stable in the long run.
Also, you should always be aware of other variables that impact the rates. Some companies have gone to using a discount for signing up at age 65; however, the discount goes away each year as you get older. Although they may technically be able to classify themselves as community-rated, the premium has a built-in increase each year as you get older because of the expiration of the discount. This makes a policy like this no different from an attained-age policy for the life of the discount.
Which Rating Methodology for Medigap Policies is Best?
This should have given you a better understanding of how insurance companies rate their Medigap policies. Hopefully, with this knowledge you will be able to make an informed decision when it comes time for you to choose a Medigap plan.
The bottom line is that the best Medigap plan is the one that gives you the best “deal” for the life of the policy at a coverage level you want. All the above types of rating classes have historically resulted in increases over time to account for inflation. There are unfortunately no guarantees as to the amount of each increase. Your best protection against any future rate increases is to select a company that has stability, an excellent reputation (is highly rated) and of course, the cost of the policy.
If you want a list of Medigap plans for your area or have specific questions, you can contact us online or call us at 877.506.3378.
Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period – Everything You Need to Know
The Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period (MADP) is the last opportunity for people that have a Medicare Advantage plan to get out of their plan for 2018. Here is the bottom-line of what you need to know about the MADP:
WHAT IS THE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE DISENROLLMENT PERIOD: The MADP is a valid Medicare enrollment window that allows Medicare beneficiaries to move from a Medicare Advantage plan back to regular Medicare with a stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. You also have the ability, if you are approved medically, to add a Medigap plan during this period as well.
WHEN IS THE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE DISENROLLMENT PERIOD: The MADP runs from January 1 of each calendar year through February 14. This is a 45-day period. Any changes made take effect on the 1st day of the following month.
WHO CAN MAKE CHANGES DURING THE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE DISENROLLMENT PERIOD: If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you can get “out” of it during the MADP. You can also add a Part D plan for Rx coverage if you disenroll from an Advantage plan during the MADP.
Medicare Advantage plans change each year (benefits, premiums, networks, etc). Often, many people do not take the time to review these benefit changes or do not have an agent to help them do so and just “let it ride” for the following year. Then, when January arrives, they realize they are paying a much higher premium (sometimes as much as double) or can no longer see their doctor or the co-pays are much higher. Although the Annual Election Period (AEP) is over, people in this situation – or just people who have procrastinated – can utilize the MADP to make a change.
WHAT CHANGES CAN BE MADE DURING THE MADP: As detailed above, you can disenroll from a Medicare Advantage plan during the MADP. This will return you to regular Medicare. You can also add a Part D prescription drug plan if you disenroll from an Advantage plan. Lastly, once you are returned to regular Medicare, you can add a Medigap plan (Medicare Supplement) to fill in the gaps in regular Medicare.
HOW TO MAKE CHANGES DURING THE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE DISNEROLLMENT PERIOD: The easiest way to get back on regular Medicare, if you have an Advantage plan, is to call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE. They can both take you out of your Advantage plan and put you in a Part D plan in one simple phone call. After that, you can contact an insurance company or agent to enroll you in the Medigap plan of your choice. If you have questions about this, you can contact us online or call us at 877.506.3378.
WHAT WOULD PREVENT YOU FROM BEING ABLE TO USE THE MADP: Anyone can use the MADP to get out of an Advantage plan; however, you may want to first check to see if you can “qualify medically” for a Medigap plan unless you are okay with potentially having only Medicare coverage. To switch from an Advantage plan to a Medigap plan, you do have to answer medical questions and get “approved” unless you do it when you first turn 65 or are starting Medicare Part B.
WHY WOULD SOMEONE WANT TO USE THE MADP: Medicare Advantage plans change each calendar year. The premiums change, the benefits change, the doctor networks change, the list of covered medications changes (formulary) – there are many changes, some of them significant. Although the plans are required by law to notify you of any changes to your plan, many people, either through apathy or on purpose, are not aware of the changes until the new year starts. At that time, they can use the Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period to make any changes.
If you have any questions about the Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period (MADP) or want to make changes to your plan before it ends, you can contact us for Medigap quotes or call us at 877.506.3378.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- …
- 15
- Next Page »