Protect Your Health and Your Card

Making the most of Medicare Open Enrollment

(Family Features) Eating well and regular exercise are part of a healthy lifestyle, and so is making sure you have the right health care coverage. Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment period is a good time to review your current coverage and decide if there may be a better fit based on changes to current plans, your budget or health needs.

During Medicare Open Enrollment, which runs Oct. 15-Dec. 7, 2017, you can enroll in or make changes to your Medicare health or prescription drug plan for coverage that begins Jan. 1, 2018. If you miss the deadline, you will likely have to wait a full year before you are able to make changes to your plan.

To make Medicare Open Enrollment part of your healthy lifestyle, follow these five steps:

1. Review your current plan notice. Read any notices from your Medicare plan about changes for next year, especially your “Annual Notice of Change” letter. Look at your plan’s information to make sure your drugs are still covered and your doctors are still in network.

2. Think about what matters most to you. Medicare health and drug plans change each year and so can your health needs. Do you need a new primary care doctor? Does your network include the specialist you want for an upcoming surgery? Does your current plan cover your new medication? Does another plan offer the same coverage at a lower cost? Take stock of your health status and determine if you need to make a change.

3. Find out if you qualify for help paying for Medicare. Learn about programs in your state to help with the costs of Medicare premiums (through Medicare Savings Programs), your Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Medicare Part B (medical insurance) deductibles, coinsurance and copayments, and Medicare prescription drug coverage costs (through Extra Help). Visit Medicare.gov or call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to learn more.

4. Shop for plans that meet your needs and fit your budget. Starting each October, you can use Medicare’s Plan Finder tool at Medicare.gov/find-a-plan to see what plans are offered in your area. A new plan may:

• Cost less
• Cover your drugs
• Let you go to the providers you want, like your doctor or pharmacy.

If you find your current coverage still meets your needs, then you’re done. Remember, during Medicare Open Enrollment, you can decide to stay in Original Medicare or join a Medicare Advantage Plan. If you’re already in a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can switch back to Original Medicare.

5. Check your plan’s Star Rating before you enroll. The Medicare Plan Finder is up-to-date with the Star Ratings for Medicare health and prescription drug plans. Plans are given an overall quality rating on a 1-5 star scale, with 1 being the lowest performing and 5 stars representing excellent performance. You can use Star Ratings to compare the quality of health and drug plans being offered.

For more information, visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and say “Agent.” TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048. Help is available 24 hours a day, including weekends. If you need help in a language other than English or Spanish, let the customer service representative know the language. You can also get personalized health insurance counseling at no cost to you from your local SHIP by visiting shiptacenter.org. More information about Medicare is available on the Medicare Facebook page and by following @MedicareGov on Twitter.

Protect Your Medicare Card

Protect your identity as well as your health by guarding your Medicare card like you would a credit card. Medicare is aiding in the fight against Medicare fraud by removing Social Security Numbers from Medicare cards and replacing them with a new, unique number for each person with Medicare. Medicare will mail the new cards with unique numbers between April 2018-April 2019. Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft:

• Don’t share your Medicare number or other personal information with anyone who contacts you by telephone, email or approaches you in person, unless you’ve given them permission in advance. Medicare will never contact you uninvited and ask for your Medicare number or other personal information.
• Tell your friends and neighbors to guard their Medicare numbers.
• Don’t ever let anyone borrow or pay to use your Medicare number.
• Review your Medicare Summary Notices to be sure you and Medicare are only being charged for services actually provided.
• Be wary of salespeople who knock on your door or call you uninvited and try to sell you a product or service.
• Don’t accept items received through the mail that you didn’t order. You should refuse the delivery and/or return it to the sender. Keep a record of the sender’s name and the date you returned the items.

If someone calls you and asks for your Medicare number or other personal information, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and learn more about how you can fight Medicare fraud at Medicare.gov/fraud.

Information provided by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

3 Steps to Protect Yourself from Medicare Fraud

(Family Features) Every day, Medicare fraud affects people with Medicare and their families across the U.S. – regardless of background – robbing them of hard-earned money and peace of mind.

Scammers know the ins and outs of the Medicare system and their attempts can be well thought-out enough that it’s not always easy to know when and where fraud is occurring. By remembering some simple but effective tips, you can protect yourself against scams, including identity theft and prescription drug fraud. Remembering to protect, detect and report fraud helps everyone, including you.

1. Protect

Protecting your personal information is your best line of defense against health care fraud. Treat Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security numbers like credit card numbers. Never give them to a stranger and don’t carry your cards unless you need them for appointments. Medicare doesn’t call or visit to sell you anything. Outside of a trusted health care setting, never give this information to anyone who asks for it.

2. Detect

No matter how careful you are, you may be targeted for fraud. Always review your Medicare statements closely. Things to look for include charges for something you didn’t purchase or receive, duplicate charges and charges for services not ordered by your doctor. Compare these documents to your personal records and receipts. Recording medical visits and procedures in a journal or on a calendar can help you keep track of what happened at each appointment and make it easier to spot inaccuracies.

3. Report

If you suspect you’ve been a target of fraud, report it. This can help you and others at risk for fraud. If you have questions about your Medicare statements, call your health care provider.

If you’re uncomfortable calling or are not satisfied with the response, help is available through your local Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP). SMP volunteers work with Medicare beneficiaries and their families and caregivers to stop health care fraud, errors and abuse. You can also report suspicious calls and direct general questions through this resource. You can find your local SMP program by calling 1-877-808-2468 or at SMPresource.org.

Suspected fraud can also be reported to 1-800-Medicare or by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

Don’t hesitate if you need help
Funded by the Administration for Community Living, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the SMP program provides outreach, counseling and education by highly trained volunteers in a variety of locations. For free, confidential support, contact your local SMP program.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Maximizing Your Assets in Retirement

(Family Features) No matter how diligent you may have been about saving for retirement, unexpected life changes and economic realities can negatively impact your retirement budget. Sustained low interest rates have suppressed yields on income from bonds and rising health care expenses have affected retirees of all ages.

Many retirees are surprised to learn that one of the most valuable assets in their portfolios may be a life insurance policy that they no longer need.

It’s not uncommon for people to outlive their need for life insurance, and if you no longer need the policy or can no longer afford the premiums, you could consider selling the policy through a life settlement. This is a financial transaction in which a policy owner works with a company, such as Coventry Direct, to determine if they qualify to sell their life insurance policy. The policy seller receives an immediate cash payment while the buyer assumes all future premium payments. Most life insurance policy types qualify, even convertible term life policies.

Consider this story about a financial advisor who recently retired from a long, successful career. He decided the money he was spending on the rising premiums for his $799,975 life insurance policy could be used to help fund his retirement. After some research, he called Coventry Direct and was happy to learn he had an option other than just letting the policy lapse. He sold his policy through a life settlement for $25,000, which was more than four times the value he would have received if he surrendered the policy back to the insurance company.

If you don’t own a life insurance policy or still need your coverage, you may want to evaluate the real estate you own. Think about downsizing to a smaller home or selling other property you no longer need. Many retirees discover that they have significant equity tied up in real estate – equity that could be used to help fund expenses.

Another useful exercise is reviewing your investments. If your retirement income is failing to produce the amount needed to maintain your lifestyle, you may need to rebalance your portfolio in order to meet your changing needs.

If you find your retirement income is insufficient, there are options available to maximize your assets. For many retirees, an existing life insurance policy may be a hidden asset that can be utilized to generate cash. To learn more about life settlements, visit coventrydirect.com/lifesettlements or call 888-858-9344.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

5 Smart Strategies to Settle an Estate

(Family Features) When a parent passes away, it’s usually left to their offspring to manage and disperse the remaining estate. In the wake of such a loss, emotions can run high, and the sheer amount of paperwork can quickly become overwhelming.

If you’re in the throes of settling an estate, whether by yourself or with the assistance of your siblings, consider these tips to help chart a smoother course.

Get organized. Keep a seemingly endless to-do list manageable by writing everything down. Create a system for prioritizing each task and if there are others who are willing to help, delegate what you can. Establish categories such as bills to pay and other outstanding debts, accounts to close, agencies and organizations that need to be notified of the death and so on.

Know your limits. Some estates are simple and straightforward: There’s a basic will, few assets, known heirs, and it’s easy to grasp what happens next. Others are far more complicated. If you find yourself in over your head, seek help from an expert such as an estate attorney who can guide you through the legalities and paperwork.

Focus on solutions. Remember that even the most seemingly hopeless situations can turn out well if you remain open to exploring solutions. When Karen Jones’ mother passed away, she and her four siblings were left with a house that needed a lot of repairs none of them could afford before it could be sold. Jones learned about HomeVestors from a sister and the two scheduled a free consultation with a local independently owned and operated franchise.

Within 24 hours, Aaron Katz with WinWin Properties presented an offer not only to Jones, but individually to all of her siblings who were not able to meet at the same time. Jones credits Katz’s professionalism, kindness and sensitivity during a difficult time for her family.

An option such as HomeVestors, the largest professional house buying franchise in the nation, offers cash payments and quick closing, which can be helpful in settling an estate. In many cases, homes can also be sold as-is with no repairs and with unwanted contents still inside.

Expect the unexpected. It may come in the form of a change in the will or old letters stashed in a closet, but it’s a safe bet that in settling the estate, you’ll come across something you weren’t expecting. Add this to the emotional simmer you’ve been holding steady and this may be the tipping point to boil you over. Simply put the new information on the back burner for now and return to it later, when you can deal with it more rationally and avoid letting a surprise stain your memories.

Take a break. In the aftermath of a loss, many survivors switch to autopilot, not only to distract their minds from the loss but to regain some sense of control in a situation that can feel helpless. While this coping mechanism may answer a short-term need, be sure to allow yourself time to properly grieve and avoid taking on so much that you neglect your own physical needs, such as food and sleep.

Settling a loved one’s estate isn’t likely to be easy, but taking it all one step at a time will help you take care of business while you make sure you’re still taking care of yourself.

For more information, visit homevestors.com.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

3 Ways Seniors Can Control Prescription Costs

(Family Features) For 55 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, the New Year means any new Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plans, or any changes to your existing plans, take effect. If you signed up for coverage, it’s important to understand how your prescription drug costs may be affected.

Even if you did nothing to alter your coverage, some features of your plan may have changed for 2017. Getting a handle on Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage is important to your health as well as your pocketbook.

“A survey by Walgreens showed that in order to manage prescription drug costs, some people have delayed filling a current prescription or occasionally skipped prescribed doses to stretch medication,” said John Lee, senior director of Medicare at Walgreens. “This is a real concern as it can pose significant health risks, so it’s vital to evaluate your medical situation, have a plan that best fits your needs and then understand how to get the most value from your plan and pharmacy.”

The survey shows that even though prescription drug costs are among the top concerns for Medicare beneficiaries, approximately one out of every five beneficiaries lacks a good understanding of their insurance plan. Roughly the same percentage falsely believes that all pharmacies charge the same copay and one-third of respondents didn’t know they can switch pharmacies at any time, including outside of the annual enrollment period. The survey reinforced the need to educate beneficiaries about how plans and coverage can and do change from year to year. To make the most of your benefits and find potential cost savings for your prescription medications under your Part D coverage, here are three easy steps to get started:

Use a less expensive brand or generic. The brand-name drug your doctor prescribed can do wonders for your symptoms but be worrisome for your budget. Many brand-name drugs have generic or other brand substitutes. First, make sure your doctor considers generic options. If those options aren’t available, there may be lower-cost brand-name drugs used to treat the same condition. Ask your pharmacist if you have that option then talk with your doctor to see if switching brands makes sense in your situation. Finally, whatever your prescription may be, a 90-day supply from your pharmacy can be less expensive out of pocket than refilling every 30 days.

Verify whether your plan has a preferred pharmacy network. Many prescription drug plans have a preferred pharmacy (preferred cost share) network where you can pay a lower out-of-pocket copay for the exact same drug. Walgreens is in the preferred pharmacy network for many of the largest Medicare sponsors and, effective January 2017, offers copays as low as $0 on generic medications for select plans.  Filling a generic medication at a non-preferred pharmacy could cost you $3, $5 or even $10 for the same drug. 

Seek Medicare’s Extra Help program and other ways to save. Medicare offers an Extra Help program to help people with limited income and resources pay Medicare prescription drug program costs, like premiums, deductibles and coinsurance. Make sure you’re taking full advantage of your insurance coverage, which may cover non-prescription items, like vaccinations and certain over-the-counter medications.

Medicare beneficiaries seeking help navigating prescription drug costs can find additional resources and a list of Medicare plan sponsors at walgreens.com/medicare.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Face Your Financial Fears

Take action to save for retirement

(Family Features) Retirement is supposed to be a reward for decades of hard work, but if you haven’t planned well, the milestone may be a dark cloud on your horizon. In fact, new data shows that nearly 50 percent of Americans are most afraid of outliving their income or the inability to maintain their current lifestyle, and nearly 20 percent are worried about having enough money to cover health care expenses.

The research, released by the Indexed Annuity Leadership Council (IALC), also found that despite these very real fears, Americans are failing to take action to address them. For example, a quarter of Baby Boomers, the age group closest to retirement, have less than $5,000 saved for retirement and nearly one in five Americans have no idea how much they’ve saved.

The findings indicate that Americans are afraid of the unknown when it comes to managing their money and retirement. While you can budget for leisure and travel, health care expenses and life expectancy are unpredictable.

“Americans are living longer than ever, so it’s no surprise that the No. 1 retirement fear is that they’ll run out of money in their final years,” said Jim Poolman, executive director of the IALC. “Thankfully, there are strategies and products out there that can help you create sufficient retirement income to last throughout your lifetime, which can help with this crippling fear.”

To take control of the uncertainty and create peace of mind when it comes to retirement, here are some simple steps you can follow:

Make a budget.
Those who plan for retirement are estimated to save three times more than those who don’t. Take into account that your expenses may increase during retirement, specifically for items such as health care and travel. Also, be sure to revisit your budget periodically to make adjustments for new circumstances that affect how much you need to support the retirement lifestyle you desire.

Balance is key.
Investing in a 401(k) is a great way to start a retirement portfolio, but putting all your eggs in one basket is a common mistake. One method to provide balance to your retirement portfolio is to add some more conservative, low-risk products, such as Fixed Indexed Annuities (FIAs), which protect your principal regardless of market ups and downs. According to the survey, FIAs are an attractive choice for consumers, with 45 percent of Americans surveyed interested in this type of retirement product.

Plan to adjust.
A savings strategy that makes sense today might not fit your needs in five, 10 or 20 years. Factors like market volatility, changes in your career or personal life, can impact the amount you’re able to save and how much you anticipate needing when you reach retirement age.

Monitor the balance.
While it’s not as critical to track the ups and downs of your portfolio in your younger years, the closer you are to retirement, the more important it becomes to be aware of your account values. Your level of risk should reflect your age and your retirement goals. Generally, the younger you are, the greater risk you may be able to tolerate because market cycles generally rebound losses over time. When the window of time before retirement is tighter, you may not be able to recover from a dip as easily.

Small changes count.
Even seemingly little adjustments can have a noticeable impact on your finances over time. For example, packing your own lunch and giving up an evening out with friends once weekly or monthly will allow you to direct that money to a retirement account instead. Also, be sure to pay your credit card bills on time to avoid fees that not only affect your credit rating but deplete funds that could be directed to retirement savings.

Make it automatic.
Set up scheduled transfers so you don’t forget or aren’t tempted to spend the money you planned to save. Treat your retirement account as a debt you owe and be sure to pay yourself every month. If necessary, meet with a financial advisor who can help you determine a strategy to pay down debt without sacrificing your retirement planning.

Understanding Fixed Indexed Annuities
In today’s economy, experts recommend ensuring you have a diversified retirement plan and balanced financial portfolio that includes conservative, low-risk products that are less impacted by stock market volatility.

According to the Indexed Annuity Leadership Council’s research, 45 percent of Americans are interested in retirement products, such as Fixed Indexed Annuities, that offer steady lifetime income and protect your principal even if the stock market goes down.

Find more tips and tools to guide your retirement planning at FIAinsights.org.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images