Enrolling in Medicare can be stressful and confusing, but delay signing up and it can also set you back a bundle. Late enrollment penalties can hike a monthly premium by 10 percent or more – for the rest of your life. More than 750,000 Medicare beneficiaries have made that mistake, boosting their Part B premiums, […]
Author Archives: mark
Medicare PPO plan without Prescription Drugs
A Medicare PPO Plan is a Medicare Advantage Plan where a Private Insurance company provides your Medicare Part A and Part B benefits. In a Medicare PPO Plan, you can get Medical Services from any provider who accepts Medicare. The Medicare PPO has a preferred network of providers “in network” where cost sharing is lower. […]
Ready for Medicare? Not Until You Read This
Enrolling for Medicare for the first time is a milestone in your life, and most retirees come to rely on the healthcare coverage that Medicare provides. Before your 65th birthday approaches, however, it makes sense to do some planning to make sure that you’ll be ready for Medicare when the time comes. Below, we’ll look […]
Learn more about Medicare coverage of ambulance services.
Original Medicare and Medicare private health plans, also known as Medicare Advantage plans, must cover emergency services even if your condition didn’t turn out to be an emergency. You can appeal if your plan refuses to pay for your ambulance ride. You can also go to any hospital or use any ambulance company in an […]
Reported changes coming to Part D prescription coverage
The CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) gave this information in a press release from the beginning of April 2013. We’ve created an easy-to-read and understand “infographic” to demonstrate the changes coming to Part D prescription coverage in 2014.
Medicare Supplement Plan F – After all changes it’s Still the Best!
Medicare Supplement Plans are changing on June 1st, 2010. After it is all said and done, four plans will be eliminated and two new plans are going to be introduced. Despite all the changes, the most popular and Best Medicare Supplement Plan is still plan F. This is largely due to the comprehensive nature of […]
Second Round of Doughnut Hole Checks Sent to Seniors
Over 300,000 seniors will get a $250 check from the government to help close the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap known as the “doughnut hole.” This second round of checks is going to seniors who entered the coverage gap between April and June and were not able to receive low-income subsidies. The first batch of […]
Women, Diabetics Fall Fast Into Medicare ‘Doughnut Hole’
(HealthDay News) — Among elderly Americans, women and those with diabetes and dementia are most likely to find themselves in the Medicare Part D drug plan “doughnut hole,” the coverage gap that occurs after a beneficiary has reached the annual coverage limit but hasn’t spent enough on drugs to qualify for catastrophic coverage. Researchers analyzed […]
Heart Health Can Help Predict Brain Health: Study
By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News) — What’s good for the heart is probably also good for the brain, suggests new research. People with the highest cardiac output for their body size (cardiac index), meaning those with the greatest blood flow from their heart, tended to have more brain volume, which […]
Medicare Saves $33 Billion through Generic Drugs
According to a Congressional Budget Office report, generic drugs saved both the government and beneficiaries roughly $33 billion in 2007. Businessweek reports the trade group Pharmaceutical Care Management Association expects an additional $14 billion in savings over the next few years due to new generics entering the market through 2012.