MYM Podcast 38: 2016 Edition Released

The 2016 Edition of Maximize Your Medicare is available NOW. Is a new edition really necessary? Yep.

Subscribe to the Maximize Your Medicare Podcast click HERE.

MYM Podcast 32: My interview on NPR Atlanta

Radio Interview on NPR Atlanta, WABE 90.1
I was interviewed this morning on WABE, Atlanta's NPR affiliate. Thanks to noted host Steve Goss. They were good enough to keep all of my comments during the interview and post it on its website, www.wabe.org....

Listen to the podcast here.

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MYM Podcast 31: Radio Interview KFNN Phoenix

Radio Interview on KFNN Phoenix 1510 AM
I was interviewed this morning on Phoenix' 1510 AM on its "Business for Breakfast" show. Thanks to Ken Morgan and Julie Dougherty for having me on their great show....

Listen to the podcast here.

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MYM Podcast 30: The Maggie Linton Show on SIrius XM

Radio Interview on Sirius XM with The Maggie Linton Show
I spent some time on Sirius XM's The Maggie Linton Show. Many thanks to her for her show, and having me appear!

Listen to the podcast here.

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MYM Podcast 23: Just the FAQs

"I Don't Know Where to Start"
If you are turning 65 years old,

If you have a Medicare-eligible parent that you want to help,

If you face healthcare costs you don't understand under Medicare,

If you need information that you can use, in language that you can understand,

"I'm All Set": Probably Wrong

a. Employers change (or eliminate) retiree benefits
b. Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D (Rx) change every year
c. PPACA means that pre-Medicare family members can get private insurance
This is just for starters...

Monday, June 16, 5PM EDT

I have conducted this program everywhere (libraries, senior centers, conferences, senior programming at colleges), with all types of audiences.

You can see a short list on other pages of this blog.

I will leave my phone number on during the broadcast, and you can bring me your questions. 

$2.99 PPV Webcast
Just click here to register.

I need to charge because the host charges me, and I want to keep the spammers out.

Listen to me speak about the webcast:

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MYM Podcast 18: Radio Interview WNPV with George Toth, CFP

Radio Interview, April 21, 2014
Every financial planner has his/her own perspectives. You can listen to my comments on Medicare here. The focus is on correct enrollment, and the penalties that can occur.

You can listen to this episode here.
You can subscribe to this podcast here.

Subscribe to the Premium Subscription Service, get Maximize Your Medicare (ebook) FREE

The Premium Subscription Service will give you details about financial planning matters (of which Medicare and health care costs are very important components) that don't exist in the many, many advertisements that you receive.

Just click here to learn more and see the reading list.

You will receive permission to a private YouTube channel. You will get alerts, emails, and articles describing many important issues. Of course, you will have the right to see previous episodes.  I am in the holiday mood: you will be sent the pdf version of Maximize Your Medicare (2014 Edition), the #2 book in the Medicare/Medicaid category on amazon.com, sent to your email, within 24 hours, for FREE.

O is for Obamacare

Readers of my message, listeners to my comments can understand now what I have thought: there was almost no chance for opponents of Obamacare to win. If you are an ardent member of the GOP, your most optimistic spin, at best, is "we raised the issue." Meh. The pertinent question now: what am I supposed to do?

The Negatives

Implementation, and the participation rate of the young and healthy were, and remain, the biggest question marks. Here is what you need to know. And here is what to do.

Pre-Existing Condition? Obamacare is a Huge Plus

If you have a pre-existing condition, particularly if you require immediate attention (including prescriptions), then you are well-served by Obamacare. No insurance company can deny you, and there is no concept of waiting period. Diagnosed with cancer on Decmeber 31st? No problem: if you have enrolled effective on Jan 1, 2014, you are covered.

The question is now affordability and plan design. That is a matter of calculation, depending on the anticipated total costs. Rule of thumb: if you take a large number of expensive prescriptions, then your plan should include prescription benefits. It will not be cheap, but the insurance will more than pay for itself. Note: prescription benefits ALONE will raise the premium by more than $100/month, so you need to be careful.

Here is the problem with those that support Obamacare: they are reporting that health insurance is affordable. Tell that to someone who needs a "Gold" plan in their 60s. $1000 a month. Now you know why Medicare is a screaming bargain and why correctly configured, Medicare & a private plan can save you many thousands of dollars, a year.

Exchange Plans Pros and Cons

Leave your politics at the doorstep. Here are the pros: transparency. You can compare prices among within tiers. Someone has calculated it for you. Cons: coverage within tiers varies. 

Here are the important points. First, HMO vs PPO. You need to know the difference. HMOs won't pay if you don't go to your primary care physician first. Second, prescription coverage. Some plans have prescriptions as part of the plan, and some do not. Third, the deductibles can vary widely, even within tier. 

Medicaid expansion? Maybe, but the problem here is that you need to speak with the government, and it isn't clear that they have the right information or that they are correctly transferring it to insurance companies. This is a fundamental problem with many implications (the opponents are right here).

If you do not qualify for Medicaid expansion, it is a virtual guarantee: you can find a plan that almost identical, and with superior benefits (hmo v ppo, prescriptions, deductible) off the Marketplace. You can contact an expert to help identify these alternatives, and one other thing: no dealing with 1-800-Government.

Young and Healthy? Get Ready to Pay

Due to the way that Obamacare is structured, the net payers are over 30 with families. If you are employed and your employer offers health insurance benefits, you will need to take it. That may or may NOT include your spouse or children. Your spouse, if also employed, should individually check his/her available benefits from his/her employer. Children may be able to purchase separate policies in the private market. Families, as a unit, are frequently more expensive in a group plan than the individual parts added together, unless there is a subsidy from the employer.

If everyone is healthy, then you may be able to save hundreds of dollars a month by looking into non-Obamacare compliant plans, but you must act now. Reason? Deadlines for enrollment are in early-mid November. There is no getting around this: if you starting thinking about this during Thanksgiving dinner, you are too late.

Employee with Benefits? Check Anyways

It depends. If you are healthy, then you should check the market according to the previous paragraph. Employers don't want to say this, but your best option may be to take 2014 using a private plan, and then opt back in for 2015. Why? You may be able to save money in 2014, but won't be able to in 2015, when all new plans must be Obamacare compliant, which will be much more expensive.

If you have a pre-existing condition or require extensive medical attention, it is most likely that your group plan is superior to the Obamacare alternative. In addition, if your employer offers health insurance, then you cannot apply for Medicaid expansion.

Small / Private Employer? Tick, tock

If you are a small employer (even with as few as 2 employees), and you have not checked the market by now, it is the bottom of the 9th inning. There are viable alternatives (too many to mention). The difference among alternatives can easily be over $300 per employee. Now multiply by employees/enrollees, and then multiply by 12.

You will see complaints in the press, but what you don't see is this fact: many small employers are sitting on their hands without thorough thought of the implications of this paragraph. This is one of the most imprudent approaches I can possibly imagine. 

If you are an employer that has been able to navigate this economy, then you can handle this. Putting it off til later? Well, you can excuse me for not being sympathetic: one hour of attention can save or cost a small employer tens of thousands of dollars. Waiting until Thanksgiving? You will be too late to consider many of these options. 

Maximize Your Medicare (2014 Edition) Coming Soon

For married couples, some very, very important changes and strategies to deal with Obamacare, when are involved in employer-sponsored plans. For those of you that own the 2013 Edition (ebook), you can get a free update when you update the book. For those that own the paperback version, the strategy is unchanged, and they way to understand Medicare is also unchanged. The ebook will be part of Amazon's Kindle Matchbook, which allows you to purchase the ebook version for $2.99 if you have previously purchased the paperback version.

One more reason for the ebook: the next revision will include ways for enrollees to directly select carriers or other service providers to receive personalized attention.

Disclaimer and Fiduciary Responsiblity

This is not individual, specific financial advice. It isn't an offer of any financial product or contract. You can consult with a financial advisor on a private basis in order to receive individualized attention.

That said, there are certain advisors that have a fiduciary responsibility on behalf of their clients. If you require financial advice, then you can ask if they are subject to this responsibility. It is a technical term with a specific meaning. If you advisor doesn't know what it is, then I will leave it to you to make your own conclusion on the answer to the question. It is difficult to ascertain who is an "expert" and who is not, but this standard is a very good start.

This Happens: Companies Changing Retiree Benefits

This Happens

Large, stable employer has to compete on a global scale. Employee benefits erode, for active employees and retirees. This year, a dramatic change to prescription drug benefits may warrant an entirely new strategy and approach.

Group Plans Used to Have No Coverage Gap

The point is that group plans frequently eliminated the Coverage Gap. That point alone may have led a retiree to choose to stay enrolled in the employer's plan. However, the employer has created a new structure of prescription drug benefits. The previous superiority of prescription drug benefits may be eliminated. If this is the case, then the price and extent of medical (non Rx) benefits need to be examined.

Can You Change? Yes.

For those that determine that the existing group plan should be cancelled, a private Medicare alternative (Medicare Advantage / Medigap) can be selected. A stand-alone PDP (Medicare Part D plan) can be selected. The person would qualify for a Special Election Period, which allows this selection when a group plan is cancelled, whether or not that cancellation is voluntary or involuntary.

Problem: Timing

Companies frequently have a very limited calendar, i.e. their enrollment/selection period is very tightly defined, and may/may not coincide with the Medicare calendar. As a result, your group benefits should be examined as soon as you receive it. This is one of those instances when a qualified advisor may need to be contacted.

Amazon's (Excellent) Matchbook Deal

Amazon Naysayers Are Wrong (Again)
Amazon is allowing U.S. owners of print versions to purchase ebook versions at a discounted price. For Maximize Your Medicare, this will mean that if you own the print version, then you can get the ebook version for $2.99, when the offer goes live. And it gets MUCH BETTER from there.

Maximize Your Medicare's Awesome Value
Medicare is changing, every year. I could choose to release a new ebook every single year. You can expect that a new print version is being prepared now. In ebook format, Maximize Your Medicare will simply be updated, automatically, to the most recent version. In a word, that is incredible value. You don't need to re-buy the ebook when the Medicare cost-sharing details change, or if the mechanics of Medicare change. The ebook will be updated, you will be able to get the update...FREE.

Share the Book With Your Friends and Family
Here is how to take advantage of the situation. When you receive the ebook, you can lend it to a friend, because I have made the book available for lending to people via Amazon. If you have an adult-age child that would like to help, or if you have a friend with a Kindle, then voila! They can borrow the ebook from you. For $2.99, this is a deal, no matter which way you slice it.

This Won't Last Forever
The ebook format of Maximize Your Medicare will be the best value on the market: that is my commitment to the many readers, and the supporters that the book has received. It will be perpetually updated so that you will always have the latest version, and if the structure of Medicare changes, you will have a subscription of sorts. That said, beginning on October 15, 2013, the price of the ebook will increase to $9.99, equal to the current price of the print format.

45 Day Sprint: Help Me Help You

So many know so little about Medicare The list of objections is quite amazing (I could write another book): a. I am upset, I paid all this money and Medicare doesn't cover anything.... b. No additional premium? Too good to be true.... c. It's Obamacare's fault.... d. It's big pharma's fault e. It's insurance companies' fault f. It's...oh you get it Tuning Out? That Doesn't Work The issue is that this results in 1) people tuning out the knowledge that is needed to protect their health and retirement savings, and 2) the healthcare system is much worse off because people are not protected, and leave unpaid bills with the healthcare system that must be paid by someone. That is YOU. Much, Much Better Information Needed The government and insurance companies are restricted in perverse ways. Government doesn't explain the parts that Medicare doesn't cover, it is involved in a "Medicare is great" campaign. Insurance companies are regulated and want to sell their own offerings. Division on Aging and other government-sponsored advocate groups are involved in activities they are entirely unqualified to execute with no liability whatsoever.  Indiegogo campaign 45 days to raise funds for a) Spanish translation b) Audiobook c) Instructional videos. Written and spoken in plain-spoken English that people can understand. You can listen to my explanations as spoken everywhere on this blog. These messages are valuable to all Medicare beneficiaries, even those that are "all set. Please help me get the valuable information of Maximize Your Medicare to the hands of the many.

This Happens: Retired Corporate Employee

This Happens

A gentleman is turning 65 years old in the autumn.  One day, we happened to meet (as I meet many people who are going to turn 65 years old in the near future).  After a very short while, it was clear to me that he was well-informed about Medicare, and well-aware that his particular location had higher Medigap rates than others in the nearby area. The gentleman informed me that he was retired from a large, well-known Fortune 500 company. Coincidentally, I was aware of this particular company, and its specifics. 

Our Converstaion (the gist)

Me: That company's retiree health benefits were substantially worse than the private market alternatives. 

Him: Yes, I am well aware of this fact. I am researching the alternatives.

Me: What did you do when you were at the company?

Him: I was directly responsible for employee benefit plans.

Bottom Line

The world is competitive, and companies have one constituency: shareholders. They are the owners. Retirees? Well down the line among those interested parties. I am sorry, but that is the financial reality in this global economy. Even this gentleman knew that his company's retiree health benefits could be replaced with a private plan which would be superior than his company's. And he is right.

This Happens

The best thing a retiree can do is to NOT assume anything. This is your new vocation. Medicare represents the intersection of two of your most important assets, your health, and retirement savings. The example above illustrates why you should not presume that your former employer will take care of you; while I hope that is the case, circumstances may dictate otherwise.

Free Offer for Independent Bookstores

Free Offer for Independent Bookstores
You can get a FREE store copy of Maximize Your Medicare, and allow customers to take the book to the counter and order it (available through the largest distributors on a non-refundable basis).  All you need to do is to send me an email directly at jae [at] maximizeyourmedicare [dot] com. You don't need to pay a dime. I am even paying for shipping. You will simply put a big sticker, "Store Copy. See counter to purchase a copy." Maybe you will need to put a tag because otherwise your copy may disappear....
By the way, the financial reality is that your economics are better this way when compared to consignment agreements.  You can do the math yourselves (order at wholesale and sell vs consignment split). It could not be more obvious.

Top-Rated, Top-Selling Maximize Your Medicare
Go ahead and vet the book and the reviews on amazon.com here.
Go ahead and vet the sales rankings here.
Go ahead and see which libraries own the book here (worldcat.org).
Here is a partial list: Washington DC, San Francisco, Phoenix, Ann Arbor MI, Greenwich CT, Westchester County NY, Hennepin County MN (Minneapolis), Milwaukee WI, Irving TX, et al.

Responding to the Reviews

Dialogue Please
"They" say you are not supposed to respond to reviews, positive or negative.  "They" are usually wrong.  At the risk of rubbing someone the wrong way, here goes.

"Best guide out there." "First strategic book." "Well worth the money."
These were the objectives.  These are the objectives.  These will be the objectives. I priced the book for the everyday reader, well below its financial value, well below the price of other books that "explain" Medicare. I wrote it with scenarios to illustrate the effects, both intended and unintended. If you want to accept risk on your own, I am not against this. You may have good reason, and it isn't my role to tell you what to do. My role in this discussion is to lay out the choices clearly, so that you are not surprised by the results of the risks that you unintentionally take, if and when they occur. I wrote this book to help a senior (and his/her family) avoid the consequences that he/she did not intend, or did not understand in advance.

"Preachy"
This is a description that I did not expect. If anything, I haven't even come close to describing what can happen if you ignore the information in the book.  Let me put it simply: bankruptcy is a real possibility if you leave Medicare alone unchecked, become ill, and require extensive medical treatment with prescriptions. If you live alone, with no family, then that may be fine since you will be the only person to experience the consequences. For the remainder, it is now your vocation to know Medicare.  Period.  My part of this covenant? I guarantee that a reader will recover the price of the book, every year.  Send me the book back, and I will donate the copy to a group that will benefit, and I will refund your money.  Myself.

"Not Much New"
If you are experienced in Medicare matters, and have knowledge of all the options, and can compare them side-by-side, with family scenarios in mind, then you are right.  This book is not for you.  The preface to the book is "I know everything there is to know about Medicare. Said by no one."  If you are that 0.01%, then send me the book back, and I will donate the copy to a group that will benefit, and I will refund your money.  Myself.


"Don't Buy the Kindle Version"
You need to read the beginning of the book.  It is quite clear: I advised readers to READ THE GLOSSARY FIRST. It is a fact of life that there is specialized language in every profession or practice. Ask a lawyer, ask a physician, ask a plumber: jargon is everywhere. The reviewer does admit that the terms are explained. When technology improves on ebooks generally, you will be able to click on a word, and up will come the definition from the glossary. We are not there yet. We will be in the future.


"Incomplete"
I cannot comment on certain practices in certain states. I should not comment on services by governmental agencies, or groups funded by the government.  If you didn't see the news at all over the past two weeks, the government is watching, to put it mildly. Kidding aside, this is not a political book with political aims. For that you can read the Obamacare Survival Guide.  Most importantly: even when rules apply, you can get inconsistent answers from governmental agencies. I have dealt with the situation on behalf of my professional clients, and it takes a long time and persistence to undo this type of situation. The book only comments on the most blatant cases. This is intentional. If you believe that there is an omission that could benefit future readers, email me please!

Help me
If I knew then what I know now about book publishing, Maximize Your Medicare would not exist at all, for better or worse. Indiegogo is a platform for crowdsourcing, and is used to raise money to be used for objectives.  My objective? Overcome hurdles inherent in book distribution. You most likely found the book on amazon.com or at your local library. In other words, there are many, many others out there that require this information, and I need to reach them.  And I need your help. $10,000 sounds like a lot, and it is. Candidly, it is about 50% of what is required to do the job correctly. That is how high the barriers to entry are for a single book. There is a very low probability of recovering this amount, given that it is as $10 book, and there are middlemen everywhere.  So, if you found the book helpful, or acknowledge that there are countless others that would benefit, please help me by clicking on the widget below.

Maximize Your Self-Published Book

No, I am not writing another book (yet)
Maximize Your Medicare is doing well, all things considered.  It is consistently within the top 3 of print books and the same for the ebook version (as demonstrated on amazon.com).  It needs help to reach a larger audience.  You can read about me, and see that I am not a writer by training, which means that I knew nothing about the book publishing business. You can thank good fortune for that, because if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have even started this book.  While I knew that the information in the book does not exist in the market in the manner that I present it, it is the result of the responses received that further outreach to a wider audience is required.

Funds Needed for Translation and Further Outreach
Small communities everywhere, regardless of economic status, can use a $10 book that clearly explains Medicare.  In financially disadvantaged areas, there is advice in the book that can them those people that need the information the most.  What you may not realize is that if the underprivileged do not know, and medical bills are left unpaid, the feedback effect affects everyone.  Let's leave the sermonizing to the side. Think of the real estate foreclosure in your neighborhood, and it effect on the price of your home: this type of feedback effect is everywhere, not only with those that cannot pay medical bills.  Bottom line: the book has only scratched the surface in its potential to you, your family, someone you know, and communities everywhere.

Indiegogo
Indiegogo is a fund-raising platform.  I have begun a campaign which will last for 45 days.  The goal is $10,000, which is nowhere near enough: it will only be enough to begin two basic steps, translation into Spanish, and outreach to communities everywhere.  Click here to see the campaign.

Observation Status Rule Change? Hopefully.

Quick Review of Observation Status
In order to be eligible for benefits under Medicare Part A, a patient must be admitted under inpatient status.  Observation Status, however, is different, and services that a patient receives under Observation Status are covered under Medicare Part B.  This is a real problem for Medicare beneficiaries: a blog post about this topic can be found here.

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What Your Financial Adviser Should Be Telling You...But Probably Isn't

The Stock Market Is Up...But

The S&P 500 is up by over 25% through 2013, and is forecast to be moderately higher in 2014. Impressive by any measuring stick. Mr Benanke has guided a recovery with great creativity and skill, if you use the stock market as the way to determine success.  Financial advisers are out in force, as a skeptical public begrudgingly have "thrown in the towel" in the chase for superior returns.  What these advisers should be telling you, but probably aren't, is that if you get sick, and have saved on premium in order to invest, then you have made only one person better off: your adviser.  If this is you, then there is one simple piece of practical advice: get a new adviser, and use this question as the "litmus test" when interviewing new ones.

UPDATE: If you think that I am kidding, read this article, posted on May 22, 2014. Bottom line: advisers aren't focused on healthcare cost planning.

PPACA and Medicare

PPACA and Medicare

As it currently stands, provisions of the PPACA will make Medicare selections more transparent.  As a general statement, this is true. In addition, there will apparently be limits to the out-of-pocket expenses under Medicare.  Overall, these are positives for the Medicare beneficiary.  Now for the flip side of that coin.

Unintended Consequences

Transparency will appear in the form of "tiers," i.e. there will be Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.  Alternatives will be categorized by using a notion which can be thought of covering a particular % (let's call it X%) of a person's total medical costs.  The most important concept here is that it this "X%" is ON AVERAGE.  What does this mean?  It means that your specific situation may be covered by less than average, and that your out-of-pocket expenses may exceed projections.  It is a virtual guarantee that beneficiaries misunderstand this concept today, and will do so in the future.  Please note: this is the case now with Medicare Advantage plans, i.e. the specific benefits that you receive under your Medicare Advantage plan can be, in fact, worse than original Medicare under your very specific situation.  That is because the Medicare Advantage plan has, overall, been ruled by the CMS as being at least as good as original Medicare.  This is a subtle, but important, concept.

AARP's Stake in the Medicare / Fiscal Cliff Debate

AARP Is Highly Influential
Everywhere you go, the AARP is there.  On TV, in the mail.  Medicare beneficiaries are flooded with advertisements.  In addition, it is a highly influential lobbying group in favor of retired people.  This article in the Washington Post points out that the current fiscal cliff debate may affect the AARP's bottom line.

4.95% Commission to the AARP
Perhaps the most revealing statement is the fact that the AARP receives 4.95% commission, in effect.  So, when you purchase a policy "endorsed" by a group that is purportedly supposed to be an advocate for retirees, the AARP has another motive, pure profit.

Bottom Line: The "Advice" Can't Be Totally Unbiased
This post doesn't suggest that the AARP is representing something that is factually wrong.  However, it points out that, on balance, any party may have motives to sway a consumer, under a different guise, to purchase a particular product.

Maximize Your Medicare Doesn't Have Extra Strings Attached
Maximize Your Medicare: Understanding Medicare, Protecting Your Health, and Minimizing Costs is free of any other motive than providing comprehensive information to Medicare beneficiaries.  Hospitals that care about their patients should be providing samples to their most important customers. Physicians can help themselves and their patients by supplying copies, especially to those turning 65, when insurance can be purchased without restriction.  The recent developments regarding the fiscal debate are making protecting yourself, by yourself, even more important.