You can disenroll in Medicare Advantage, but time is running out....
Showing posts with label Retirees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Retirees. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Saturday, January 18, 2014
MYM Podcast 11: Why Would I Cancel My Retiree Group Coverage?
If You Require Substantial Medical Care....
The total out-of-pocket expenses can exceed the difference in premium. Many people believe that they cannot make a change in coverage if this happens to you. That is not quite right, but you will need to think of a number of different issues. That said, the financial difference may make it worth the effort.
You can listen here.
Send me your questions: jae [at] maximizeyourmedicare [dot] com
The total out-of-pocket expenses can exceed the difference in premium. Many people believe that they cannot make a change in coverage if this happens to you. That is not quite right, but you will need to think of a number of different issues. That said, the financial difference may make it worth the effort.
You can listen here.
Send me your questions: jae [at] maximizeyourmedicare [dot] com
Monday, July 8, 2013
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.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
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.
"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.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Group Retiree Health Benefits Require Thought
Annual Enrollment is Occuirng at Employers
From now through the middle of December, employers have been sending out health benefit prices and alternatives to both active and retired employees. Unfortunately, the calendars being provided require some thought under duress, because there isn't much time to decide. For many Medicare beneficiaries, this means just staying with the existing plan. That is not a very good idea.
Group Benefits Getting Weaker
Almost certainly, the book which describes the benefits for 2013 are weaker, either because the price is higher, or the coverage isn't as good as it was in the past. Maybe you will shrug your shoulders, and just say "That's the way it is." Maybe this is correct. BUT, maybe not. Medicare beneficiaries should check their actual schedule of benefits and compare it to the plans in the private market (Medicare Advantage / Medigap).
Maximize Your Medicare Shows You How
Maximize Your Medicare goes through the steps of how to understand the benefits provided by your employer. It illustrates examples of how retirees should look at the private market, and compare for themselves. In addition, it also illustrates the consequences when you do not consciously think about the matter. No one will do this for you: not the human resources department, and not your ex-colleagues from work. Maximize Your Medicare will inform you on how to approach your individual situation.
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