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Turning 65 is a landmark in many ways. Having Medicare is another major difference.

“You’d think that with the number of people turning 65 in the nation that they would be aware of what they need to do to get Medicare and how it will affect them. Interestingly enough, there are a great number of people who don’t have a clue what they need to do to get Medicare. This is largely due to all the confusing and conflicting information floating around in the market about what they need to do and when they need to do it. I’ve had many seniors call about various ads and flyers they’ve received in the mail, most of which have inaccurate information in them,” stated Richard Cantu with Medicare supplements resource, GoMedigap.com.

The problem with all the conflicting information about Medicare and how to apply for it, etc., is that it’s ultimately so confusing that many people try and ignore it and don’t realize how important it is to have Medicare coverage. This may be dangerous in more ways than one if they don’t have Medicare when they need it the most; when something happens and they need medical help.

“Keep in mind that Medicare policies by themselves are not enough to cover everything and that in order to fill in the ‘gaps,’ seniors need to have Medicare supplements. This is the only way they will be covered for the things they need,” commented Cantu.

If the primary problem is that the options are not clear about what to choose, this is the time to contact a Medicare insurance agent and start asking questions. Things just recently changed in regard to the type of plans and Medicare supplements that are sold to the public, and there is definitely a whole lot of new plans, plans that no longer exist, items that are no longer covered, and other changes that people need to know about in order to make an informed decision before they choose what plans they think will work for them.

Choosing the best Medicare policy and Medicare supplements to fill in the gaps is a bit of an art; and art that a Medicare insurance agent is very good at. “Their advice is free, their knowledge second to none, and their dedication to helping seniors is quite evident when you call for advice and guidance,” said Cantu.

To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit http://www.gomedigap.com.

It’s a good idea to know when to apply for Medicare. It saves the hassle of scrambling later.

“If you are not getting Social Security benefits, then before you turn 65, you need to apply for Medicare. It is not, contrary to popular opinion, an automatic enrolment,” indicated Richard Cantu with Medicare supplements resource, GoMedigap.com. The preliminary enrollment period for Medicare actually begins three months before a person turns 65 and includes their birth month and end three months after that month. While that may sounds confusing, it is easily clarified by contacting a local Medicare health insurance agent.

“If by chance you are still working, and in this day and age that is far more common that it used to be, you may not need to enroll in Part B when you hit age 65. Here is how that works. If your employer has over 20 workers and offers group insurance that you are participating in, your primary medical cover is your work health insurance. That then means Medicare would play a secondary role,” Cantu explained.

Ultimately, that would mean being able to delay enrolling in Part B until (if and when) employer coverage is lost. “Basically, that avoids duplication of Part B cover and paying Part B premiums. However, don’t assume anything here. Always check if that is the right thing to do, as things in health care are changing so rapidly these days, it’s easy to miss something,” he added.

What if a person does not qualify for Medicare because they did not work the required number of years at a company that offered Medicare covered employment? In cases like that, the worker may opt to buy into Medicare. For example, Part A’s 2010 monthly premium would be about $461 if there were less than 30 quarters of Medicare covered work. For those who had 30 to 39 quarters covered, they would pay roughly $254 a month. For Part B cover, the monthly payments would start at $96.40 and could go as high as $353.60; something that is solely dependent on Medicare means testing.

“There are a number of other ins and outs that you would need to know when dealing with initial enrollment periods versus general open enrollment and how penalties may be assessed for delaying enrollment in Part B for every year they delay enrolling. Typically, these issues are things that are best discussed either in person or on the phone, and I’d be happy to help anyone who has questions,” suggested Cantu.

To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit http://www.gomedigap.com.

In a world gone mad with greed, hospices are now the target of Medicare fraud. Claims are being made for people who are not dying.

Most people associate hospices with caring, quite, dignified palliative care for those who need assistance and who would otherwise be alone and in pain and fear. Hospice care, as we mentioned in another article, is a right under the Medicare program and many people have cheered at this inclusion. It’s a nod in the right direction for our society as a whole; demonstrating that we respect and honor those who will pass on before us, and that they deserve hospice care.

If people actually knew that hospices are now the targets of scams and fraudulent schemes, they would be angered beyond reason. That is what is happening, largely because while many only see the façade of the hospice – the caring ministers and nurses – the hospices these days are owned by big business and big business functions best on big profits.

What’s the scam? The scam is that money is being made hand over fist through Medicare reimbursements for people who are not dying and who don’t qualify for the Medicare Hospice Benefit. What is even worse is when this kind of fraud is the cause of patients and families not getting treatments they may need that could improve their lives. This has to stop.

Check out some of the stories online where big business hospice companies have handed out some mega-settlement money to divert attention from the fact that their hospices admit and readmit non-terminal patients and then fraudulently bills Medicare (and Medicaid). Here is one classic example: Odyssey Hospice, a huge national hospice company, paid out $12.9 million in 2006 for this type of fraud and then – well, they kept right on doing business they way they always had.

If you want another example, take the one of SouthernCare who coughed up $25 million in 2009 thanks to a whistleblower lawsuit. Both of these large companies paid their fines, but apparently nothing changed. It’s a fact that hospices are mega business opportunities. It’s a fact that many have revenues that top $600 million a year. It’s also a fact that they are making money on the backs of innocent people.

Are you aware of Medicare hospice fraud? If you are, it’s time to speak out and do something about it. The dignity of the dying is crucial and the future of the Medicare hospice benefit hangs in the balance with fraud continuing to strip the system of dollars that could be used for the benefit of the patients and not big business.

Richard Cantu is with Medicare supplements resource, GoMedigap.com. To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.

With all the new changes in Medicare, it’s hard to keep track of what was then and what is now. This article should help you.

Anytime something changes, whether it’s how your bank processes your checks or when your health care plans change, like with Medicare, it tends to throw people for a loop. Makes sense; after all when you get used to doing something one way, suddenly finding out it’s now different is disconcerting.

This is particularly true with Medicare supplement plans. For those of you with the older plans, you had other choices and other plans eliminated at the beginning of June 2010. The ones eliminated were the Medigap plans you bought from a private insurance carrier. Good news: basic Medicare and prescription drug coverage has not been affected. So what do you have now? There are 12 variations of Medicare supplement plans A through to L; that’s Plan A to Plan L.

Here’s what you need to know as a quick reference. Plans E,H,I and J no longer exist, but if you had any one of those plans when they were eliminated, you got to keep them if that is what you wanted to do. If there was another plan that suited your needs much better, then perhaps you switched to one of the newer ones. By now, you will have a good idea of whether or not the switch was a good idea, or you may be planning to switch at the next open enrollment period.

By the first of June, you were also able to buy two new plans, M and N, which effectively offered expanded coverage. Plan F is still being sold or in other words, it’s still alive and kicking, so you can certainly look for it when you make any changes to your Medicare plans.

In all the confusion of the changes, a great many people missed out on what some of the other important changes were and may not realize that things they had before might no longer exist. For instance, preventive care and at-home recovery benefits were deleted from all supplement policies because they were not being used very much. This is something to consider overall for Medicare and other medical services; if you want them, use them or lose them.

Plan G offers 100% coverage for excess charges as opposed to the previous 80% coverage and you will find a new hospice benefit added to all of the plans with the exception of Plans K and L (they already have hospice benefits). The “new” hospice benefit offers cost sharing for all Part A eligible hospice and respite care expenses. Medicare has cover for inpatient respite care for up to five days, less your co-pay amount of 5% of the daily benefit. The hospice benefit picks up the 5% co-pay.

The best overall news in case you missed it has to do with the two new Medigap plans, M and N. They are set up give beneficiaries lower estimated premiums and higher cost sharing responsibilities. In Plan M you will find it includes 50% coverage of Medicare Part A deductible, but doesn’t cover Medicare Part B deductible. Plan N offers 100% coverage of Part A deductible, but zero cover for Part B deductible. Cover for the B deductible is now subject to a new co-pay arrangement.

Are there more changes you may need to be aware of for the coming year? Oh definitely, but it’s best to just call your local Medigap insurance agent and start asking questions. They know right away the things that you will need to know to make an informed health insurance purchase.

Richard Cantu is with Medicare supplements resource, GoMedigap.com. To learn more about Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare supplement insurance visit GoMedigap.com.

If you’ve been wondering about the so-called “public option” relating to health insurance companies – there is no public option listed in the Senate bill, but there is one in the House bill which features non-profit health insurance cooperatives that would compete with the big bucks insurance companies in the business for profit.

This would certainly generate a whole lot of interesting competition in relation to the policies offered. But the question is, how will this whole scenario with large private insurance companies, and enormous lobby groups (like the AARP), pan out? While competition is nice to a certain extent, there are going to be private insurance companies that would not be so thrilled having to compete with non-profit health insurance cooperatives. That means they would have to lower their prices to get customers – and what? Hike them again after a year?

The bottom line is stay tuned for more developments as things start to heat up while the House is back in session.

To learn more, visit Gomedigap.com.

Health insurance coverage for dependent children is going to be broadly expanded for children under 27 years old. This makes sense given the tough economy and considering the number of older children that have had to return home to make ends meet. There will also be “no” limitations or caps on health benefit amounts. Right now, there are limits of roughly 1 to 2 million dollars. All in all, the changes should see some real differences in the way health care is handled in America.

Just as there are things that are the same in both of the bills, there are a couple of differences that you will want to know about. The bill in the Senate slices and dices the Medicare budget by roughly 500 billion dollars, and that’s a whole lot of money. The House bill includes the Stupak amendment. In essence it bans the use of federal money for supplementing abortions that any health plan offers. This still seems to be under debate, so there is no telling how it will resolve.

To learn more, visit Gomedigap.com.

Just so you don’t find things too confusing with “two” versions, you really only need to know the similarities, because those are what is important. For instance, both bills state it is mandatory that people without insurance get health insurance and if you don’t get it, there will be penalties.

This might give you some pause for thought if you think you can save money by not buying health insurance. It will eventually become more expensive to “not” have it in the form of fines, and realistically, everyone will need medical care at some time in their lives.

There will be government subsidies to assist in paying for health insurance for low and middle income families. Interestingly, there will also no longer be “any” exclusions for pre-existing conditions; a huge bonus for many of the currently uninsured in the US. What this means is that insurance companies will be required to accept any one who applies, despite what medical condition they may have.

To learn more, visit Gomedigap.com.

This is a no-brainer. If you want to save money and get good health care coverage, then stick with the government administered Medicare plans. Really? The government subsidized benefits seniors get who are on Advantage plans are real, and they may very well be in danger of going south during the health care changes. Does this mean there isn’t something to replace those benefits? It’s a fair question.

Granted, there are some major differences between the House version of the overhaul of the health care system and the Senate version of the overhaul. However, both the bills do chop payments to private Medicare Advantage plans. This is largely because these are costing the government about 14% more than traditional Medicare.

While there are benefits being given in this upcoming legislation, there are trade-offs on the other side. For instance, the AARP (who advocates for Medicare Advantage cuts – after all it IS an insurance company) predicts it’s like some seniors may see an increase in the premiums; ultimately have their benefits cut; or see some plans shut down.

To learn more, visit Gomedigap.com.

One of the major questions is: Where is all the money going to come from to offer three states special concessions in this new proposed health care legislation? If there is $500 billion cut from the Medicare system, where will it go? Will it be used to shore up the economy? This certainly isn’t that clear.

What about the advent of the suggested non-profit cooperatives? Will those be dropped like a hot potato and instead favor what the Senate wants, which is not mentioned at all? So much for introducing competition into the health insurance market.

It’s projected that the program– the new health care program– would likely cost about 870 billion, but this is ONLY if there is 500 billion cut from Medicare benefits. Is this really realistic and who came up with those figures?

And finally, if this new proposed health care legislation does go through, just how will it affect the economy and the national debt? If they’re planning on forking out extra goodies to three states, then ultimately it’s the taxpayers that have to ante up. Give the matter some thought, because this last question is quite contentious.

To learn more, visit Gomedigap.com.

Ever wonder that the AARP and the AMA think about the proposed health care legislation? Well, they’ve been pretty clear about it – they support it, cuts and all. However, there seems to be a ground swell of people, including doctors and the general public, who think this new legislation will cause many complications.

For instance, can the provision that a citizen who doesn’t buy private health insurance has to pay a fine and may be put in jail be enforced? Many civil rights attorneys don’t think so. What do you think?

What about the three states listed in the bills that are to receive special provisions and concessions? Are they constitutional and legal? Many people don’t think so and are labeling these concessions as pork barreling. Not much of a surprise when it comes to politicians. Stay tuned, there will be more coming out in the following days, weeks and months.

To learn more, visit Gomedigap.com.