Okay, here it is.
Today's video is for anybody just turning 65 or retiring and coming on to
Medicare.
I'm going to tell you how to sign up for Medicare, all the different ways, what
you need to know about enrollment periods and other coverage aside from
Medicare, like Advantage plans and Medigap.
My name is Russell Noga. I'm the founder of Medisupps.com.
We're an online insurance agency that help people find the best Medicare
Supplement coverage and the lowest premiums, not just when you first sign
up, but every year when you get a rate increase.
Tthere's no cost for our service.
If you like this video, please check out all of my other videos where I answer
just about every question out there about Medicare, Medicare Advantage Plans
and Medicare Supplement Plans.
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We have a lot of new content coming out every day now to help you learn about
Medicare.
So aside from having this conversation on the phone about seven or eight times
a week, I also give talks at various senior organizations about two or three
times a month.
And this is the topic that comes up number one, of course, how do you sign
up for Medicare?
Well, I always divide the group into two different people.
And that is who is drawing a Social Security check, and who isn't?
There's two different ways to sign up.
Now, if you're drawing a social security check, piece of cake, you're going to be
automatically enrolled.
You're going to get your Medicare card in the mail, and you will automatically
be enrolled in Part A and Part B.
However, if you are still working and drawing a Social Security check and you
have employer benefits, you will want to send the card back to them that option
out of Part B if your employer will continue to cover you.
And that way you're not paying for employer benefits and the Part B premium
which you will have to pay each month if you are drawing a check.
Now if that is not an issue for you and you don't have employer benefits and
you're drawing a social security check, you will automatically be enrolled in
both Part A and Part B.
And the Part B premium will be deducted out of your check each month.
Let me just cover what Part A and B actually are.
That is what's called Original Medicare.
That's sort of the hub of your coverage of everything.
Part A covers hospitalization, and Part B covers doctors services.
Now, they do have gaps and expenses that you're still required to pay.
And I'll get to those a little later in the video, because there's different
coverages that can help you take care of that.
But when it comes to Part A, there is no monthly premium.
I did mention the Part B premium, which I'll talk about, but Part A you pay for
through payroll taxes your whole life.
See, the only people who are eligible to even get Medicare Part A and B are those
who have worked at least 40 quarters, or about 10 years and paid into the
Medicare system.
During that time, you saw your paycheck and you saw that minus X amount of
dollars each week.
That was them taking out for Medicare taxes basically, which paid for the Part
A premium.
Now a lot of people ask me, "Well, Russell, why isn't Part B free?" Which,
Part A is technically not even free anyway; you just already paid for it.
Well, back when Medicare was created, they knew they had to give some sort of
benefits and take out for future enrollees, and their how much it would
cost.
However, they also knew that medical costs were on the rise, and they were
going to continue to be on the rise, especially 50, 60 years later.
So the Part B premium was something that you'd be required to pay when you first
became eligible for Medicare.
And of course, it was going to be based on how much medical costs were at that
particular year.
So that's why the Part B premium is something you have to pay each month.
And if you're drawing a check, it will come out of your Social Security check
each month.
Let's talk about if you're not drawing a check, though.
So if you're not drawing a social security check, you won't be
automatically enrolled, you're going to have to either enroll online at
socialsecurity.gov, call them.
And I'll put the phone number in the description or on the website below to
give you that phone number where you can call, or you can go to your local Social
Security Office.
Online, it's piece of cake. I would recommend doing that.
I always like to eliminate...
I've never been to a Social Security Office.
But I can imagine it's kind of like the DMV.
I don't know, maybe I'm wrong.
But if you can do it online, boy, that's a winner right there.
Just go online, I'll put the URL, the link to it down below as well, where you
can just enroll if you're not drawing a Social Security check.
Now if you are still working and getting employer benefits, the same thing
applies as for those folks who are drawing a check.
You want to opt out, you want to tell Social Security that you don't want Part
B yet.
You going to hold off.
For folks who don't have coverage, or you're on Cobra, and you don't have an
employer coverage. Cobra doesn't count.
You still need to enroll in Part B Medicare.
If you don't within the allotted time period.
You'll be assessed a penalty down the road.
Now, I mentioned Cobra doesn't count.
Just because Cobra is an extension of your employer benefits, after eight
months, it's no longer an extension in the eyes of Medicare.
And you will get the penalty if you wait eight months or longer to enroll in Part
B, so don't take that for granted.
A lot of people try and save money.
I've had those calls, believe me.
People are in their 15th month of Cobra,coming up on the end of Cobra and
say, "I want to enroll in Part B now, they're telling me I can't for some
reason. I wanted to save all that money that whole time."
Well, I don't know how they were saving money because Cobra is pretty expensive.
However, Medicare has their rules.
So be sure once your employer coverage ends, you have 63 days to not have a
penalty and enroll in that Part B.
But back to you folks who maybe still have employer coverage.
That is what's called credible coverage.
They won't give you a penalty.
You will have a special enrollment period when that coverage ends back to
Part B Medicare and then you can enroll.
Because you don't want to pay the Part B premium and your employer's premium.
And the coverage wouldn't work anyway.
You've got your employer premium or your employer coverage.
Which is going to be your primary coverage.
However, when you're ready to go, you're ready to retire, like many folks I
talked to this week.
You just enroll in Part B Medicare and it will begin on the first day of
the following month.
Now Medicare in general, back to you folks turning 65, it's going to begin on
the first day of the month you turn 65.
What if you were born on the first day of the month?
Well, I do get that a lot, actually, more than I would ever think.
You start your coverage the previous month.
So let's say your birthday is May 1.
Well, your coverage for Medicare doesn't begin May 1, it actually begins April 1.
Let's talk about the timeframe that you have to enroll.
Again, not you folks who are automatically enrolled, you got it made.
They're just going to come in and sign you up.
Well, for anybody else, if you're not drawing the check, you have the month of
your birthday to enroll.
Again, Medicare begins on the first day of the month, you turn 65.
You have three months prior to that, then you have the month of, and you have
three months beyond that, to enroll in Medicare.
This is called the initial enrollment period.
And that is to get signed up with Medicare.
Most people just do it three months prior.
Believe me you're going to be reminded with about, oh, I don't know, 50,000
pieces of mail saying, "Hey, it's time to come on Medicare, you know, call us."
However, you have three months prior.
Most people do it then so their coverage will just begin on the first of the
month.
Even if you're still working with employer coverage, that's okay.
Part A will be in place and Part B will be waiting for you when you get ready to
retire.
So now that we know when to enroll in Part A and Part B depending on your own
current situation.
Let's talk more about what they cover and what they don't cover.
Remember I mentioned those gaps or expenses in Medicare.
Well, Part A and Part B Both have co-pays, co-insurance, and deductibles
that you are required to pay.
They don't cover everything.
So a lot of people will look at one of two options to help supplement that.
The first option is a Medicare Advantage Plan.
Now, you may have seen about 10,000 commercials on TV, particularly for the
month of October to the end of the year, which is the annual election period,
which I'll talk about in a moment, of them pushing Medicare Advantage Plans,
and how great they are and zero premium.
Well, there's a lot of fine prints in that, believe me.
They are not free if they mentioned 'zero premium,' believe me they're not
free.
Because we get the calls during October through the end of the year.
People saying, "Russell, get me out of this plan; doesn't pay anything."
But I'll talk about that again in a moment when I get to Medicare Supplement
Plans.
However, Medicare Part A and B, they don't cover everything.
Some people will opt out of Medicare to enroll in a Medicare Advantage Plan.
By opt out I mean, you still have Part A and B technically, but they're no longer
providing your coverage.
A private insurance carrier will be insuring you.
It's a managed care plan.
And these are either HMOs or PPOs from many companies you've heard of - Humana.
And there's a number of different companies that offer these Medicare
Advantage Plans.
Again, these are from the commercials, the one that says, "Zero premium, come
on over."
Well, you still have to pay the Medicare Part B premium, even if you have an
Advantage Plan.
So you opt out of Medicare Part A and B iand enolled in anAdvantage Plan, you
still are going to pay the Medicare Part B premium.
So right there that's not free of course, you still have to pay for that.
And then there is the Advantage Plan.
Now, many of these Advantage Plans do include things like prescription drug
coverage.
Sometimes some hearing and dental, maybe discount on gym membership.
They all have their variety.
You have to find a plan that's in your network though, in your area.
HMOs, PPOs. They have a variety of different ones that are available.
You probably have a primary doctor and then the HMOs of course, you got to stay
within your network.
PPOs, you have some additional options.
One thing I do want to stress though, if you're traveling, you're outside your
network.
Now, I have a lot of RV clients who are always outside their network, because
they're never in the same place for a month at a time.
Well, they don't go with a Medicare Advantage plan.
They absolutely stay with Original Medicare and what I'm about to talk
about next, which is a Medicare Supplement Plan.
So the Advantage Plans have their limitations.
Also, Medicare Advantage Plans are only required to cover as good a coverage as
Part A and Part B Medicare alone.
Beyond that, they can pick and choose what they want to cover.
So, they have their limitations and you might get additional out of pocket costs
or expenses up to a certain limit because they have their max out of
pocket, which would be 5, 6,000 dollars, perhaps up to that limit, even on those
zero premium plans.
This is why so many people are upset with those.
And I can attest to that, because we get those phone calls.
So you got to read the fine print carefully.
You can always call us, and we'll discuss those with you in great detail
to see if they're a good fit for you or not.
However, what is a good fit for most people and what we have been selling for
the last 11 years with helping over 10,000 people, extremely satisfied
people, with their coverage, is a Medicare Supplement Plan, also called
Medigap.
Why is it called Medigap?
Well, it helps pay the gaps or expenses in Part A and B Medicare.
Now, with these, you keep Part A and B Medicare.
Part A will cover hospital, and Part B will be doctor services.
So if you're going to use anything, hopefully it's just part B, that's for
your regular doctors, outpatient services.
Anything to do with your doctor or maybe a specialist that is an outpatient
procedure or diagnosis, any of that will fall under Part B Medicare.
Now, Medigap Plans, like I mentioned, help pay the gaps in both Part A and
Part B.
Two of the most popular plans are Medicare Supplement Plan G and Medicare
Supplement Plan N.
Plan G, by far the most popular.
This is because it has just one gap or expense that you have to pay,
Now ,of course, you'll pay a monthly premium for these plans just to have the
plan.
Beyond that though, Plan G just has one out of pocket expense, and that is the
Part B deductible.
Now a deductible, just in the plainest sense of the definition, is an amount of
money that you have to pay before insurance starts paying.
Now, not everybody knows that so I did want to cover it.
In this case, the Part B deductible is a certain amount of money each year that
you pay once per calendar year, and then Medicare will come in Part B and pay 80%
of your medical bills.
Well, we're the year 2020 and that deductible amount is $198.
If you have a Medicare Supplement Plan G, that is all you pay.
You pay the Part B deductible, then for the rest of the year Medicare and the
Plan G will pick up all of your approved expenses, up to no limit.
They'll pay them 100% for the rest of the calendar year.
It's absolutely fantastic coverage.
And then there's a Medicare Plan N, very similar to G, but those are the two most
popular plans.
And Plan N, you also pay that Part B deductible.
However, it's got lower premiums than Plan G.
Sometimes 20 to 30 dollars or more lower.
However, you don't get the same coverage as Plan G.
In addition, in exchange for those lower premiums, you have some additional
out-of-pocket expenses that you can incur.
So if you're healthy, you don't go to the doctor a lot, but you know, you need
great coverage and you don't want to network like an Advantage Plan.
You want the flexibility of going to see the best doctors in the country, and the
ones that take Medicare, a Supplement Plan N is a great, great option.
I've got my own mom on Plan N. She absolutely loves it.
Now, some other things on Plan N that could come up, though.
You pay the Part B deductible just like Plan G.
After you meet that though, on Plan N, you might have up to a $20 co-pay per
doctor's visit.
Now, it could be no co-pay, or it could be just amount somewhere in between zero
and $20.
But it will never be more than 20.
As well on Plan N, if you visit the emergency room and you're not admitted,
there's a $50 co-pay.
And Plan N also doesn't cover what's called Part B Excess Charges.
This means if you go see a doctor that doesn't take the assigned rates for
Medicare, also called assignment, which is very rare most doctors do, they could
charge a small percentage extra and you would have to pay that.
I've never had a client in 11 years tell me they've ever gotten an excess charge.
And we put a lot of people on Plan N and they absolutely love it.
However, to compare the two, we can help you do that.
And you can do that by going to Medisupps.com, where you can get free
online rates.
I'm one of the few sites out there that actually shows you rates.
Or the easiest way is just to give us a call, and that is 1-888-891-0229.
In a matter of just five minutes, I can show you all the different rates, the
best companies and plans in your area.
We help you not just get the lowest premium when you start, but for years to
come, because everybody has a rate increase every year.
And when you get that, we'll shop the rates again and see if there's a better
option for you.
Now, the last thing I didn't discuss, which is part of the Original Medicare
sort of a combo of parts is a Medicare Part D drug plan.
Now, Medicare Advantage Plans, if you do opt out of Medicare, some of them, most
of them actually include Part D drug coverage in them.
It's not necessarily the best thing, you're stuck with that drug coverage,
which may or may not be able to get your own personal prescriptions for the best
amount.
However, Part D drug plans, if you're on their Original Medicare A and B and a
Medigap Plan, you can add a Part D drug plan to that.
Now, there's various drug plan companies out there, and they all charge different
premiums and have different what are called formularies where they get your
prescriptions for different rates.
We can help with that.
We don't sell these plans.
We make sure all of our clients get on with the right option, because there are
so many different options with a Part D drug plan.
Again, this is mostly going to be for people who keep Part A and B Medicare.
And then they also have a Medigap Plan and they'll add a prescription drug plan
to it.
So hopefully by now with this long, extensive video, you know how to sign up
for Medicare.
Give us a call if you do have trouble though, with that.
But definitely give us a call to help shop these plans for you.
We can find you the best options.
Even if it's an Advantage Plan, or the Medigap Plans, we'll get you in the
right direction.
Our service is entirely free, doesn't cost you anything.
But having done this 11 years, helping over 10,000 people with their coverage,
very satisfied clients.
We love helping people and saving them money.
Again, my name is Russell Noga with Medisupps.com.
And we look forward to speaking with you soon.