About ten thousand people a day turn 65 in the United States, making them eligible for Medicare health insurance. If you are about to turn 65 you might want to know what being Medicare eligible means to you and how you can best prepare. The most important thing to be aware of is your Initial Enrollment Period (IEP), which is the time period that most people apply to receive their Medicare benefits. Your IEP begins three months before the month of your 65th birthday, includes your birth month, and carries on three months after, for a total of seven months. If you don't apply during this time period you could face penalties later. If you already have health insurance coverage through your employer, you may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. If you have credible health insurance through an employer you can delay your enrollment in Medicare Part B until your current employer's health insurance ends. You should enroll in Medicare Part A anyway. Be sure you have all the … [Read more...]
Your Medicare Benefits During The Government Shutdown
While it looks like there may be a little progress being made in Washington between the Left and the Right, the “Government Shutdown” continues. No one likes uncertainty, so I thought today would be beneficial to summarize how the government shutdown is affecting Medicare beneficiaries. While Medicare as a whole is largely unaffected by the bickering in Washington, D.C., it appears some individuals with Medicare could be affected. The good news is: Healthcare will be available for Medicare recipients; Veteran Affairs (VA) Hospitals will remain open; Social Security recipients will continue to receive benefits; and Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D enrollment will begin October 15th, as scheduled. However, with the good news there is a bit of bad news, including: Potential delays processing Medicare and Social Security applications; The Annual Influenza Program (flu shots through Medicare) is delayed; Public health programs and services cancelled; and Government … [Read more...]
How will Immigration Reform Impact the Future of Medicare? (video)
Have you stopped to consider how U.S. immigration laws might impact the future viability of the Medicare and Social Security programs? Robert Reich did. His latest video editorial on how the Baby Boomer generation is bankrupting Medicare and Social Security is thought provoking and timely. Immigration reform is already on the national agenda, but we’ve been focusing on only one aspect of it – how to deal with undocumented workers. We need to think more broadly, and connect the dots. One logical way to help deal with the crisis of funding Social Security and Medicare is to have more workers per retiree. And the simplest way to do that is to allow more immigrants into the United States. Immigration reform and entitlement reform have a lot to do with one another. … [Read more...]