Tag Archives: 2018 medicare changes

Medicare and HSA: Part 2

July 23, 2018 David Higgs

I have blogged before about the issue for people who have any Part of Medicare while they are working and on an employer group health plan that includes an HSA. In short, you can’t contribute to an HSA account while having even premium-free Part A of Medicare due to IRS regulations. Medicare-eligibles who are faced with this situation have another element to consider and which I was not aware. When someone delays enrollment in Medicare due to continuing to work past 65 have another potential surprise. The Social Security department will make Part A retroactively effective up to 6 months. This means that even if they knew to delay enrolling in any Part of Medicare while having an HSA, they could still be hit with penalties and taxes for the retroactive credit!

You can research this if you want to learn more. Or, feel free to call me if any questions about this nuance or anything else related to Medicare.

Based in the Richmond, Va area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare. He can be reached at email: David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to website: www.ChoicesInMedicare.com

Make Sure You Pay the Lower Drug Cost

May 21, 2018 David Higgs

One thing most people are not aware of is that they should always pay the lower cost of either the copay or actual cost of their prescriptions. As an example, if the actual cost of a drug is $5 and their drug plan’s copay is $10, they should only pay the lower $5 cost. People can pay the higher cost if they are not aware of the actual cost and if the pharmacy attendant is not paying attention. It can also occur due to other nefarious reasons.

CMS (who manages Medicare) just announced a renewed effort to insure Medicare beneficiaries get the better deal. They have told Part D drug plan sponsors they will suffer compliance actions if they do not comply.

If you want to read more about this issue, you can go to an article linked here: http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/part-d-plan-sponsors-face-compliance-action-drug-gag-orders-cms-warns

Let me know if I can help with Medicare questions.

New Medicare Cards Beginning April 2018

March 5, 2018 David Higgs

As I noted last year, Medicare has been working on issuing new Medicare Cards which will begin arriving in mailboxes next month. The primary purpose for this project is security. Social Security numbers will be replaced with a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier. Finally! They have been working on this project for years and made all insurance companies make this change years ago.

Medicare beneficiaries do not have to do anything. As long as their address is current in Medicare’s system, their card will arrive without request some time over the next year. Once received, the old card should be destroyed and begin using the new card immediately.

One caution is to be aware of scammers who will try to take advantage of this event. To learn more about this issue, I have included a link to an article that describes more about the new cards and process.

https://www.aafp.org/news/practice-professional-issues/20180301medicarecards.html

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance with selecting a Medicare Plan. I don’t charge any fees nor increase your cost.

New 2018 Medicare Costs at a Glance

January 8, 2018 David Higgs

With the New Year just starting, I wanted to post the key, new Medicare numbers that will be in effect for 2018. These are the key changes to Medicare’s premiums and coverages. As I noted in July, CMS did not increase the Part B premium or Part B deductible for 2018 as expected. Below are the key, new numbers:

Part A deductible – Will be $1340 up from $1316 (per 60 day Benefit Stay)
Part B Deductible – Will remain at $183. Yippee! (Annual deductible)
Part B Premium – Will also remain at $134.00 for new beneficiaries. (Will not apply to many existing beneficiaries who had already taken out of Social Security) And does not apply to high income earners.
Part D Maximum Deductible – Will be $405 up from $400 (Some plans don’t have a deductible)
Part D Premium National Average – Will be $35.02 DOWN from $35.63. (Is used to determine Part D Penalty)

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance with selecting a Medicare Plan. I don’t charge any fees nor increase your cost.

Why Step Therapy When You Have Already Proven Need?

December 17, 2017 David Higgs

Many times in meetings with my Medicare clients, they are concerned about having to go through Step Therapy again if they change plans. I usually then give a quick reminder of the beneficial reasons for Step Therapy that will lower costs for all involved, including my client.

A recent article by Dr. Harry Gewanter went deeper into the pros and cons of Step Therapy. The good news is generally about 80% of people who have already gone through Step Therapy are able to avoid having to repeat Step Therapy with the help of their doctor. The other 20% of the time is still a problem which is getting more attention. The 2018 Virginia General Assembly will hopefully be addressing this next year. A link to Mr. Gewanter’s article follows:

http://www.richmond.com/harry-l-gewanter-let-doctors-and-patients-decide-the-best/article_7f629382-6fca-5c13-be68-76765afe4af5.html

National Check Your Meds Day and AEP

October 13, 2017 David Higgs

A pharmacy trade group association has declared Oct. 21st, National Check Your Meds Day. I think this is a great idea especially with Medicare’s Annual Election Period (AEP) right around the corner beginning Oct. 15th and ending Dec. 7th each year.

Many people and especially seniors, take a large number of medications. While many are needed, many are not needed as they are duplicates doing double duty with other medications that do the same thing. The worst case scenario is some of the medications can be lethal when taken with other medications. You would think this can’t happen because the doctor should know better. Unfortunately, many times the doctor does not know what else someone is taking. Some people have several doctors treating different medical conditions and not aware of other prescriptions.

So, everyone that is taking more than several medications should take advantage of this special day to proactively have them all checked. It is as simple as taking all of your prescriptions (the actual bottles) to your pharmacy for a review. They can tell you if there are any potential problems and perhaps check with your doctor about any issues raised.

This is good timing because you should also check your Medicare Part D drug plan for any changes. Your Annual Notice of Change booklet from your Drug plan will alert you to the plan changes effective the coming Jan. 1st. Also, your prescriptions could have changed and worth taking a look at your options.

This is what I do for clients day in and day out. Let me know if I can answer any questions. David Higgs

Medicare Part D Drug Plan Premiums Lower for 2018!

August 4, 2017 David Higgs

Here is something you don’t see very often. CMS who oversees Medicare has projected that the average Medicare Part D Drug Plan premium is expected to decrease in 2018! Based upon the bids by insurers for their 2018 Drug Plans, the national average premium is about $1.20 less than 2017 national average of $34.70.

This is in spite of the fact that Medicare Drug costs are rising faster than other Medicare costs primarily due to high-cost specialty drugs. So, while this is not a lot, it is a change in the trajectory which is good.

You can read more about it at the article linked here: https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2017-Press-releases-items/2017-08-02-3.html

Helping seniors transition to Medicare