Term Life Explained | Life Insurance 101
Term life insurance is life insurance coverage provided for a fixed term agreed upon by the insurance company and policy holder. With this type of life insurance policy, the policy holder pays a set premium for the coverage, and if the person happens to die during this time their beneficiaries will receive a full payout of the agreed upon death benefits. After that term has ended so does the coverage. Term life insurance is the most popular type of life insurance for a number of reasons. First is that it’s a cheap alternative to permanent or whole life insurance. Term insurance uses the same mortality tables for determining your premium as permanent life insurance, and a death benefit which is always income tax free, but the insurance company saves money because the term life insurance plans often expire without a payout. Permanent plans, on the other hand, always have a payout, eventually, and as such have a higher premium in order to cover these additional costs. Another perceived advantage of term life insurance is its flexibility and convenience. You choose the amount of time that you want life insurance coverage and can even choose as little as a year. Under term policies you have the option to renew or discontinue your life insurance according to your changing coverage needs. There is one potential drawback of term insurance and that is the unpredictability of the insurance market. When your term is up and you want to renew, or perhaps change companies, you run the risk of having to pay a new, higher rate than before with potentially different conditions on... read morePrescription for Medicare Part D
Attention seniors — and those who love them. Medicare Part D — the prescription drug program — is back again. From Nov. 15 through Dec. 31, there is a new “open enrollment” period for 2008 Part D coverage. So, here’s a reminder of how Medicare Part D works, along with a quick lesson in how to use the Medicare.gov “PlanFinder” tool to choose the plan that’s best for you. Medicare Part D is the federal government program started in 2006 to make sure that all seniors can get access to prescription drugs through a national insurance program, provided by private insurers. Since it is an insurance program, every senior must sign up, even if he is not currently taking prescription drugs, unless he is covered by a “creditable” plan such as a workplace health insurance program or corporate retiree plan. Many seniors take no prescription drugs. Still, they need to sign up for the least expensive monthly plan, or face steep penalties when they do sign up in the future as they start taking necessary medications. Last year, Washington created the standards for what must be covered in Part D, but it allowed private insurance companies to compete on the structure of their plans as well as the prices and co-payments they would charge. The result was a complicated challenge of comparing many variables, including the inexplicable “doughnut hole” that eliminates coverage after a certain level, then reinstates it after the “catastrophic” level of costs is reached. To make choices even more confusing, Washington also subsidizes Medicare “HMOs” to include prescription drugs in their coverage. So, seniors could choose... read moreMedicare Drug Coverage is Costing Seniors More
Premiums for the top 10 prescription plans are up an average of 16% from last year, a new study finds — a hardship for many people. As if escalating prices for food and gas weren’t enough of a worry, most seniors in Medicare’s prescription-drug program are paying considerably higher monthly premiums for coverage this year, according to a study to be released today. Those in the 10 largest plans — which account for nearly three-fourths of seniors signed up for drug coverage — are paying an average of $26.39 a month, or 16% more than last year, according to the analysis by Avalere Health, an information company serving the healthcare industry. The rise is modest in dollar terms, and some of the top plans actually lowered their premiums for 2008. But on average, the percentage increase for the drug plan is greater than the change in Medicare’s Part B premium for outpatient care, which rose only 3% in 2008. “A 16% increase is significant in and of itself, because premiums are rising rapidly at a time when Medicare beneficiaries are finding it harder to afford it,” said Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere. “These are individuals on a fixed income who are facing rapidly rising prices elsewhere in the economy.” Indeed, he added, premiums for many seniors appear to be going up faster than the cost of coverage for commercial insurance plans that serve workers and their families. Data from Mercer, a benefits consulting firm, show that drug-benefit costs rose a little more than 9% last year for large employers. Both kinds of coverage are delivered by private insurers, but... read moreRising Medicare Premiums Will Hit Retirees Hard
Medicare premiums might soon start crushing retiree spending power. I estimate that many a long-lived couple might need to reduce their retirement spending on non-medical consumption by 13 percent to 26 percent to avoid sharp declines in purchasing power as they get older. This is not an alarmist fantasy. My estimates come from projecting historical cost rates into the 30-year retirement of a couple retiring this year. Here are the facts: Since 1965, the year Medicare was created, the consumer price index has risen at a 4.5 percent annual rate ~ but the Medicare premium has inflated at an 8.4 percent rate over the same period. Worse, the gap appears to be growing. Between 2000 and 2008, the monthly Medicare premium grew from $45.40 to $96.40. That’s a 9.9 percent annual rate of increase. During the same eight-year period, the consumer price index rose at only 2.8 percent a year. So Medicare costs are now rising 7 percentage points a year faster than the general inflation rate. You can understand what this means for real people by considering the future of an imaginary couple, Mr. and Mrs. Retirenow. They both turned 65 in January. They have $10,000 in cash, $300,000 in IRA investments, and they own their $200,000 home in Texas, free and clear. He collects $1,200 a month in Social Security, slightly above average. She collects $600 a month in spousal benefits. Neither has a pension, but they think they can get along pretty well on $21,600 in Social Security benefits and $15,000 from their IRA accounts, a total of $36,600 a year. They feel pretty safe about... read more
Gold Choice Medicare Advantage PFFS Plan from Humana
The Humana Gold Choice Medicare Advantage plan is a private fee-for-service (PFFS) plan. That means, strictly speaking there isn’t a provider network with this kind of plan. However, since there is no network, your provider chooses at the point of service whether to accept this Medicare PFFS plan or not. A Medicare Advantage Private Fee-for-Service plan works differently than a Medicare supplement plan. The network providers (that is, providers who have signed contracts with Humana) have already agreed to see members of our plan. If your provider is not one of Humana’s network providers, then the provider is not required to agree to accept the plan’s terms and conditions, of payment, they may choose not to provide health care services to you, except in emergencies. If this happens, you will need to find another provider that will accept our terms and conditions of payment. Humana has also included Part D prescription drug coverage into this plan. Plan Benefits Outpatient Mental Health Care $30 copayment for each Medicare-covered individual therapy visit $30 copayment for each Medicare-covered group therapy visit $30 copayment for each Medicare-covered therapy visit with a psychiatrist 20% of the cost for Medicare-covered partial hospitalization program services Outpatient Services/Surgery 20% of the cost for each Medicare-covered ambulatory surgical center visit 20% to 25% of the cost for each Medicare-covered outpatient hospital facility visit Ambulance Services $150 copayment for Medicare-covered ambulance benefits. Emergency Care $65 copayment for Medicare-covered emergency room visits $25,000 plan coverage limit for emergency services outside the U.S. every year. Outpatient Rehabilitation Services There may be limits on physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology services If so, there may be exceptions to these limits. $30 copayment [or 25% of the... read more
Optimum HealthCare Medicare Advantage
Optimum Healthcare is one of the nations most popular providers of Medicare health plans. The health maintenance organization (HMO) is based in Tampa, and was established in 2004. It’s operated by a group of physicians and offers policies to the residents of more than two dozen Florida counties. They offer four different Medicare health plans depending on where you live. There’s also a company office located in Spring Hill. Optimum Health Care Medicare Advantage plans offer more benefits than the original Medicare and include those with Part B premium reductions, prescription drug plans, and special needs plans (SNP), which are designed for those with chronic conditions. All of the plans come with zero deductibles and offer benefits such as dental, vision, and hearing coverage as well as fitness programs. Plans with premium reductions for Part B include the Optimum Gold Rewards Plan (POS HMO), Diamond Rewards (POS HMO SNP), and Diamond Rewards COPD (POS HMO SNP). The part D prescription drug coverage plans provide both medical and drug insurance which can help you save on health care on cost. These include the Optimum Platinum Plan (POS HMO), the Gold Rewards Plan (POS HMO), Diamond Rewards (POS HMO SNP), Diamond Rewards COPD (POS HMO SNP), and the Emerald Partial and Full plan. To be eligible for the Diamond Rewards plan you need to be diagnosed with cardio vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, or chronic heart failure. To be eligible for the Diamond Rewards COPD plan you need to be diagnosed with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). For the Emerald Plan you need to be eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid benefits (dual eligible). The special needs plans are for those with specific chronic diseases. All... read moreHitting the Medicare Doughnut Hole Can Be Deadly For Some Seniors
In 2007, an estimated 7 million Medicare Prescription Drug Plan beneficiaries will hit the coverage gap, called the doughnut hole. Hitting the doughnut hole can have very serious health consequences for seniors. In fact, it can even potentially result in death. Shockingly, a 2006 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine called, “Unintended Consequences of Caps on Medicare Drug Benefits”, found that drug plans with a cap on drug coverage (as is the case with the doughnut hole in the Medicare Drug Plan) have an annual death rate that is 22% higher than plans that do not limit drug benefits. This study also found that individuals whose benefits were capped were less likely to adhere to their long-term prescription drug therapies once they reached the coverage cap. This non-adherence to drug therapies led to significant increases in hospitalizations and emergency room visits. A new, free report called Medicare Doughnut Hole Facts and Secrets reveals to seniors exactly what the doughnut hole is and how it can affect them. This report also explains to seniors how they can continue to obtain their medications afford ably once they have hit the doughnut hole. By showing seniors where and how to obtain affordable medications while in the doughnut hole, this report will help seniors to avoid the adverse, and potentially very serious, health consequences of falling into the Medicare doughnut hole. With hundreds of thousands of seniors having already hit the doughnut hole this year, and with millions of seniors about to hit the doughnut hole in the next couple of months, it is critical to get this report into... read more
AARP Medicare Complete Medigap Plans
About AARP Medicare Complete, Its Benefits, and the Enrollment Period. For decades, AARP, a government-sponsored health insurance plan for senior citizens has been guaranteeing maximum benefits for the elderly, and this is why many people opt for the AARP Medicare Complete program. What is there to know about this policy? AARP Medicare Complete (Part C) is run by the federal government and underwritten by the United Healthcare , but administered through a non-governmental body (insurance companies), and thus there may be potential greater benefits. Medicare Advantage Plan is a Medicare Plan Part D (medical prescription drug coverage or AARP Medicare Rx Plan ) and in order to qualify for it, the insured party must have Medicare Parts A (hospital insurance) and B (medical insurance). This program usually has networks of doctors and hospitals that belong to the plan, and you are required to see them. There are four types of AARP Medicare Complete plans to compare from: HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) plan typically requires that you select a Primary Care Physician and you receive services from a network of local doctors and hospitals, except for the emergency room and renal dialysis service. Some of the plans also cover Part D and extended preventative assistance. Out-of-pocket costs are usually lower than with POS and PPO (which will be detailed below). The POS (Point-of-Service) plan is rather similar to the HMO plan, but it is more flexible, offering the possibility to visit doctors and hospitals outside the network for certain services. PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) allows you to choose any doctor or hospital both inside and outside the network for all... read more
Medicare Part D Drug Plans with Humana
Humana Insurance offers a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan that it contracts through the Federal government. This PDP Summary of Benefits chart shows you a few features of the Humana Complete Medicare plan. To obtain a complete list of benefits please contact Humana Complete (PDP) and ask for the “Evidence of Coverage”. Humana Complete is Humana’s most comprehensive Medicare Part D prescription drug plan to date. The monthly premium for Florida Medicare beneficiaries clocks in at around $100 a month. You can join Medicare Part D plan if you have or are eligible for Medicare Part A and/or enrolled in Medicare Part B and live in a provided area. There is no deductible for drugs on this Part D drug card. Another available plan to get your prescription drug coverage is a AARP’s Medicare Complete Medigap or AARP Medicare Rx Plans that includes prescription drug coverage. You can use this guide to compare coverage and then make and informed choice. Humana Complete Medicare PDP Summary of Benefits Plan Type PDP Annual Deductible $0 Out-of-Pocket Maximum None Prescription Drug Coverage Yes Prescription Drug Deductible None Retail Pharmacy for Prescription Drugs Preferred Generic You pay the following until total yearly drug costs reach $2,930: – $6 copay for a one-month (30-day) supply of drugs in this tier from a preferred pharmacy; – $18 copay for a three-month (90-day) supply of drugs in this tier from a preferred pharmacy. Non-Preferred Generic You pay the following until total yearly drug costs reach $2,930: – $39 copay for a one-month (30-day) supply of drugs in this tier from a preferred pharmacy; – $117 copay for a three-month (90-day) supply... read more