How do your Medicare choices affect your assets?
Well, let’s visit a new client and tell you how they might be tied together:
Mary is a healthy 67-year-old. So healthy that she said she is “just fine” with “plain old Medicare but thank you anyway”.
Not so fast. Because Mary has what we call Original Medicare (that means that she has Part A and Part B) and her drug plan (Part D), she thinks she’s all set. Now, remember that Original Medicare pays for 80% of Mary’s healthcare costs. So, who is going to pick up that additional 20% if she had a hip replacement for example? She will pay the 20%. Her assets will pay, right?
So, in this case, Mary did not want to pay ANY additional monthly premium for a plan. Well, that’s fine. We asked her to sign up for a zero premium plan with a Medicare Advantage Plan. We want her to do this to provide an extra layer of protection to her world that she didn’t realize that she needed.
While a Medigap plan will provide more in terms of pure coverage for Mary, the Medicare Advantage Plan absolutely will assist in protecting her ASSETS as well by having an annual out of pocket limit for her. In this case, this plan’s limit was $4,200. So, if she has a $100,000 hip replacement? Her financial exposure isn’t $20,000 any longer (her 20%); it’s $4,200.
So, even if you’re healthy and you don’t think you need help choosing a Medicare Plan, we still say you do! It costs you NOTHING to work with one of our agents - NOTHING! And could save you a lot of money and headaches. Call us for some guidance on the best healthcare planning options that will work for you (and your assets).