Kevin Knauss: Health, History, Travel, Insurance
Post related to Medicare health insurance, Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D prescription Drug Plans, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans.
The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $144.60 for 2020, an increase of $9.10 from $135.50 in 2019. The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $198 in 2020, an increase of $13 from the annual deductible of $185 in 2019.
The rallying cry in the 2020 presidential primaries is Medicare For All. But Original Medicare is the sort of health insurance that the Affordable Care Act set out to ban from the market place. Original Medicare has no annual caps on the maximum out-of-pocket a consumer must pay for either hospitalization or outpatient services. People can incur multiple Part A hospitalization deductibles during the year. The 20 percent coinsurance for medical services can mean some tests, imaging, and procedures can cost the consumer hundreds of dollars. Plus, there is no prescription drug coverage.
It is not intuitive that a person who is not automatically enrolled in Medicare must contact the Social Security Administration (SSA). However, the SSA is the gatekeeper of your employment and income records and therefore can make the determination of who is eligible for Medicare based on their work history.
Medicare has released their new Procedure Price Lookup website to help Medicare beneficiaries estimate the cost of health care procedures. As Medicare indicates in their footnotes, the prices are national averages based on 2018 data. Prices and the cost-sharing amount for the beneficiary will vary by region. The prices are for outpatient health care services […]
You must apply for the Medicare Savings Program through your local Medi-Cal county office. You apply for the Social Security Extra Help program directly with Social Security. If you are determined eligible for the Medicare Savings Program you will be considered a Dual Eligible: eligible for both Medicare and Medi-Cal. Your eligibility can change throughout the year based on income but is usually re-evaluated on a yearly basis. Whenever you eligibility changes, you are eligible for a Special Enrollment Period to change or enter into different Medicare Advantage or Medicare Prescription Drug Plans.
If you have to move out of your county because of the wildfires you may be entitled to a Special Enrollment Period. California is broken into 19 different rating regions. Los Angeles County is actually two regions, 15 and 16. If you move to a different region, you have a qualifying event for a Special Enrollment Period IF you already have health insurance.
For individuals transitioning into Medicare in 2019 they will see a higher Part B premium. The new Part B premium will be $135.50, up from $134.00. Many Medicare beneficiaries already in Medicare will not pay the full Part B premium because certain provisions limit the Part B premium increase to be no greater than the increase in their Social Security benefits.
You must have been enrolled in a Medicare Advantage medical plan to take advantage of the MA OEP. If you never enrolled in a MA or MA-PD, you can’t join one during the MA OEP. You can’t switch standalone Part D Prescription drug plans during the MA OEP. Additionally, if you go from a MA-PD to a MA plan, you can’t add a standalone Part D Prescription Drug plan. The MA OEP doesn’t apply to Medicare Savings Accounts (MSAs) or Cost Plans.
The final extra is the personal emergency response system (PERS). PERS is an emergency alert system that can be activated at the push of a button. It can work with an in-home landline, cellular network, and includes mobile GPS to identify the user’s location. The most advertised use for the personal emergency alert system is if the person falls and can’t get up. This can happen in the person’s home, while they out walking around the neighborhood, or hiking on a trail.
QR codes can be read by a smart phone to open a website, map, or other internet function. From the Medicare description above, the QR code would be used for quality control and not be able to open any website with the beneficiary’s information on it.
