Seniors just aging into the Medicare market, must know about the penalties they will pay if they do not sign up for Medicare Part B at the right time. For those seniors who have already filed for Social Security, they will automatically be enrolled in Medicare at age sixty-five. However, seniors who continue in the workforce, either by choice or necessity, and delay their Medicare coverage need to notify Medicare of their decision. Otherwise they will face a 10% Part B penalty for each year that they do not file. So someone filing for the first time at age seventy will face a 50% Part B penalty. The penalty is permanent and can translate into thousands of dollars in unnecessary penalty charges.

If you decide to continue working, notify Medicare of your decision as soon as you turn sixty-five to ensure you will avoid penalties later. Especially, if you are a senior who works at a company with over twenty employees, as your employer will continue to provide your benefits. You can do this by choosing the option on the back of the Medicare card that is sent, calling the Social Security Administration, or visiting the SSA website. For their Part D prescription coverage, you can delay filing as long as your employer provides equal or better coverage.

Those seniors earning more there is a surcharge on high-income seniors. Currently, this affects only 5% of seniors, however those still in the workforce are more likely than those retired to fall into the income bracket. The extra charges can be applied not only to Part B, but also Medicare Advantage and Part D coverage.

The Facts Are Clear
Anyone with even a passing experience with Alzheimer’s, stroke, Parkinson’s or elder frailty can appreciate the severity and financial devastation of these all-too-common life events and the inevitable care required. This is why we want protection.

* The average Ancient Greek lived until age 18. The median life span of a Puritan was 33. The average American life expectancy is now about 75 years for men, 84 for women. Over half of

Americans will spend part of these these extended years in long term care situations.

* By 2030, one in five Americans will be a senior citizen. If you are a Baby Boomer, this includes you. Americans are living longer and healthier, thanks to better diet, better medical care and safer living & working environments. Yet no one is immune to the effects of aging and longevity – effects that often result in reduced physical or mental ability.

* In 1994, 7.3 million Americans needed long term care (LTC) services at an average cost of nearly $43,800 per year. By 2000, this number rose to 9 million Americans at nearly $55,750 per year. It’s currently near $75,000 per year. By 2030 those needing LTC will skyrocket to 23+ million Americans, with projected, individual long term care costs reaching $300,000 annually per individual!

Will you have that kind of money to spare?

With a history of millions of Americans in care situations living with longevity, elder frailty, stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Spinal Cord Injury, Cerebral Palsy, accidents and other conditions that affect 50+% of folks over age 65 , we can testify to the need for mature thinking and adult decisions when it comes to long term care planning.

BY AMANDA MCGRORY
October 26, 2011

In an effort to keep health care costs down and encourage better usage, the Affordable Care Act includes a provision that requires preventive care to be offered free of charge. While that may sound good in theory, some benefits experts do not buy into this “free” health care.
“Very simply, nothing is free,” says Gary Bernabe, RHU, CHC, vice president of Strategic Employee Benefit Services. “Somebody‟s paying for it. There‟s no free lunch.”

Before this provision was passed, preventive care was generally well covered, says Joanne Denise, employee benefits specialist of Strategic Employee Benefit Services. With a small copay, an insured participant could get the necessary preventive care services. However, the perception that preventive care was not well covered took over, and there was a prevailing thought that plan participants would become more engaged in their own health if these services were free, prompting the Obama administration to introduce this provision.

“They might have had a $20 or $30 copay, but that‟s really not unreasonable for a pap smear, mammogram, cholesterol checks or immunizations for the kids,” Denise says. “In some areas, there are even community health clinics, where people can get their preventive shots for next to nothing. A lot of people just don‟t know those health clinics are there for the average person.”

Premiums, in particular, are facing rate hikes to counterbalance not only the new preventive services provision but also other aspects of health care reform, Bernabe says. As more services are added to required coverage, the expense of health care just gets that much bigger.

“Most people want to blame insurance companies, but all insurance companies are doing is increasing their costs to keep pace with the increased cost of the care,” Bernabe says. “You have to account for the fact that, all of a sudden, you have to cover adult children for another three years. You just throw them in there, and if they have issues, they‟re all paid for. Now contraception will be covered. All these things are great, but everything costs money.”

Deductible costs are also being affected because of the free preventive care provision, Denise says. Previously, plan participants could receive their preventive services by simply paying a copay. A routine checkup often includes blood work that is processed at a lab, which was typically covered by the copay; however, now preventive services are defined by the U.S. Preventive Taskforce, and lab work is no longer eligible under the new guidelines. Instead, the lab work cost is being applied to the deductible – much to the surprise of the plan participant.

“We are seeing patients who once paid a $20 or $35 copayment for an annual checkup now faced with $300- $700 charges or higher applied to the deductible,” Denise says. “They are asking, „What happened to the free preventive care?‟ and „Why does my checkup cost so much this year?‟ So how many will go get their free annual checkup next year? Some will still be paying for last year‟s expense.”

While Denise believes it is the insurance carrier‟s responsibility to communicate these changes to plan participants, brokers and employers should also play a role. Many plan participants go in assuming their checkup is covered, as free preventive care implies. They don‟t know what services are included or what questions to ask.

“It‟s a great idea to make sure you get this information in the hands of all your employees, one way or another,” Denise says. “Maybe it is an email. Maybe it is a text message, but you can‟t just say, „Oh, well, we put this on the carrier‟s website. There is drastic confusion among consumers about what‟s covered with my free preventive physical, so you need to be proactive in communication.”

Life insurance has several purposes. Its most important function is to replace the earnings that would cease at the death of the insured. For businesses, life insurance is a way to protect key employees and the business itself. A third purpose is to use life insurance to pay potential estate taxes.

If you die during your earning years, your family could suffer a severe economic loss as a result of losing your current and future income. Unfortunately, your family would still have to pay its regular bills, the mortgage, and outstanding debts, and perhaps even continue saving for college and retirement. Unless you’re independently wealthy, achieving these goals may be virtually impossible for your family with the loss of your steady income. Life insurance offers a way for your family to continue living comfortably and without worry.

Employers often purchase life insurance policies on key employees to insure against the loss of services or income that might result after an employee’s death. Here, the proceeds from the policy are paid to the company. Life insurance works for business partners too, where one business partner purchases a policy to insure against the financial loss that might result from the other partner’s death or to buy out the partner’s heirs.

Life insurance is also used to pay potential federal estate taxes. Since these taxes must be paid in cash, life insurance can be a good way to ensure the fulfillment of this obligation.