When I’m 64 – What about my healthcare?

That question looms. What about my healthcare? Circumstances at change points cause us to ask, “Will I be okay? Should I trust the advice my employer gave me? What if they are just in it for them? How do I transition my meds and doctors?

Today is January 2nd. The end of every year is a reflection period. I assess myself against my life goals, the visions that stir inside, my financial position, achievements, mental, emotional, and physical health, and spiritual position. Dr. Daniel Amen recommends each of us have a one pager, a One Page Miracle, to tell our brains and hearts which items need attention and focus.

Tana Amen gives a good example of a One Page Miracle on her web page. You should take a minute to look it over. Get some focus. Sometimes when you feel a struggle, the simple is best as a start.

Now that you are 64, you are approaching the need to move onto Medicare and maybe you are looking to retire and draw social security. Those are big decisions. #wecanhelpwiththat

Faith, Focus, Friends, Food, and Fitness are all areas we assess as we get ready for these next steps. Understanding your goals for these will help us help you in making the right Medicare mix decisions. A wrong step in your first year going on to Medicare can be corrected in the first year. It can be disastrous later, when you are 68 or 70 or 80. It is all about your plan, your goals, the life you want. You can’t predict it all, but you can come closer with a plan and right information. #wecanhelpwiththat

We never charge for services at SOLUM Insurance. But we are professional in our approach to help you make decisions that fit your needs and lifestyle. So let me introduce you to a simple and effective what to make your plan and enjoy your senior years, whether you continue working or take the big plunge.

1. Establish your position

What is your position on healthcare? We will work with you to help discover that. Our first step is to discuss that One Page Miracle and make sure we support you in being you. The second step is to go a little deeper, but not much and do a “Fact Finder” so we give you knowledgeable guidance. We are not financial planners, but we work alongside your financial plan to help you make a good fit of healthcare into the plan. #wecanhelpwiththat. And yes, all of this is free. You have no obligation to purchase anything from us. We like to make friends.

When you work with us you will receive caring and professional excellence. That is who we are and how we serve. You deserve that. You have spent a life getting to this point and we want to make it a fun and fulfilling next chapter.

2. Write it down.

Write down where you want to go. Here is the fun part. We will show you a couple of options that fit your decisions. Medicare and other insurance can be complicated. Do you have a Final Expense policy and plan to ensure there are no extra burdens for those you love? How much control do you want of your healthcare decisions? Do you want an HMO doctor, who is your dedicated advisor or are you okay with a network of doctors for advising? Do you want total freedom to make all decisions? What is your budget going to be? The average senior after 65 can spend around $4000+ a year on healthcare. Is that okay with you? Would you like better control of those expenses and predictability or are you more concerned with keeping monthly costs contained and addressing bigger needs as they arise? Relax. We will help you walk through those thoughts in a methodical way that assists you make right decisions at the right time for your lifestyle and healthcare directions.

As a deliverable, we will summarize what we have heard in talking with you into a document that you can use to make decisions.

3. Take A Step

If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.W. Edwards Deming

Now to take a step, you need a plan. It does not have to have full vetted risk assessment, cost scenarios, and extensive timeline. But most of us just need a few steps we know we need to take to get moving in the right direction. #wecanhelpwiththat

Establish your position
Write it down
Take a step (fill out the form below is a good first step)

#wecanhelpwiththat, #medicare #healthcare #socialsecurity #turning65 #wheniam64

Caring, professional excellence assisting in healthcare decisions

Phil, ttd

Get with us and we will help you walk through your preparations.

SOLUM is a faith based business done with care and professional excellence. We aren’t liberal or conservative, we are concerned and supportive. What does that mean? That means we trust first in our relationship with the Father of Creation to direct us and our interactions with our clients, you. And we believe He wants us to be caring, excellent, and professional. You don’t need to be a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or anything to take advantage of our good will. We just want you to know we believe that everything we do is done as unto God first and is done with professional and caring excellence. If we don’t think He will be happy with us, we don’t do it. #wecanhelpwiththat

Comparing Plans – Advantage #wecanhelpwiththat

As we enter the last two weeks of open enrollment, my phone is ringing with last minute comparisons. #wecanhelpwiththat

One of my clients had a tier one, tier two, tier three, and tier four drug prescription. Whew! All of that can get majorly expensive on any provider’s plan. #wecanhelpwiththat

Be assured, there is a good plan that meets your specific needs. As an independent agent, I can compare across plans. Every insurance carrier (United Healthcare, Humana, Aetna, and others) has plans for each zip code. They are competitively priced in different areas of medical need. No one can predict what you will need in 90 days, but you can look ahead using your history and potential needs. #wecanhelpwiththat

So here is a set of needs of a client:

. Keep monthly costs predictable and as low as possible

. Keep extra costs as low as possible (emergencies, added doctor visits, specialists co-pays, etc..)

. Use a specific doctor and their referral network

. Provide for urgent care nationwide (they travel a few times a year)

. Keep it simple to get healthcare

. Support a specific set of hospitals in the area

. Basic dental and eyewear coverage beyond medicare medical coverage

Here are a few needs they do not have:

. Access to a variety of doctors on and off plan

. Nationwide network (one of our advantage providers supports a nationwide PPO network, which I think is pretty cool if it meets your needs)

#wecanhelpwiththat

Based on this set of criteria, we compared a few of the larger companies and found a good HMO advantage plan that reduces their current costs by $140 a month and reduces co-pays to specialists and for their pharmacy prescriptions by a few dollars. Overall, they can potentially save $1800 a year. Look at 5 years and that is $9,000. Wow! It is a simple change for them. #wecanhelpwiththat

They have a plan with a major carrier that they signed up for 10 years ago. Plans change. There are options for you that might meet your needs and experience better than the plan you signed up for in the past. Open enrollment gives you the advantage of taking a look at current offerings in your area and keeping medical costs better contained. #wecanhelpwiththat

Our services are FREE to you.

Phil – phil@soluminsurance.com 405.494.0637

Not about insurance, but all about you…..

As consultants to seniors at grandkidsmatter.org, we are hearing a disturbing problem. Pastors and Christian ministry leaders tell us they have lost connection with the largest population in the U.S. 10,000 people a day turn 65 in the US. The churches focused on millennials and now the next gen and are missing the fact that these seniors are faithful, connected, sociable, and forgotten. They will live into their 80s and 90s and the church is missing them.

This township in New Jersey has been sensitive to address these issues for 30 years. What insight they have. Does your church have a senior advisory group? Not a senior ministry, but someone or someones who have the ear of the leadership to help guide polity and ensure the Biblical design of extended and full family stays intact?

As part of our benefits for seniors in 2020, GrandParenting Seminars will include special time with church leaders to share insights and tips.

https://www.montclairlocal.news/2019/11/09/senior-citizens-30-montclair-nj/

Contact me and tell me how this trend is affecting your life..

phil@soluminsurance.com . 405.494.0637.

Phil ..

Sweet…. a good quote for a friend

Crazy good stuff… I just finished a full medicare rate quote for a friend that is retiring at age 66. With a supplement policy that covers deductibles and co-pays, his base medicare payment, prescription drug that covers his most common prescriptions at $0 and $1 copays, dental and vision – he is looking at $328 a month with controlled costs. That is better that most company group plans!

Without this package on traditional medicare it would cost him $135 a month plus deductibles. His drugs would be full price. The difference? If he went to the hospital one time and stayed two days under medicare, $1364 deductible plus 20% of all other costs of doctors, meds etc (let’s say those amounted to another $2000 for a $400 charge), plus regular doctor visits during the year and 20% on tests and xrays of another $2000 or $400, and drug costs of around $50 a month or $600 a year, we are looking at $1364 + $400 + $400 +$600 + 1620 = $4384 unpredictable versus $3936 predictable … That doesn’t include $0 coverage for vision and dental and he gets some good options to help there also.

Now, this is just one approach. There are other alternatives based on your budget, expected needs. Last year this client went to the hospital three times due to some tough conditions. Under medicare each time would be the same $1364 plus 20% payouts. When you calculate that, you are getting closer to $10000 versus $3936. Yikes….

And his plan works nationwide, because he wants to travel. No need to worry about HMO or PPO networks that only work in his home metro. But I do have access to some sweet PPO options that have good travel when that is what you want. The costs are not as predictable because of deductibles and copays, but it is all about what do you need for your lifestyle.

The 411 on this? Know your options and choose according to your lifestyle and expectations.

My dream – help you make decisions. I talk to as many people for whom I say, “Keep what you have, you are doing well.” as I do “Let’s find what might be better options for you.” There is no cost to you ever to talk and get comparisons. The insurance carriers pay me to help you.

I really like helping alongside http://grandparentbenefits.org

If all I do is answer your questions, that is good by me. I have helped and am happy to do it.
Here is a link that shows some basic medicare costs: https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance

Phil@soluminsurance.com

405.494.0637 direct

Just a great set of stories

As a loyalty partner with grandparentbenefits.org, we support family efforts. This story so touched me about the power of Grandparenting. I hope it brings hope to your heart and joy to your day and expectation for a greater United States.

https://www.romper.com/p/becoming-a-grandpa-changes-fathers-these-12-moms-stories-prove-it-19199027

Jeese… even in the Philippines

Get tired of scams and spams?

Even in the Philippines, it takes intervention to protect. See article below.

If you are on Medicare, remember you have rights. The United States has a Center for Medicare Services where you can get tons of information and file grievances, appeals, and more… Keep it bookmarked.

https://www.cms.gov/medicare/medicare.html

Sen. Nancy Binay files bill to prevent scammers from targeting senior citizens