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Medicare beneficiaries in Connecticut have access to one of the better drug help programs in the United States.  Drug help programs are based on income and assets.  In Connecticut however, the lowest level of drug help is called ALMB and is only based on income. It does not take assets into account.

To qualify for ALMB an individual must make less than $2,308.88 a month.  This amount is raised for a couple to $3,127.28 a month.  There is no asset limit for this level of drug help in Connecticut.   For a list of the different RX programs and the income level for each Medicare Savings Program Income Levels

For those that qualify for the program, there are substantial benefits and cost savings.  Qualifying members are no longer subject to the Donut Hole and do not pay their part B Medicare premium.  They also can not pay more than $2.50 for generic drugs and $6.30 for name brand drugs.

Call our office today if you wish to discuss the program further. We can help you determine if your income is within range.   We  also have applications (only 3 pages) and can help you fill them out.   Call Ed Crowe at 860-992-4494 or email Edward@croweandassociates.com

Guggenheim currently offers a fixed annuity with the best rates available.  The annuity is a fixed annuity with terms ranging from 3 to 10 years.  The product works in the same fashion as a CD. The terms are fixed for the period selected.  At the end of the term, the money can be rolled over or taken out of the account.

Guggenheim is currently offering 2% on a 3 year term, 3% on a 5 year term and 3.7% on a 10 year term.   Rates sheets and product guides are available in the links below.  If you have any questions, please call Ed Crowe at 203-796-5403 or email Ed at Edward@croweandassociates.com

Guggenheim Product Brochure

Guggenheim interest rates

There are a limited number of Medicare Advantage plans available in Connecticut for 2012.  The list includes plans from Connecticare, AARP/United, Aetna, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield and Wellcare.   Our agency has clients with all companies and plan types in Connecticut and we are happy to share the good and bad of them with you.

Please click the link below to view the comparison.   Call or email with any questions or requests.  Email: Edward@Croweandassociates.com or phone at 203-796-5403   Review our BBB rating here   Click for BBB Rating

Medicare Advantage comparison 2012 CT

Security Benefit is offering a special product that offers unlimited gains without risk to principal.  All fixed indexed annuities offer the ability to grow assets without risk to principal but they all have limits on upside potential.  Some cap the growth potential on an annual basis while others only pass a percentage of the growth to the client.  The Security Benefit Total Value Plan changes all of this.

The total Value offers income riders and death benefit riders and even throws in an 8% bonus. A number of products offer the same benefits however.  What makes the Total Value unique is that the accumulation account uses the TVI index and provides 100% of the gain on a 5 year point to point strategy.  In other words, you put money in on day 1 you get 100% of any gain in the index 100% vested at the end of year 5.

The TVI index is constructed of 24 highly liquid futures contracts across physical commodities , global currencies, Energy, Grains, Precious Metals, Industry Metals, Softs (Cocoa, Coffee, Cotton, Sugar) and live stock.  Principal on this contract is 100% guaranteed which allows the contract holder to be more aggressive with the TVI account without worrying about losing a nest egg.  For more info on the TVI  click here

Historic results show the worst 10 year average annual return has been 5.08% per year (This does not include the 8% bonus) while the best 10 year average return has been 8.99% (This does not include the 8% bonus)

The product has been available for about 4 weeks and has taken on an unprecedented amount of assets already.  The downside is that Security Benefit has a limit of assets it wants to take on and will close this product to new money once the hit the threshold.

TVI explained doc

TVI performance

If you want more information, please email Edward Crowe at Edward@Croweandassociates.com or call 203-796-5403

Here are some common mistakes people make regarding Social Security.  If you have more questions or concerns, please call or email Edward Crowe at 203-796-5403 or email at Edward@Croweandassociates.com

1. Waiting past age 66 to file

Even if you don’t intend to collect benefits until after age 66, don’t forget to file by the time you reach full retirement age. If you don’t wish to collect at that time, simply indicate that you want to suspend your benefits so they can keep growing.

Failing to file by 66 negates the possibility of earning a full lump-sum repayment if you later decide you’d rather have collected those suspended benefits (such as might occur if you suffer health problems in your late 60s). In that scenario, the lump-sum option will award you all you would have collected to that point at once, but this works only if you filed on time.

In addition, using a “file-and-suspend” strategy can also allow your spouse to begin collecting benefits while you continue working.

2. Waiting past age 70 to collect

There is a financial incentive for seniors to delay collecting Social Security past their full retirement age. For each year they wait, their benefits get a bump of between 5.5% and 8%. However, there are no additional benefits for waiting past age 70. At that point, any further delay in collecting simply means money lost.

3. Neglecting spousal benefits

Social Security offers several options for spousal benefits, so don’t miss this opportunity to bring in some extra cash if you or your spouse is eligible. For example, if you are collecting benefits and your spouse is at least 62 and isn’t collecting benefits, your spouse is eligible for a separate spousal benefit. The beauty of this arrangement is that it doesn’t diminish your benefits in any way.

4. Forgetting former spouses

After a divorce, the last thing you may want to remember is your former partner. However, if you were married to someone for 10 years and have been divorced for at least two, you are eligible to collect a spousal benefit from the relationship, provided both of you are eligible to collect benefits. However, this only works if you are unmarried when you file to collect.

In addition, when that former spouse dies, you can begin to collect his or her full level of benefits — just as you would with a current spouse.

5. Assuming you and your spouse should file at the same time

Filing for Social Security doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition for couples. In fact, using a so-called hybrid strategy can be an effective way to maximize Social Security benefits that the two of you receive. One spouse can file for benefits at a younger age while the other waits until later to maximize benefits.

6. Waiting too long to collect if you already have health problems

filing at age 62 is a common mistake, but it can be a smart move for those with serious or chronic health conditions. If you don’t reasonably expect to live into your 70s, filing early may increase your overall payout.

7. Dying without warning

Remember the bit about later applying for a lump-sum repayment if you deferred your benefits? It doesn’t work if you’re dead. That means your family will be left out in the cold on those deferred earnings if you don’t collect them before you die. While this sin is harder to avoid than the others, making sure to file by at least age 66 can help make you more prepared.

The document linked to this post provides the average cost for Long Term Care Services in Connecticut for 2012.  The breakdown shows cost by service type such as Skilled Nursing home, RN, LPN, Home Health Aide, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy.

The change from the previous year is included and paints a disturbing picture of inflation of these costs year over year.  If you have questions about LTC expenditures, Connecticut Partnership programs or options for insuring against long term care costs, please call our office at 203-796-5403 or email Ed Crowe at Edward@Croweandassociates.com

Average Daily Costs:   Skilled Nursing Facility -$368 per day , Assisted Living Facility -$260 a day, Live in-Home Health Care $220 a day

LTC costs in Connecticut 2012  – per visit costs

SkilledNursing Facility Daily Rate  Skilled Nursing per day cost

With the 10 year treasury at 1.5%, CD rates are at 30 year low yields.  The current 5 year CD rate in Connecticut is now around 1% which is actually a bit lower than the 3 year CD rates being offered. Bankrate.com is the best place to find all local CD rates available. Click her to go to BANKRATE 

With rates this low, it is wise to look at alternatives and here I will talk about  2 of them which are Fixed annuities and Market linked CD’s.

Market linked CD’s: (Also called brokerage CD’s) are easy to understand.  They are CD’s which provide a return based on the performance of a bucket of stocks.  If the stocks are even or show some gain for the year, you get a stated return such as 6% (Where offers are currently). If the bucket of stocks is down for the year, 0% is credited to the account.  The account can never have a negative return for the year and with current CD rates at 1% yields, the market linked CD is likely to outperform the traditional CD by a substantial margin.

Fixed annuities: Fixed annuities work just like a CD.  The money goes into the account for a stated amount of time such as 5 years.  During that time the account is credited with a fixed interest rate.  At the end of the term, the client is able to walk away with the money without any type of penalty.  The big difference now is how much more a fixed annuity is paying vs. a CD.  There are multiple fixed annuities offering 2% on a 3 year fixed contract and 3% on a 5 year contract.  There are 10 year contracts available at 4% for those looking for a long term rate but 10 years is probably not a good thought given the current rate conditions.

There is more money being moved into fixed annuities  than at any other time in history which is no surprise given the rate advantage.  Still, people put money into CD’s at .5% to 1% with their local banks.  The most logical reason they continue to accept such low rates is due to a lack of understanding about fixed annuities and how they work.

I am often asked about Medicare Part B drugs and how they are different from Medicare Part D drugs.  The answer is fairly straight forward.  A Medicare Part B drug is any drug that is administered to the patient by injection or IV at the doctors office or some other Medical facility.

When this is the case, the drug falls under the Medicare Part B benefit.  It is not a part D drug and will not fall under your Rx benefits.  In other words, it is treated like a medical benefit instead of a drug benefit.

There is one exception to this.  If the patient/member picks up the drug at the pharmacy and then has it administered to them by the doctor or at the facility, it may still fall under the Medicare part D drug benefit.  The difference is that the patien actually purchased it at the pharmacy vs. it being supplied by the doctor of facility.

Part B drugs are covered at 80% by most Medicare Advantage plans, leaving the member to pay 20% of the cost which can be increadibly expensive.  Aetna Medicare Advantage plans are an exception to this rule as they only charge a $50 copay for Part B drugs vs. 20% of the cost.

The other good way to cover part B drugs is to have a Supplement in place.  A plan F  or C will cover the Part B drug at 100%.

If you have specific questions or need any information, please email Edward Crowe at Edward@Croweandassociates.com or ca

Aetna Healthcare offers 3 Medicare Advantage plans in Connecticut. The plans are not available in every Connecticut county however as they only have the plan in Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield, and Hartford county. Aetna also does not offer Medicare supplement plans in CT.

The most noteworthy Aetna Medicare Advantage plan in the $0 annual premium Aetna Basic plan. The plan is along the lines of its competitors such as United, Anthem and Connecticare. The plan also has a true national network which makes it stand out a bit from the others which do not. (United uses their Passport program but that has its problems)

The Most beneficial of all benefits on the Aetna plan is the part B copay of $50 for any part B drug. This is a huge benefit over all other MAPD plans in Ct as they are at a 20% cost share. A part B drug is a drug which is administered to the patient by the doctors or medical facility. To be a part B drug, the drug must also be provided by the facility or doctor. If the member picks up the drug at the Pharmacy, it will be a part D drug which is a different situation.

The other 2 Aetna offerings are nothing special. The premium HMO plan does not offer benefits that are strong enough to justify the premium and the PPO does not have adequate out of network benefits to be considered a strong out of network plan.

For a review of the Aetna 2013 benefits Aetna Medicare Plans 2013

Connecticut is a state which allows Medical underwriting on Health Insurance plans. As a result, you can apply for an individual health insurance plan in Connecticut with a number of companies. Current carriers offering individual health in Connecticut include…

Aetna
Anthem BlueCross Blue Shield
United Healthcare “Golden Rule”
Connecticare
Celtic Health
Assurant Health

The general public tends to believe that group insurance costs less than individual insurance but that is not true. Individual health insurance is actually much less expensive than group insurance. Individual insurance can cost 10% to 40% less than group insurance depending on age.

The key with individual insurance is passing medical underwriting in order to get the policy in the first place. Once the policy is obtained, it CAN NOT be canceled regardless of future health. The degree/amount of underwriting done depends on the company doing the underwriting.

There are a number of things to know when applying for an individual plan. For additional information, you may call Ed Crowe at 203-796-5403 (office), 860-992-4494 (Cell) or email Edward@Croweandassociates.com