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Crowe & Associates is located at 155 Main Street, Suite 205 in Danbury, CT.  (Please note that our new address will be 304 Federal Road, Suit 107, Brookfield, CT 06804 -as of August 31, 2012)  The agency is filed with the BBB and currently has an A rating.   (All contact information listed below)

The agency is completely independent and as a result, maintains contracts with 100’s of insurance companies to offer the most competitive products at any given time.   We have representatives throughout Connecticut , NY and Mass.  We work with the following insurance programs and work with clients by phone, email, in person at our office or we will even make house calls.

• Medicare Advantage, Supplement and Part D plans– We use all carriers including AARP/United, Empire, Anthem Aetna, Connecticare, Humana and many more.  We help clients determine the best type of plan and company for them.
• Life Insurance- We work with all types of life insurance including term, permanent, Whole life, UL and burial insurance.  We work with all life companies and can guarantee the lowest rate available.  We use a quoting data base which is updated daily to ensure we show the client the lowest cost companies.
• Health insurance-We work with all individual health insurance companies including, Golden rule, Humana, Celtic, Aetna, Anthem, Assurant and Connecticare.
• Group Health Insurance-We work with all group health carriers doing business in CT,MA and NY.  We also have a strategy for small groups which allows us to lower a standard small group rate by up to 25% without reducing benefits.
• Long Term Care- We work with Genworth, TransAmerica, Mutual of Omaha, Med America and most other major carriers.  State partnership programs in NY and CT are very strong and we can explain to clients why it is vital to take advantage of the offer.
• Disability Insurance-We can provide group and individual Disability policies utilizing a number of companies.
• Retirement planning-We specialize in risk free investments and income producing investments which include annuities and CD’s.  Market linked CD’s and Income annuities are of great interest .  We work with clients to find the company that will provide the highest payouts.
• Dental and Vision-We offer individual dental and vision plans from a number of companies.  Our most popular plan is the Careington dental and vision discount plan  which is low cost and uses an Aetna dental network.

Most people will automatically  be signed up for Part B of Medicare.  If you are getting Social Security payments, you will be signed up prior to you 65th birthday.  When you get the Medicare Card, it will show that Part A and B are in place.  There are instructions on the card if you decide you do not want part B.

If you’re 65 or older and you aren’t getting Social Security or RRB benefits yet (for instance, because you’re still working), you won’t get Part A and Part B automatically. People of any age diagnosed with ESRD and who meet certain requirements are also eligible for Medicare Part A and Part B, but must sign up for them.

You need to sign up by contacting Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. TTY users should call 1-800-325-0778. If you worked for a railroad, call your local RRB office or 1-877-772-5772 to learn more about signing up.

CMS cheat sheet part B sign up

I get a lot of questions about the various Medicare penalties and how much they cost.  I will summarize them here and then provide a link to a site which provides the specific detail.  Here is the overview.

Everyone who qualifies for Medicare does not need to pay for Part A of Medicare.  Some people do not qualify for part A and they need to pay a premium if they want the coverage.  For them, part A costs $451 a month but for most people it costs $0

Medicare Part B costs $99.90 a month for most people.  It can cost less for some people and more for higher income earners.  For example, an individual making over $85,000 a year will pay $139.90. The scale tops out at $319.70 a month for those that make over $214,000 a year.

If you sign up late for part B, you will pay a 10% penalty for every 12 months you didnt have part B, for life.   If you are over age 65, actively working and getting health coverage, you do not need to sign up for part B.  If you are not actively working and getting retirment coverage over the age of 65, you should sign up for part B because the penalty will count for you.

There are two Part D penalties.  The first is for those that sign up late for part D drug coverage.  The penalty is 1% of the average premium for every month you do not have a part D plan.  The average premium is about $31.00 a month which puts the penatly at about 30 cents for every month you do not have a plan.  The penatly never goes away.

There is also a Medicare Part D income penalty.   The penalty starts at about $11.00 a month for those that make over $85,000 a year.  It is added on to the insurance plans premium every month.   Here is a grid of the penalty levels

CMS has a very good page which summarizes this information.  You can see it by clicking here.

Small groups in Connecticut have access to a method which can lower their overall insurance premiums by up to 25% and can also provide them with a reimbursement of premium at the end of the year.  They can achieve these savings without reducing benefits.

The method is called small group alternate funding.  Most brokers and employers do not even realize such a mechanism is available to groups under 50 eligible employees in CT but it is.  To read more about this topic, click on our previous blog entry which gets into much greater detail.   CLICK HERE FOR BLOG ARTICLE

Anthem BlueCross BlueShield offers two plans in Connecticut for 2012.  They offer a PPO and an HMO plan.  The HMO “Mediblue HMO” has been around for 3 years.  The PPO is new for 2012 and has the best benefits on paper of any Medicare Advantage plan in Connecticut.

The PPO offers substantially better benefits than the HMO to such an extent it does not make much sense for a consumer to consider the plan.  The PPO utilizes the nation anthem BCBS nationwide network.  It has out of network benefits which are almost par withe in network benefits.  They have $0 copay for a primary doctor and $0 copay for some generic drugs as well.  Two of the better benefits are the Hospital benefit which is $250 a day for 6 days in or out of network.  Meaning that you can go to a non participating hospital and pay the same as if it was an in network hospital.  The outpatient surgery benefit is a max copay of $250 which is the best available.  Lastly, the out of pocket max on this plan is $3,400 in and out of network combined which is far better than any other advantage plan in CT.

We have nearly 900 clients in this plan throughout Connecticut so we have a very good pulse on how it is working.  There are some problem areas that have come up that consumers need to be aware of.

-There are a number of doctors that are listed as in network but will not see patients on the Anthem PPO.  They either charge them full price or will not see them at all.  This has occurred a number of times in 2012

-The customer service for the PPO leaves a lot to be desired.  Many times the representative does not even understand the plan and gives out incorrect information.

-There are a number of common drugs which are not in the formulary and there are a number of generic drugs in the 2nd and 3rd tier.

While this plan is the best on paper and works well for many people, it is not administered well and generates a number of calls to our office from clients.   Billing departments at doctors offices should be contacted prior to enrolling in this plan to make sure they accept it.  Be very clear with the billing department that the plan is the Anthem “PPO” Medicare Advantage plan.  Make sure they understand it is not a supplement plan.

Anthem PPO summary of benefits

Anthem HMO summary of benefits

Small Group health insurance is an ever increasing cost for employer groups.  Most employers and brokers use similar strategies when it comes to managing rate increases.  They lower benefits and add cost share to employees which could include higher copays,  having employees pay some or all of the rate increase or utilizing a high deductible option.  At the end of the day, there is not a great way to manage rate increases but there are alternatives.  Small group alternate funding can create substantial savings for a group without any risk.

Small group alternative funding method.   Small group (1-50 eligible employees) are community rated which reduces options for saving money.  There is no question that the best way to lower a small groups cost is to use a small group fully insured experience rated strategy.  Most brokers and group are not aware that you can even do this but it is perfectly legal and there are carriers that do it.

With this funding arrangement, group rates are determined by the groups demographics.  The renewals are determined by loss ratio.  This arrangement is something that groups over 50 are familiar with but it is relatively new in the small group circle.  The best part about this set up is the savings it can generate.  A good candidate group for this set up can expect to lower rates by 20% to 25% with eqivalent benefits.   Groups are also eligible for premium reimbursements if they run well for the year.   If  a group does not run well, there is no obligation to renew and they are not on the hook for any of the additional claims.  They simply pay the scheduled monthly premium and if the renewal comes in high, they can move on to a different carrier.

Groups often experience much lower annual renewals with this funding method.  Since the renewal is based on the groups experience, it is not uncommon to have a low single digit renewal.

This strategy is vastly underutilized due to a the fact that many do not know about it and those that are aware of it often do not understand it fully.  Feel free to call or email our office to discuss further.

The United Medicare Complete Benefits have been released for 2013 for CT and NY.  A summary of the plans by county is attached.  This is an abreviated summary only.  Once the full summary is available, it will be updated on this post.  Click below for the 2013 plans by county.

United plans NY 2013 full state

United healthcare CT 2013

CD rates are currently at an all time low.   The average 5 year CD rate in Connecticut is 1.08%.    (To see local rates, Bankrate.com is a good site to use  CLICK FOR BANK RATE SITE )  Locking money up for 5 years at a rate below 2% is almost a guarantee that you will not keep up with inflation which is averaging over 3% per year.

Clients that like the idea of using CD and feel safe being backed by FDIC insurance, should consider using market linked CD’s.  Market CD’s work much like a normal CD.  They have a set term such as 3, 5 or 7 years and they are FDIC backed.  The difference is in how they credit interest.   The Market link CD will credit anywhere from 1% to 8% depending on market conditions.  In a poor performing market, the CD will never yield less than 1% but in a stronger performing market, the investor can make as much as 8%.

The CD uses a simple formula to determine annual interest.  They use a grouping of 8 stocks.  Any stock that ends the year the same or at any type of increase credits 1% to the account.  If 5 stocks are flat or up to any extent, the investor will get a 5% interest credited.  If all 8 are flat or up, they will get 8%.  Conversely, if all the stocks are down they will only be credited the base 1% for the year.

At the end of the term, the purchaser can take their money without any penalty.  This is a good option for those that are adverse to risk.  Using market linked CD’s will at least give them a chance to out pace inflation vs. a fixed CD at 1.5% which is essentially guaranteeing an annual loss vs. inflation.

Crowe & Associates will holding a number of seminars for Untied Health Care Medicare Advantage plans  and AARP branded Medicare supplement plans.  The meetings will run from 10:30 am to 12:00 and will provide a review of the Medicare offerings by United Healthcare for 2013.  The review will include basic information on Medicare A and B and, reviews of the United products and the enrollment rules for 2013.

The sessions will be presented by Edward Crowe and Paul Smith of Crowe & Associates. There will be ample opportunity to ask questions before and after the presentation.  The meeting dates, locations and times are listed below.  You must call or email in order to reserve a seat at one of the meetings.  

You may call one of two numbers 860-992-4494,  203-241-7261 or email Edward@Croweandassociates.com to reserve your seat.

Location:  304 Federal Road,  Suite 107,  Brookfield, CT 06804

Dates:  Tuesday, October 2, 2012  –  Tuesday, October 9, 2012 – Tuesday, October 16, 2012 – Tuesday, October 23, 2012 – Tuesday, October 30, 2012 – Tuesday,  November 6, 2012 – Tuesday, November 13, 2012 – Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Time:  All meetings are from 10:30 am to 12:00 noon

Location: Danbury Library (170 Main Street, Danbury, CT 06810)

Dates: Tuesday, October 2, 2012  –  Tuesday, October 9, 2012 – Tuesday, October 16, 2012 – Tuesday, October 23, 2012 – Tuesday, October 30, 2012 – Tuesday,  November 6, 2012 – Tuesday, November 13, 2012 – Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Time:  All meetings are from 10:30 am to 12:00 noon

Call or email to reserve you seat(s) today!

Crowe & Associates will holding a number of seminars for Untied Health Care Medicare Advantage plans  and AARP branded Medicare supplement plans.  The meetings will run from 10:30 am to 12:00 and will provide a review of the Medicare offerings by United Healthcare for 2013.  The review will include basic information on Medicare A and B and, reviews of the United products and the enrollment rules for 2013.

THIS IS AN OLD POST PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR OUR CURRENT SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS

The sessions will be presented by Edward Crowe and Paul Smith of Crowe & Associates. There will be ample opportunity to ask questions before and after the presentation.  The meeting dates, locations and times are listed below.  You must call or email in order to reserve a seat at one of the meetings.  

You may call one of two numbers 860-992-4494,  203-241-7261 or email Edward@Croweandassociates.com to reserve your seat.

Location:  304 Federal Road,  Suite 107,  Brookfield, CT 06804

Dates:  Tuesday, October 2, 2012  –  Tuesday, October 9, 2012 – Tuesday, October 16, 2012 – Tuesday, October 23, 2012 – Tuesday, October 30, 2012 – Tuesday,  November 6, 2012 – Tuesday, November 13, 2012 – Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Time:  All meetings are from 10:30 am to 12:00 noon

Location: Danbury Library (170 Main Street, Danbury, CT 06810)

Dates: Tuesday, October 2, 2012  –  Tuesday, October 9, 2012 – Tuesday, October 16, 2012 – Tuesday, October 23, 2012 – Tuesday, October 30, 2012 – Tuesday,  November 6, 2012 – Tuesday, November 13, 2012 – Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Time:  All meetings are from 10:30 am to 12:00 noon

Call or email to reserve you seat(s) today!