A Medicare supplement plan (Also called Medigap) is an insurance policy that is designed to cover the benefits that Medicare A and B do not cover. If you are not familiar with Medicare A and B benefits CLICK HERE Doctors, hospitals and all other Medical providers, bill Medicare A and B (Original Medicare Card). Medicare covers their portion and the balance is sent to the Supplement plan to cover the amount specified by the plan you buy. So is it worth it to buy a supplement?
Blog
By Ed Crowe | General Articles, Group Health Insurance, Individual Health Insurance | 0 comment | 29 May, 2013 | 0
Health Reform (Affordable Care Act) uses state and federal exchanges to organize health care offerings. Each state had to choose to offer their own exchange or instead, utilize the federal governments exchange. Connecticut decided to create their own as did about 50% of the states.
Start Date: The Connecticut based exchange will be up and running on January 1, 2014. The enrollment period will start on October 1, 2013 for a coverage start date of January 1, 2014.
Who Can Get A Plan?: Just about any Connecticut resident under the age of 65 can get a plan starting in January. There are no exclusions for health conditions and pre existing conditions and not be taken into consideration.
What are the Benefits?: There will be 4 plan types offered in the exchange called Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The Bronze has the lowest benefits and they increase by plan with the Platinum having the best benefits. Basic benefits levels are 60% coverage Bronze, 70% Silver, 80% Gold and 90% Platinum.
Kaiser summarized the benefits in this manner:
- Households between 100 percent and 150 percent of the federal poverty level can get a plan that covers 94 percent of costs (more than a platinum-level plan would) with an out-of-pocket spending cap that’s one-third of the standard HSA level.
- Households between 150 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level can get a plan that covers 87 percent of costs (more than gold, less than platinum) with an out-of-pocket spending cap that’s one-third of the standard HSA level.
- Households between 200 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty level can get a plan that covers 73 percent of costs (just above the silver level) with an out-of-pocket spending cap that’s one-half of the standard HSA level.
- Households between 250 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty level can get a silver plan with an out-of-pocket spending cap that’s one-half of the standard HSA level.
- Households between 300 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level can get a silver plan with an out-of-pocket spending cap that’s two-thirds of the standard HSA level.
How Much Does It Cost?: The amount of premium that an individual or family pays is based off the federal poverty level. The poverty level for an individual in 2012 was $11,170 and increases with each additional family member. The plan rates are reduced for those within 400% of the poverty level. Those earning over 400% will not be eligible for a subsidy and will pay the full premium. The subsidy is based on a percentage of income that can be paid. NOTE: There are examples at the bottom of this post giving examples of the actual monthly cost.
| Table 1: Premium and Cost-Sharing Subsidies Under Health Reform[2] |
||||
| Income | Required Premium Contribution | Actuarial value of coverage | ||
| Percentage of poverty line | Annual dollar amount |
Percentage of income | Monthly dollar amount | |
| Family of four | ||||
| 100 – 133% | $23,550 – $31,322 | 2% | $39 – $52 | 94% |
| 133 – 150% | $31,322 – $35,325 | 3-4% | $78 – $118 | 94% |
| 150 – 200% | $35,325 – $47,100 | 4-6.3% | $118 – $247 | 87% |
| 200 – 250% | $47,100 – $58,875 | 6.3-8.1% | $247 – $395 | 73% |
| 250 – 300% | $58,875 – $70,650 | 8.1-9.5% | $395 – $559 | 70% |
| 300 – 350% | $70,650 – $82,425 | 9.5% | $559 – $652 | 70% |
| 350 – 400% | $82,425 – $94,200 | 9.5% | $652 – $745 | 70% |
| Individual | ||||
| 100 – 133% | $11,490 – $15,282 | 2% | $19 – $25 | 94% |
| 133 – 150% | $15,282 – $17,235 | 3-4% | $38 – $57 | 94% |
| 150 – 200% | $17,325 – $22,980 | 4-6.3% | $57 – $121 | 87% |
| 200 – 250% | $22,980 – $28,725 | 6.3-8.1% | $121 – $193 | 73% |
| 250 – 300% | $28,725 – $34,470 | 8.1-9.5% | $193 – $272 | 70% |
| 300 – 350% | $34,470 – $40,215 | 9.5% | $272 – $318 | 70% |
| 350 – 400% | $40,215 – $45,960 | 9.5% | $318 – $364 | 70% |
Connecticut Premiums Examples:
Single Example: In Connecticut, an individual making less than $16,000 will be eligible for Medicaid, those making $25,000 a year will pay $144 a month for the Silver Plan. An individual making $45,000 will pay $341.00 a month and a person making more than 50K will pay the full premium which is yet to be determined but will be a substantial number.
Family Example- A family of 4 making less than $31,000 will be eligible for Medicaid, if they make $40,00 they will pay $165.00 a month, making $60,000 a year will be $410.00 a month, $80,000 a year will be $633.00 a month and those over $95,000 will pay the full cost of the plan.
Individuals and Families already on non group health plans- For those that already have a non employer based health insurance plan, it is not yet known if they will be able to continue their plans or if they will need to come off the plans on 1-1-12014. I will update this post when more information is available.
AARP Plan N Supplement has a preferred price point in Maryland and is a good option for Medicare recipients as a result. Other companies offer the Plan N but AARP currently prices it at the best rate which ranges from $85.00 a month to $105.oo a month depending on county.
For those not familiar with it, plan N covers all medical expenses with 3 exceptions. 1- It does not pay the Medicare Part B deductible of $144.00, 2- You can be billed a maximum of $20.00 for physician services and tests, 3- you pay $50 for ER visits. Everything else (including inpatient hospital) is covered in full.
Plan N is a good option for those that want to keep Medicare primary in order to have access to more providers. Plan N also eliminates the risk of any large copays for major services. Plan N would be a good consideration for those with a Plan F supplement or those whom have a Medicare Advantage plan and would like to consider a Medicare supplement instead.
Feel free to call our office or email Ed Crowe if you have any additional questions or would like to apply for Plan N.
Ed’s cell 860-992-4494
Email: Edward@Croweandassociates.com
Apollo Global Management is setting the table to make a major move in the indexed and fixed annuity market. Apollo owns Athene Annuities (an up and coming annuity company), recently purchased Presidential Life and now has purchased Aviva USA. These moves should allow them expand on the limited number of states they currently offer annuity products in.
It looks like Apollo is setting the state to become more aggressive with product offerings and innovative products in the fixed annuity segment. While the overall annuity market in the US has slowed down over recent quarters, the fixed indexed and fixed markets continue to grow. A slew of companies have jumped on the band wagon and now offer fixed, indexed or Deferred Income annuities but they have not been able to meet the innovation or guarantees of the Guggenheim companies products. (Security Benefit and Equitrust products)
Hopefully, Apollo will be introducing new products in order to provide some solid alternative to Security Benefit and Equitrust. Time will tell.
Security Benefit has had the annuity with the highest income payout for the last two years. Anyone looking for future income from a deferred annuity would be able to get the highest payout using the SIA product.
One of the drawbacks to this product has been that it is not available some states, Connecticut being one of them. This means that a person living in Connecticut could not have access to the product unless they signed all the documents while in a state that the product was approved in. Security Benefit has now obtained approval for the SIA to be sold to residents of Connecticut. Read more
Long Term Care Deposit Products vs. Traditional Long Term Care
Traditional LTC
Long Term Care insurance provides needed Protection against the costs of home health care, Skilled Nursing care and institutional care. While there are a number of reasons to purchase a Long Term Care Policy, one of the most important is to protect hard earned assets. If some form of care is needed, the LTC policy will help to cover the additional expense associates with that care and alleviate the need to spend assets in order to cover the cost. Read more
When it comes to generating guaranteed income, Security Benefit has had the highest paying deferred income product on the market for two years with the Secure Income Annuity. The Secure Income annuity has simply provided the highest payout to clients looking for future income.
With the release of their new product called the “Total Value Annuity” they are taking a different approach. While the Secure income annuity provided the highest income payout, it did not offer any additional features that someone may be looking for. So how does the new “Total Value Annuity” stack up with the “Secure Income Annuity”? Here is a review Read more
We work with annuity clients every day and we see the same mistakes made over and over. Here is a quick list of the more common mistakes made that you should avoid.
Buying an annuity based on the company’s name- This is the biggest mistake I see made the most often. Buying an annuity simply because you know the company name is a sure fire way to ensure that you are buying a product that is not competitive. Look at the payouts when buying an annuity instead of just trusting that a big name company is going to be offering you a good deal. Most often, it is the big name companies that are relying on that big name and are not looking to be best in class. They know they name will bring in customers so there is no need to be making a great offer. Read more
What is the best annuity? The answer is that there is not a best annuity for every situation. The trick is to find out the best one for whatever you are trying to accomplish.
Companies compete bitterly with each other in the annuity market. They are always trying to come up with an annuity product that will be the next big seller. While they want market share, they are never willing to offer a product that is the best in every category. Instead, they will pick one area within a product and try to be the best in that space. Read more
Careington offers a Dental and Vision discount program for a $6.95 monthly premium for individuals and $11.95 for couples and $15.95 for families. There is no benefit limit on the plan and discounts on dental services range from 20% to 50% depending on the service. The plan uses the Aetna PPO dental network which is one of the better dental networks available. (To determine if a dentist participates, ask them if the participate in the Aetna PPO dental network) There is also an online tool to check participation. (Once in- choose your state, and click on the “Learn More” button for the Aetna network plan. There is a provider search button on the bottom right hand side)
Unlike some discount plans, the Careington plan has no paperwork for the member to submit. The discount is automatically credited at the time of service. There is also a vision benefit which provides discounts on hardware. To learn more about the plan, search providers and sign up you can CLICK HERE FOR THE CAREINGTON WEBSITE **In order to apply for the plan, the site will ask for a broker code- The code is CROWE (All capital letters)
Recent Posts
With licensed sales professionals in both the investment and insurance fields, the experienced and knowledgeable team at Crowe & Associates can tend to your various needs.
Latest News
Recent Comments