Medicare and Veterans Options, with Samantha George

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following is a podcast from a qualified senior care provider part on the answers for elders radio show. And Welcome back everyone to answers for elders radio. Am I am here again with Samantha George from Humana, and Samantha, I’m so glad you’re here as you are our platinum sponsor for twelve days of goodness and you know you guys do such amazing things for our seniors and I wanted to spend a little bit of time, as you’re being there with our seniors at the events. You guys do some amazing things with Medicare and specifically with veterans, and I’d like to take this segment and talk a little bit about humanist commitment and you know what we do. So could you kind of give me an overview of Medicare plan options and what Humana does? Yeah, absolutely, they’re now with Medicare. There are four parts to Medicare. Right, Medicare part a is for hospital insurance that covers things like hospital care, nursing facility care and hospice. Most people don’t pay a premium for your medicare part a right. Part B is medical insurance and it helps cover more typical doctors visits, right, mental health, getting a second opinion before surgery, so all of those etotypical types of care that you get when you go to your doctor. Right. There are premiums associate. There’s a premium associated with part B that most people are required to pay, right so, and that can vary based on your eligibility and your income level. So that could vary. COMBINING PARTS A and B is also known as original Medicare. So the right your original Medicare. That’s why it was always but now we’ve gone into, you know, the improvements in Medicare that have happened. So that’s where it gets confusing for the average person. For sure, it can get confusing. And again that’s where you know an agent can come in right and and help explain all of those confusion points and make sense of everything for you and explain things like Medicare parts CE, medicare parts C is also known as Medicare advantage, and that’s an alternative to original Medicare. So, depending on the plan, Medicare advantaged can have lower costs and provide additional benefits like hearing, dental right and tell a medicine and many at Medicare advantage plans include prescription drug coverage. Awesome. Yeah, the exception is that it does not cover hospice. Part a will continue to cover hospice services. Yes, yeah, okay, that makes sense. So you don’t lose that. No, so, yes, no, so you are a Medicare advantage planned will always provide at least what original Medicare covers, and generally it covers additional services and items beyond what original Medicare coll okay. Also, you always get what original Medicare covers and then most of the time their additional coverage is that’s awesome. And then Pard Part D is prescription jug coverage. As a Medicare beneficiary don’t automatically get Medicare party prescription coverage. This Medicare party coverage is optional but can be valuable if you take medications. You may be required to pay elite enrollment penalty if you don’t sign up for Party when your first allege of it. Just heard that that is crazy and it’s imposed on you for life. Is it’s a permanent penalty. So that’s why it’s really important to sit down with an agent and assess what the appropriate coverage options are going to be for you because it stays with you. And well, and here’s the thing that I think people might get confused about, and I just want to clarify, because because the social security laws have changed for those that are the boomers, that they’re getting it later and later and later, depending on when they were born. I was born in fifty six. I’m not going to get social security until in sixty seven now. So that’s the way that it’s working so that we can do that because there’s so many boomers, and that’s one of the things that I would love to, you know, talk a little bit more about is the aging rate that’s happening right now. But your Medicare benefits, they start at sixty five. That is not changed. Is that correct? It does start at sixty five your eligibility for the benefit right, unless you qualify early, right through disease or disability. God. So you can. You can gain Medicare part be Eligi Part A and be eligibility early if you have one of those circumstances right. But if you don’t, then it’s kicks in when you turn sixty five. That’s when your your initial eligibility typically begins and you do have the option if you are, you know, receiving a group coverage and you have alternative, credible coverage or and you wish to delay that, you have the option to do so at that time. But again, best solution is always to sit down with a licensed ature. Sure that’s the right absolutely. So, you know, we’re talking about the aging population. We talked about it here. You know, we call it the silver tsunami. You know, what is it? Tenzero people a day in this country, or two thousand and sixty five? It’s crazy right now. Yeah, approximately elevenzero adults actually become eligible for Medicare every day, every single day in this country, and so certainly it’s it’s it’s a student. So you know, me, as we’re saying, there’s a lot of people just because there’s so many baby boomers out there, and of course I’m kind of like coming up on that in a couple of years. But tell me a little bit about you know, how is this, this Elevenzero people a day that you know? How is that affect you and Medicare and all these things? Well, that’s it definitely reflects a dramatically increasing senior population and that number is only going to continue to grow at that effects, you know, their determination on what coverage options are going to be the best for them and always making sure that we have all of the tools and resources in place. Yeah, really care for and an address all concerns. You know, I’ve heard this is I’m not sure you probably have more recent statistics, but I’ve heard by the year twenty thirty, which is only ten years from now, that close to forty percent of the population is going to be over sixty five and that’s crazy. It is crazy and I don’t know if that’s accurate today, but I also know that you know, just just there’s a lot of things going on with our older adult population, like the onset of Alzheimer’s and things like that that’s escalating. So making sure that you’re you know, that your will set in your early, you know, not only to avoid penalties, but make sure that you’re enrolling early and you know, as soon as your turn sixty five, that’s for sure. So if somebody’s aging into Medicare as, we say, what should they expect? How To what’s the process? So as as someone ages and to Medicare, they should keep an eye out from materials from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also called CMS. Okay, so they may see that acronym as well. So they should keep an eye out for those things coming in the mail. Prior to their sixty five birthday. They’ll also start trinity. Where will this come from when it comes to the mail? From The mail? Does it come directly from Medicare? Where does it come from? It will come from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Thought it. Okay, I’ll start to receive information in the mail. Awesome, and they’ll also start to receive materials from various medical Medicare plans that are available in their area. Those aging in have a seven month window, known as the initial enrollment period, to enroll. Okay, okay. This includes the three month period before their sixty one birthday, the month of their birthday and the three following months. Perfect, perfect, so have they have an adequate window to do so, and everything is obviously self explanatory in the mailing. I’m assuming the information that is received in the mail does detail some of their options. Okay, and it is a resource for the good God. However, it is always, as I mentioned earlier, a really good idea to sit down with an agent absolutely and and go through all those different options to to look at which one is going to line up and be the best solution for the perfect, perfect yes, well, that’s important. So now I’m going to switch gears. I want to talk about veterans. We talk we’re going to be doing two of our twelve days of goodness events this year that will have a special veterans presentation. But I really would like to talk about you guys do some amazing things with veterans and I would love to talk about human has involvement with the military and our veterans. Share me with me a little bit about that, Samyapa. Humana has a longstanding relationship with the military and we’re committed to the well being of all veterans. HMM. As a longtime partner to the Department of Defenses tricare program Humana currently in ministers health benefits for close to six million active duty military and retirees. Wow, as well as their families across thirty two states. Wow. And how did your your work with military kickoff? I mean, how did the song get started? Since the inception of try care in one thousand nine hundred and ninety six, human has work to improve the lives and trusted to our care by partnering with the Government to create the right access, that our healthcare options and outcomes and simplified experiences. That’s amazing. And you do also work specifically now with Vietnam War. I’m because I’m sure they’re they’re moving into Medicare right now close to or just have. Is that correct? That is correct. And and Hemana kicked off Veterans Initiative in two thousand and eleven. The that year, President Obama issued a challenge to companies to hire military veterans in their spouses, and Humana took on that challenge and that’s when our focus on veterans really started to mature. Wow. Since then the initiative has transformed over the years. So you know, we definitely transformed our interaction and involvement with the veterans community and the the President and Congress established the Vietnam War Commemoration Program Uh Huh, to commemorate the fifty anniversary of the Vietnam War and to thank and honor Vietnam veterans. Wow. So we do a lot to interact in the community and to honor and thank those veterans, and that awesome. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, nine million Americans served on active duty in the US armed forces during the Vietnam War and approximately seven million are living today. That’s amazing. That’s amazing. And you guys do are involved in like involved in the commemoration, doing like a pinning ceremony. What do you do specifically? Yes, so we do Vietnam War pinning ceremonies, so we have better and pinning ceremonies, and that is to honor and welcome home those veterans who didn’t receive the level of honor and welcome that they should have when they are absolutely from absolutely yes. Well, Samantha, I’m so glad again that you’ve been on the program today and I could go on and on about the subject forever. But how do we reach you again? If people are interested in Humana, we’d love to have you reach out. So how do we reach you? So you can reach us by going to humanitycom slash Medicare UHM, or you can call our local office, and again it’s two eight hundred seven eight one, two Z undred and three, and anyone that answers would be more than thrilled to assist and anybody that comes to our twelve days of goodness events. I would venture about the Samantha will be at most of them. She was last year. Yes, Sophy, I’m looking forward to I’m looking forward to having you again this year and until then, thank you so much for being here the show today. Thank you so much, Susanne. Answers for elders radio show with Susan Newman hopes you found this podcast useful in your journey of navigating senior care. Check out more podcast like this to help you find qualified senior care experts and areas of financial, legal, health and wellness and living options. Learn about our radio show, receive our monthly newsletter, receive promotional discounts and meet our experts by clicking on the banner to join the Senior Advocate Network at answers for elders RADIOCOM. Now there is one place to find the answers for elders