grow older better

Tag: Medicare

  • Confused About Medicare?

    Are you confused about all your Medicare choices?

    confused-about-medicare

    It's "open enrollment season" which means every plan in your state may be contacting you!

     

     

    It also means that almost every plan in you state will mail you some information and maybe invite you to call them or meet with them..


    One Oregon plan offered a "free" re-useable shopping bag if I met with them.


    Let's see – drive about a 20 round trip [maybe use a gallon of gas for almost $4.00]  – plus spend my time driving and then listening to a sales pitch.


    For that I get something I can get at for a few bucks…and I can never recoup the time..


    Now if I were interested in that plan I'd go – but then if it were that good they would not have to entice me with a cheap promo item.


    For those who do go to these "events" – aka sales pitches – PLEASE – be careful…

     

    If you sign on to that plan – confused-about-a-contractyou are locked into it for the upcoming year!


    It is a legal contract – one you should not be pressured into signing.


    You have until December 7th to make your decision.

     

    There is absolutely no reason to be pressured.

     

    Comments? Thank you….


  • Older and Unemployed? Try Working For YOU!

    From everything I hear, there might be a small increase in Social Security for 2012 – BUT – any increase is likely to be offset by an increase in the cost of Medicare. So it seems we will be into year 3 of no actual increase in the monthly income.

    The economy is improving slightly but I'll bet older people are not the ones that will be getting hired or getting the "good" jobs.

    Older people with experience are seen as requiring higher pay levels.  It's better for the bottom line to hire young people for lower pay.

    Then there is the office mentality [shh – it's a well kept secret] of not hiring people smarter or more capable than you because they might "get" your job. 

    People who are not seen as threats are safer hires.

    In short: The job market isn't going to look too good for older workers for a long while – if ever. And if you rely on Social Security – it's not going to increase.

    I therefore put this question out there for you:

    If you want to increase your income [and most do] why not be your own boss?

    Stop job hunting!

    For most, job hunting is a debilitating experience. You apply for many jobs and do not even get a courtesy reply of "sorry." You don't even get an acknowledgement that your resume has been received. In fact, you never hear anything from the places you apply to.

    And if you do manage to get a live interview, you may still never hear from them again. Interviews are done for many reasons, and, in my opinion, not all of them ethical reasons.

    What can you do to earn money?

    • Become your own boss!
    • Become an entrepreneur!
    • Do what you always wanted to do!
    • Turn your long time dreams into reality!

    There is much to say about being self employed or an entrepreneur that I'll post on the topic over the next few weeks.

    Stay tuned in

     

    Comments?  Questions?

  • Boomers! Welcome to my world!

    On January 1, 2011 the first wave of baby boomers started turning 65 and are now eligible for Medicare…

    Some worry there won't be sufficient funds in either Medicare or Social Security to last for the rest of their lives.

    Many boomers will not yet retire as they can not yet afford to do so!

    Medicare may be a good plan but the cost of participation tends to increase both on the Government side and the private sector side.  Medicare Advantage programs are not free…even to some say they are … you get what you pay for…

    And Social Security?  We are into the second year of no increase in the monthly payout.

    To add to the worries, if you live in Oregon – you have another concern if you are in a senior care facility.. or wind up in one….because Oregon elder care has glaring lacks!

    Federal law requires states to have an ombudsman to protect the rights of people in long-term care. The average state has one ombudsman monitoring 2,220 beds. Oregon has just one for 6,692 beds.

    Oregon relies on volunteers..but if everyone needs to keep working to afford to live – who will be the volunteers taking care of and looking out for Oregon's elder population?

    Scary thoughts to start your 65th birthdays!

    Thoughts? Comments? Thank you for posting below….

  • Important Medicare Change Deadline

    Seniors know that we are now in Open Season for changing our Medicare Advantage providers if we so choose.

    We know this as our mailboxes are filled with ads from every company in our zip code which provides this insurance!

    BUT – in 2010 we MUST make any changes by the end of this December.  The deadline is not next March like it used to  be!

    If you are a senior or know a senior – PLEASE – be sure if they want to make any changes that they do so by the end of this month!


  • More On Medicare Open Season Stupidity

    subtitled – why we need Health Care Reform and need it very badly

    Got my 186 pages of Medicare and my private insurance coverage information  a few weeks ago.  No I did not read it thoroughly and never will.  [Disclaimer – I counted the pages for notes, the unnumbered pages and the covers]

    Medicare 2010 document

     

    More recently I got the OFFICIAL medicare.gov document – it  for Oregonians as each jurisdiction gets its own version.  Page count = 128 [the feds do count covers in their numbering system.]

    What do these 314 pages tell me?

     

    • I really really need new glasses..so made that appointment
    • A lot of trees gave their lives for me 🙁
    • The proliferation of Medicare Advantage Programs is disgusting
    • If you aren't careful you'll get suckered

    That last comment came from scanning the most unbelievable company.  This ONE company – and I will not give them air time – ALL ON ITS OWN has 36 options.  Yes 36 different options!  By comparison mine has 3 – "basic" and "costs more" for anyone and "really costs more" for current members wanting to upgrade.   

    As others have options for different counties within the state maybe the 36 options have plans for block by block coverage – their descriptions are very vague… and all 36 options have the same phone number to get information – hmm call a sales rep to get truthful clear answers about each of the 36?  Not gonna happen.

    Health care reform should make this a more simple choice for those over 65.  The proliferation of plans and options is stupid and leads potentially to misrepresentation or even "honest" error by those who stand to make gobs of money from these choices.

    I did not look through the list of prescription drug plans – but add those to the mix and you have a confusing array of options here in Oregon – and elsewhere.

    Think of those who are blind or limited in reading capacity – how do they make their choices?  Scary – very scary!