What determines the top 5 Medicare Advantage plans? I receive a fair amount of emails asking my opinion on which Medicare Advantage Plan to enroll in. The fact that I offer a mini-course helping someone choose their best plan type makes me a likely target for such a question. But my mini-course is about making a choice between Medigap and ...

How and when to file a Medicare Appeal When you are enrolled in Medicare you have certain rights. One of those rights is to file an appeal with Medicare. For our purposes it’s important to note that a filing Medicare appeal is different from filing a grievance or complaint with Medicare. A filing a Medicare appeal is your recourse if ...

Things to consider when choosing the best Medicare Plan for traveling If you have plans to travel once you’re retired you should give some careful consideration to which Medicare Plan will afford you the best coverage when you’re away from home. Choose the wrong plan and you may find yourself with inadequate coverage or a very limited amount of providers ...

Enrolled in Medicare Advantage? You may be able to switch to a Medicare supplement Of course you can switch to a Medicare supplement if you are in your Annual Election Period and can pass underwriting requirements. But what about when you are enrolled in a plan mid-year and would like to switch? This article will detail when you can switch ...

Are you taking advantage of all the Medicare preventative screenings available? If you are like most people, you really don’t want to visit your doctor  more than necessary. But what qualifies as necessary? Most people only go to the doctor when they are sick, injured or need to have a prescription renewed. A smaller percentage of people have an annual ...

Your circumstances will determine whether or not Medicare enrollment is automatic If you are turning 65 or are disabled and receiving Social Security benefits you may be wondering whether or not you are automatically enrolled in Medicare or if you need to take some action to sign up. The short answer is that your individual circumstances will determine whether or ...

Mark these Medicare enrollment dates for 2018 Part D or Medicare Advantage plans Are you considering enrolling in a 2018 Medicare Advantage or Part D plan? Are you interested in finding out about changes to your current plan? Would you like to know when information on 2018 Medicare plans will be released? Knowing when to keep a look out for ...

Getting your new Medicare card Congratulations! Your eligible for Medicare! Now what? You’ve been looking forward to the benefits afforded by Medicare, but if you are like a lot of people, you are a little apprehensive and are wondering what you need to do. Rest easy. You will receive information through the mail a few months prior to your effective ...

There are limits to Medicare nursing home coverage One of the least planned for events is a nursing home stay. Couple this lack of planning with the high annual cost of long term care and you have the perfect recipe for financial disaster. According to a Genworth Financial 2007 Cost of Care Survey the annual cost of a semi-private room ...

Here’s when you have Medicare coverage outside the United States If you plan on traveling outside the United States it’s important to know what Medicare coverage is available to you. The last thing you need are unplanned medical expenses or the inability to pay for any required care. Medicare coverage when traveling outside the United States is limited, but there ...