Understand your Medicare Options. Medicare is a great start, but it never was designed to cover everything. For example, it only pays 80 percent for the Medicare allowed amount of covered healthcare expenses. The rest comes out of your own pocket.
So, depending on your personal situation, you’ll want to review your choices for getting coverage beyond Original Medicare. At a minimum you will want to have Part D drug plan coverage.
Even if you are still working or retired and are covered by your company’s health plan, you are probably paying something in premiums every month. Now that you are about to turn 65, you could get on a Medicare Advantage Plan where the monthly premium is $0.
Another option would be a Medicare Supplemental Plan that usually has lower premiums than most company insurance plans.
Selecting the right coverage can be confusing, and making the right decision might be more complex than you expect.
You have a window of opportunity: Three months before your 65th birthday month, the month of your 65th birthday, three months after your 65th birthday month (seven months), where you can not be denied Medicare Insurance. By planning ahead, your Medicare coverage can start on the first day of the month you turn 65.
For more information and a no-cost review of your Medicare options, contact: Douglas Kerr, Secure Horizon / United Healthcare Advisor (Lic#0G64783) at (760) 473-7721. Doug@MedicareInsurance SanDiego.com or online at MedicareInsuranceSanDiego.com.
He will make sense out of all the “stuff” you have been getting in the mail and help you make informed decisions.
Doug Kerr has lived in Encinitas for 28 years, is a Board member of the Encinitas Rotary Club and a member of the Senior Network of Associated Professionals (SNAP). He regularly gives educational Medicare update presentations to groups.
