Elder Care ABC

by Mary Jane Stern It has been reported there will be no COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for 2010 and you would hope there would no increases in other areas of Medicare premiums for your healthcare.  But, in a press release from CMS, August 14, 2009, premiums for Part D will rise in 2010. What [...]

by Mary Jane Stern Medicare Part D offers a Low Income Subsidy (LIS) or extra help to pay for part of the costs associated with the plan.  The Part D costs include your deductible, premium and copayments.  Some beneficiaries may qualify for all or a partial subsidy. Of course this isn’t easy to understand because [...]

by Mary Jane Stern Have you been watching all of the statements being made about the changes in Medicare if healthcare reform is passed? Do you believe them? Some of the statements being made are just cruel and inhuman.  It’s like what Sarah Palin, Senator Grassley wrote and said about how President Obama is going [...]

by Mary Jane Stern One very time consuming project during the 2008 open enrollment was finding a new Medicare Part D plan.  I began by using Medicare’s site so I could find all the stand alone plans in my state.  This was good and got all the plans and the premiums.  But, after finding the [...]

by Mary Jane Stern October 1st starts the official marketing by the insurance companies for Medicare Advantage and Part D Plans.  It’s time for you to make a comparison.  Needless to say, plans that were affordable during 2009 are now increasing monthly premiums for 2010. We enrolled in AdvantraRX for 2009 because the premiums and [...]

Over the last few weeks there have been many “Town Hall” meetings to discuss insurance reform here in the USA.  Sadly, at many of these meetings violence has been demonstrated, death threats have been made, and statements eluding Medicare benefits will change. No Discrimination Since 1998 we have been waiting for the day insurance reform [...]

by Mary Jane Stern Sometime over the weekend of June 18th a proposal was presented to our Senators regarding Medicare Part D and the donut hole by PhRMA, the brand-name drug manufacturers’ lobbyist. What they are proposing is to offer a discount to Medicare Part D participants when they reach the donut hole.  The discount [...]

Recently it was reported that obesity was becoming the number one health problem in the USA.  With obesity comes the danger of diabetes.  If you have been diagnosed as being diabetic, Medicare Part B covers diabetic supplies and services.  Do not use your Part D Medicare benefit for these supplies. Medicare has contracted with various [...]