Insurance Unique To Your Needs

What is Medicare?

Medicare is a fee-for-service health care program for seniors, in which the government pays health care providers directly for services that fall under Parts A and B of Medicare benefits (see below). However, if you are looking for more coverage than Original Medicare, you can purchase one of our Medicare Advantage Plans to receive all your Part A and Part B benefits.¹

Medicare is divided into four categories. This allows you to customize your personal coverage when shopping for a comprehensive policy.

• Part A (hospital insurance): Covers hospital care, emergency services, nursing home care, home health services and hospice.
• Part B (medical insurance): Covers medically necessary services and supplies used for diagnosing and treating medical conditions, and preventative services for illness prevention and/or early detection. Examples include ambulance services, mental health care, outpatient procedures and clinical research.
• Part C: Combines Parts A and B and often part D as well.
• Part D: Offers prescription drug coverage.

What Medicare options are available?

Original Medicare offers coverage for services and supplies that are considered to be medically necessary, such as doctor visits, lab tests and wheelchairs. There are several alternative plans you can choose from for additional coverage, and each plan must offer at least the same coverage as Original Medicare. There are two Medicare plans that we can assist you with.

1. A Medicare Advantage Plan, also known as Part C, combines Part A and Part B as a replacement to Medicare for more comprehensive health care coverage. This plan can be customized with additional coverage, such as a prescription drug program (Part D), vision and dental.
2. A Medicare Supplemental Plan, also known as Medigap, has a higher premium but supplements the coverage gaps and deductibles that Part A and Part B leave behind.

Why do you need Medicare?

Seniors are in the most need of health care, but once retired monthly premiums can become hard to maintain. Enrolling in the Medicare program allows you to get the care you need for a minimal charge.

Contact us today to learn more about coverage options. We are happy to work with you to determine which Medicare options works best for you.

1 – This is not a complete listing of plans available in your service area. For a complete listing please contact 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day/7 days a week or consult www.medicare.gov.

Medicare has neither reviewed nor endorsed this information.

What kinds of health insurance are there?

There are essentially two kinds of heath insurance: Fee-for-Service and Managed Care. Although these plans differ, they both cover an array of medical, surgical and hospital expenses. Most cover prescription drugs and some also offer dental coverage.

1. Fee-for-Service
   These plans generally assume that the medical professional will be paid a fee for each service provided to the patient. Patients are seen by a doctor of their choice and the claim is filed by either the medical provider or the patient. 
2. Managed Care
   More than half of all Americans have some kind of managed-care plan¹. Various plans work differently and can include: health maintenance organizations (HM0s), preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and point-of-service (POS) plans. These plans provide comprehensive health services to their members and offer financial incentives to patients who use the providers in the plan.

What is ‘long-term care’?

Because of old age, mental or physical illness, or injury, some people find themselves in need of help with eating, bathing, dressing, toileting or continence, and/or transferring (e.g., getting out of a chair or out of bed). These six actions are called Activities of Daily Living–sometimes referred to as ADLs. In general, if you can’t do two or more of these activities, or if you have a cognitive impairment, you are said to need “long-term care.”

Long-term care isn’t a very helpful name for this type of situation because, for one thing, it might not last for a long time. Some people who need ADL services might need them only for a few months or less.

Many people think that long-term care is provided exclusively in a nursing home. It can be, but it can also be provided in an adult day care center, an assisted living facility, or at home.

Assistance with ADLs, called “custodial care,” may be provided in the same place as (and therefore is sometimes confused with) “skilled care.” Skilled care means medical, nursing, or rehabilitative services, including help taking medicine, undergoing testing (e.g. blood pressure), or other similar services. This distinction is important because generally Medicare and most private health insurance pays only for skilled care–not custodial care.

What are the types of disability insurance?

There are two types of disability policies: Short-Term Disability (STD) and Long-Term Disability (LTD):

1. Short-Term Disability policies (STD) have a waiting period of 0 to 14 days with a maximum benefit period of no longer than two years. 
2. Long-Term Disability policies (LTD) have a waiting period of several weeks to several months with a maximum benefit period ranging from a few years to the rest of your life.

Disability policies have two different protection features that are important to understand.

1. Non-cancelable means the policy cannot be canceled by the insurance company, except for nonpayment of premiums. This gives you the right to renew the policy every year without an increase in the premium or a reduction in benefits. 
2. Guaranteed renewable gives you the right to renew the policy with the same benefits and not have the policy canceled by the company. However, your insurer has the right to increase your premiums as long as it does so for all other policyholders in the same rating class as you.

In addition to the traditional disability policies, there are several options you should consider when purchasing a policy:

• Additional purchase options
  Your insurance company gives you the right to buy additional insurance at a later time for an additional cost.  
• Coordination of benefits
  The amount of benefits you receive from your insurance company is dependent on other benefits you receive because of your disability. Your policy specifies a target amount you will receive from all the policies combined, so this policy will make up the difference not paid by other policies. 
• Cost of living adjustment (COLA)
  The COLA increases your disability benefits over time based on the increased cost of living measured by the Consumer Price Index. You will pay a higher premium if you select the COLA.  
• Residual or partial disability rider
  This provision allows you to return to work part-time, collect part of your salary and receive a partial disability payment if you are still partially disabled.  
• Return of premium
  This provision requires the insurance company to refund part of your premium if no claims are made for a specific period of time declared in the policy. 
• Waiver of premium provision
  This clause means that you do not have to pay premiums on the policy after you’re disabled for 90 days.

There are many kinds of life insurance, but they generally fall into two categories: term insurance and permanent insurance.

Term insurance is designed to meet temporary needs. It provides protection for a specific period of time (the “term”) and generally pays a benefit only if you die during the term. This type of insurance often makes sense when you have a need for coverage that will disappear at a specific point in time. For instance, you may decide that you only need coverage until your children graduate from college or a particular debt is paid off, such as your mortgage.

In contrast, permanent insurance provides lifelong protection. As long as you pay the premiums, and no loans, withdrawals or surrenders are taken, the full face amount will be paid. Because it is designed to last a lifetime, permanent life insurance accumulates cash value and is priced for you to keep over a long period of time.

It’s impossible to say which type of life insurance is better because the kind of coverage that’s right for you depends on your unique circumstances and financial goals.

But remember, the best way to figure out the amount and type of life insurance that makes sense for your particular situation is to meet with a qualified and licensed life insurance professional.

What is an annuity?

An annuity is a long-term investment between you, the annuitant, and an insurance company, the annuity issuer. Under this contract, you pay after-tax funds to the annuity issuer, who then invests your principal to meet your financial objectives and pays you or your beneficiary back with earnings (subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuer).

If you have  a fixed annuity, your interest rate is guaranteed. With a variable annuity, your earnings are linked with the fluctuating performance of your investments and may be worth more or less than your principal when redeemed. In addition, you have added control in how your money is invested, creating a higher potential for growth. However, this option comes with a higher risk in return.

Unlike other investment plans, there is no limit to how much you can invest in an annuity. Your funds will steadily grow with a tax-deferred status, and you pay your regular tax income rate on only your earnings upon withdrawal.  

What annuity options are available?

An immediate annuity can begin paying you right away. You can choose whether you want your income guaranteed for a specific time period or if you want lifelong payments. The amount of your payments is calculated based on your principal and your life expectancy.

A deferred annuity is broken up into two phases:

• Accumulation: This is when you add money to your annuity, whether you pay in a lump sum or you make a series of payments. You can continue to let your account grow tax-deferred for an indefinite amount of time.

• Distribution: This is when you begin withdrawing money from your annuity whether you take out systematic withdrawals or you annuitize to supplement your finances with a regular stream of income for life.

Why buy an annuity?

An annuity is a good investment option for individuals who are willing to take a bigger risk in hopes of earning a bigger payout. Your earnings can then be used for supplemental income during retirement, guaranteed financial independence as you age, or a monetary legacy to leave behind for your loved ones. An annuity can help you continue living comfortably well into old age.

Contact us to learn more about planning your future with an annuity. We are happy to answer your questions and help begin your investment process today.

What is supplemental health insurance?

Health insurance goes a long way toward paying your medical expenses. Plus, it’s now required by law. However, even if you have a health insurance policy, you can still face out-of-pocket expenses like deductibles, co-pays and treatment. Supplemental health insurance can reduce that burden.

What are the benefits of supplemental health insurance?

Supplemental health insurance is not meant to replace primary health insurance. But, it can help pay some medical expenses once your primary policy has paid. These policies help cover expenses like the following:

• Outpatient services and hospital stays
• Critical illnesses and emergencies
• Private rooms and private duty nurses
• Deductibles and co-pays
• Unexpected childcare

Get started today!

Are your medical expenses too high? A supplemental health insurance policy may be a good addition to your healthcare coverage. Call us, and we can discuss this coverage in more detail to help you determine the best plan that will keep you in good health.