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Are You Planning For Health Costs Or Guessing · Money Matters with Greg

0:56
SPEAKER_02: All right, good afternoon.
0:57
SPEAKER_02: The show is Money Matters for Greg.
0:58
SPEAKER_02: I'm Greg Farrell, CEO and owner of Feral Wealth.
1:00
SPEAKER_02: It's a wealth management firm here locally in Valparaiso, Indiana.
1:04
SPEAKER_02: And then broadcast, we have we're broadcasting worldwide here on WVLP.org.
1:08
SPEAKER_02: We're also on 103.
1:10
SPEAKER_02: Now we have clients in 25 states.
1:12
SPEAKER_02: Just picked up Idaho, a new client in Idaho, so very excited about that.
1:15
SPEAKER_02: But we can always talk about that at an at another time.
1:18
SPEAKER_02: You can always reach me, Greg, at farowealth.com.
1:21
SPEAKER_02: Uh for my email is open for any questions, anything you guys want out there as far as the uh questions about anything financial.
1:28
SPEAKER_02: The show's money, about money.
1:30
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, money matters and how it relates to your life.
1:34
SPEAKER_02: And that's why we want to have always great guests to bring to you and uh be a part of the show.
1:40
SPEAKER_02: And today we're excited to just get to it here with Paul Jankowski, who is part of Shepherd Insurance now, worked in the Medicare population for really since 2005.
1:51
SPEAKER_02: Do you want to say hey, Paul, to everybody?
1:53
SPEAKER_02: Hey, Greg.
1:54
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having me on.
1:55
SPEAKER_02: Excited to have you on as well.
1:56
SPEAKER_02: And we've been talking about this a lot.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: We a this is one of those conversations out there that I'd like to be able to.
2:01
SPEAKER_02: We have these talks.
2:03
SPEAKER_02: We have basically the ability to, in the show, be a fly in the wall with some of the conversations that I'm just really honored and thankful for because I've got people in my life that I can actually reach out to that can are the experts in things where we don't necessarily need to be the expert in everything.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: Uh help clients out and solve solutions that they're nervous and they're worried about.
2:25
SPEAKER_02: And that's one of the reasons we've used Paul.
2:28
SPEAKER_02: He's done a great job for us.
2:29
SPEAKER_02: Just real quick about Paul, uh Shepherd Insurance, who's purchased McClennan and Bain.
2:34
SPEAKER_02: It's local here, was back in April 2024.
2:37
SPEAKER_02: Uh, works with clients on Medicare supplement coverage.
2:40
SPEAKER_02: So today we're talking about Medicare and what Medicare is and how it works, part D to prescription drug plans, Medicare Advantage plans, as well as a variety of health insurance products for people under the age of 65.
2:54
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, you know that once you turn 65, you're able to have Medicare eligibility.
2:59
SPEAKER_02: He lives in Valparaiso, our wonderful town here that we uh know and love.
3:03
SPEAKER_02: Graduate from Indiana University, hence the background that I have on today.
3:07
SPEAKER_02: Just celebrate that.
3:08
SPEAKER_02: Obviously, everyone knows I'm a proud IU grad as well.
3:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh Paul's been married to Brenda for over 37 years.
3:15
SPEAKER_02: So congratulations to that.
3:16
SPEAKER_02: And uh has uh three children five five grandchildren.
3:22
SPEAKER_02: Yes, brother, I did not know that.
3:24
SPEAKER_02: So thank you for that.
3:25
SPEAKER_01: From my first from my two oldest ones.
3:26
SPEAKER_01: You you only really know my youngest one.
3:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I know, I know.
3:29
SPEAKER_02: That's it IU.
3:30
SPEAKER_02: Five grandchildren.
3:31
SPEAKER_02: Main interest outside of work, sports, physical fitness.
3:34
SPEAKER_02: He's running 21 marathons, which is incredible, including 15 Chicago and the Chicago Marathon in a row, which is incredible.
3:40
SPEAKER_02: But it's been a while.
3:41
SPEAKER_02: It's been a while, so but good for you.
3:44
SPEAKER_02: Uh excited to have Paul on here today to help add some clarity on exactly what Medicare is.
3:50
SPEAKER_02: I want to stress this because most people don't understand what Medicare is versus Medicaid.
3:56
SPEAKER_02: Medicaid is welfare.
3:58
SPEAKER_02: Medicaid is what you have to qualify for if you have a very low income level.
4:03
SPEAKER_02: And that's not what this is.
4:04
SPEAKER_02: This is Medicare.
4:05
SPEAKER_02: We want to talk about healthcare benefits, how you walk towards Medicare, how you apply for Medicare.
4:10
SPEAKER_02: We get lots of questions with this, and a lot of times uh, you know, I just introduce people to Paul, but this is a great opportunity to be able to kind of uh introduce you to our audience.
4:20
SPEAKER_02: And then ultimately, Paul, where does everybody get a hold of you if they want to reach out to you?
4:25
SPEAKER_01: Well, my direct number is 219-476-3299, and I'm actually working out of two offices in Valparaiso, one at our Aberdeen office, which is 214 Aberdeen Drive.
4:38
SPEAKER_01: And then I also took over a book of business from one of our other offices in Valparaiso at 2600 Roosevelt, the Anton Insurance Office.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: Anton sold the Shepherd actually before McClennan and Bain did.
4:51
SPEAKER_01: So there was a man here here who retired.
4:53
SPEAKER_01: I took over his book of business, and I work out of his office also.
4:56
SPEAKER_01: So I meet people wherever it's more convenient for them.
5:00
SPEAKER_02: Okay, perfect.
5:01
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for that, and I'll repeat that a couple times for everybody out there as well.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: I want to talk about so Medicare is enrolling before the age of 65, right?
5:10
SPEAKER_02: Is the plan.
5:11
SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, you you mentioned that so when people are closing in on age 65, yeah.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: A lot of times they think, oh my gosh, I'm getting old and now I'm gonna qualify for Medicare.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: Oh boy, I don't want to do this.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: But actually, qualifying for Medicare is a good thing, especially if you compare it to what's available for people who may be retired and are taking other insurance through the the marketplace, which is healthcare.gov.
5:35
SPEAKER_01: The premiums are very high, especially when you're in your early 60s.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: And by the time you get to age 65, you're gonna feel a little bit of a sense of relief when you go on Medicare because it's definitely better coverage than what you might have before.
5:49
SPEAKER_01: And premium-wise, unless you're in a very high income level, it's gonna be less than what you were paying before and it's better coverage.
5:57
SPEAKER_01: And so I help people with that transition in the few months before they turn 65.
6:03
SPEAKER_01: You can actually enroll in Medicare starting three months before your birthday month, and you can do that online if you're not yet drawing Social Security.
6:12
SPEAKER_01: If you are drawing Social Security before you're 65, you will be mailed your Medicare card ahead of time.
6:18
SPEAKER_01: And lately they've been coming three or four months before people's birthday.
6:22
SPEAKER_01: So if your birthday is in August and you're drawing social security, you might get your Medicare card like in April or May.
6:28
SPEAKER_02: So they're gonna actually send it to you if you're drawing Social Security.
6:31
SPEAKER_01: If you're already drawing Social Security, go automatically get your Medicare card.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: If you're not drawing Social Security, you can do so online at a government website called login.gov.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: Once you get in there, then it's relatively easy.
6:45
SPEAKER_01: The hardest part, people tell me, is creating a username and a password.
6:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's not easy.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: I think have to use maybe facial identification now to get a spot.
6:54
SPEAKER_01: But but once you get once you do enroll in Medicare, which you can do online starting three months before your birthday month, okay.
7:00
SPEAKER_01: The effective date of your Medicare is always the first of the month that you turn 65.
7:04
SPEAKER_01: Unless it's on your unless your birthday is on the first of the month, then you qualify for Medicare on the first of the previous month.
7:11
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
7:12
SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
7:12
SPEAKER_02: And one thing I want to be able to talk about before we get into part D and a number of other things as far as details.
7:18
SPEAKER_02: Right.
7:19
SPEAKER_02: What uh what we've been seeing, especially since COVID, is a lot of people that are in the high net worth realm, they they definitely have wealth that they put away.
7:29
SPEAKER_02: They're still working, many of them, and many of them are just tired and done, and they just really want to just be done at 62.
7:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:36
SPEAKER_02: And they're finding that there's no real option except for Cobra from their current employer, which lasts 12 to 18 months and is not cheap.
7:46
SPEAKER_02: And they're finding that going to healthcare.gov and going to the marketplace is really expensive.
7:52
SPEAKER_02: So the Affordable Healthcare Act is not that at all.
7:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh, which not for people who have a substantial income.
7:59
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
8:00
SPEAKER_02: You don't get any subsidies or any sort of discounts because you make too much money.
8:05
SPEAKER_02: And so retiring early or leaving early at the age of 62, you've got to really come, it messes up with the financial plan where you're talking about a big chunk of money where a couple might be in for twenty twenty-five thousand dollars in premiums where they did not anticipate.
8:19
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
8:20
SPEAKER_01: And the plans themselves are gonna have a fairly high deductible.
8:23
SPEAKER_01: So, what I usually tell people in that situation is if they have the option to go on Cobra, even though Cobra has a bad reputation of being expensive, that the prices are actually going to be similar to the Affordable Care Act plans.
8:36
SPEAKER_01: Right.
8:36
SPEAKER_01: And the coverage is definitely going to be better because it's the same coverage that you've had all along.
8:40
SPEAKER_01: The coverage most likely is a PPO where that's a bigger network of doctors and hospitals, and you can go anywhere you need to go.
8:47
SPEAKER_01: You gotta, you know, there's a network, but with the PPO, you're allowed to go out of the network.
8:52
SPEAKER_01: With the uh Affordable Care Act plans on healthcare.gov, all of those plans are HMOs where you have to stay in the network, and for the most part, you're not allowed to go out of the state.
9:01
SPEAKER_01: Right.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: So for people in Northwest Indiana, a lot of people want to go to a specialist in Chicago.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: Well, if you're on an Affordable Care Act plan through a company called AM Better or even Anthem, and you need a specialist, most likely you're gonna have to go to Indianapolis.
9:16
SPEAKER_01: Right.
9:16
SPEAKER_02: You gotta stay in the state, and we're like right here with great care just across the border.
9:21
SPEAKER_02: Right.
9:21
SPEAKER_02: And used to be able to go, no problem.
9:23
SPEAKER_02: And then also there's no Mayo Clinic, then there's no Cleveland Clinic, there's no like all these places that are specialists, there's no UCLA, you know, for or wherever you want to go to get really the top tier care, you don't you're you're out.
9:37
SPEAKER_01: Right.
9:37
SPEAKER_01: And that's why usually Cobra is going to be a better option than anything on healthcare.gov.
9:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, which is just a you know, it is it is frustrating because people are like, look, I've got enough money saved up.
9:48
SPEAKER_02: My let's just say, you know, time horizon-wise, my parents l lived until they were 75.
9:54
SPEAKER_02: You know, I I kind of want to retire early.
9:56
SPEAKER_02: I don't want to work until I'm 65.
9:58
SPEAKER_02: And they there's really no there's no option.
10:01
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's just only the only options that are out there are expensive.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:05
SPEAKER_01: The Affordable Care Act is only affordable for people who have lower incomes, to be honest with you.
10:13
SPEAKER_01: Well, but the nice thing is, one of the good things is about it is the subsidies are based on your your modified adjusted gross income.
10:21
SPEAKER_01: They're not based on your assets.
10:23
SPEAKER_01: Right.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: So I've got people who are millionaires who can control what their modified adjusted gross income is going to be and they can still qualify for a subsidy.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:33
SPEAKER_01: And right right now, uh I I've looked this up a couple of times in the last week.
10:37
SPEAKER_01: A couple who is in their early 60s, if they made if if they can say that their predicted income is going to be$84,000 this year, they can get a subsidy of about$1,300 a month.
10:49
SPEAKER_01: But if they hit 85, it's zero.
10:51
SPEAKER_01: Right.
10:52
SPEAKER_01: So there's a there's a huge cutoff right there between getting subsidy and not getting a subsidy.
10:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
10:58
SPEAKER_01: So that that can be kind of confusing, and and it's all basically on healthcare.gov, which people can create a username and a password when the time comes, and they've got sixty-three days from the time they lose coverage to where they can sign up for a plan.
11:12
SPEAKER_01: You don't want to have a gap.
11:13
unknown: Right.
11:13
SPEAKER_01: So you won't look into things a month or two before you're gonna make that decision.
11:17
SPEAKER_02: Right.
11:18
SPEAKER_02: Okay, great info.
11:19
SPEAKER_02: So Medicare supplement coverage, like you one of the questions you we talked about is like what's the strongest plan out there for supplements?
11:28
SPEAKER_01: Well, the the the best plan, which I don't know if I'm supposed to use that word, but it's plan G.
11:33
SPEAKER_01: Medicare supplements go like A through N.
11:36
SPEAKER_01: There's a couple that aren't in there, but it used to be a plan F because the way Medicare works is you've got a part A of Medicare which covers hospitalization, part B which covers everything else.
11:46
SPEAKER_01: Part A has no premium, that's what you paid into the system for your whole life.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: Part B does have a premium, and there is an income chart on how much Part B costs, and the Part B premiums are based on your modified adjusted gross income from two years prior.
12:00
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
12:01
SPEAKER_01: So this year in 2026, Part B premiums are based on your taxes from 2024.
12:07
SPEAKER_01: Right.
12:08
SPEAKER_01: And so if you if you're a couple that is uh filing jointly, you have to be two hundred eighteen thousand or less to pay the standard amount of two hundred two ninety per month.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: That's for the part B of Medicare.
12:20
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
12:21
SPEAKER_01: And so that it just goes up from there.
12:23
SPEAKER_01: There's uh there's six different levels, and the highest level is for a couple is income over seven hundred and fifty thousand.
12:30
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
12:31
SPEAKER_01: So and then that one, so just to get that one is six eighty nine ninety per month.
12:37
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
12:38
SPEAKER_01: So if you have a higher income, congratulations, you get to pay more to Medicare.
12:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
12:42
SPEAKER_01: It's called it's called the Irma, which is income-related monthly adjustment amount.
12:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
12:47
SPEAKER_02: So if you were a saver, if you put money away, you sold your business, whatever you did in life, congratulations, you owe an others.
12:54
SPEAKER_02: You've been paying into Medicare all your life.
12:56
SPEAKER_02: Right.
12:56
SPEAKER_02: So you get part A.
12:57
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
12:58
SPEAKER_01: But it then it's it's based on your modified adjust your gross income though.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: So if you can keep that down two years before you go on Medicare, that would be good.
13:07
SPEAKER_01: That's ideal.
13:08
SPEAKER_01: And and it's 218.
13:10
SPEAKER_01: But if you're we we have a lot of maybe doctors who, you know, are up and uh high up on the scale.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: What who want to continue to work, and a lot of them, it's better for them to just stay on their group insurance plan if they can, right, than to pay the six hundred eighty-eight dollars before for part B, and that's before they would come to me for a Medicare supplement.
13:32
SPEAKER_01: You you asked about that.
13:34
SPEAKER_01: Plan G.
13:35
SPEAKER_01: Plan G is the way to go because it pays for everything except for the Part B deductible, which is two hundred and eighty-three dollars.
13:42
SPEAKER_01: So basically, if anything happens to you, worst case scenario, your Medicare, a Part B pre uh deductible of two hundred and eighty-three dollars is the only thing you have in out of pocket on the on the health side, not prescriptions, if something bad happens to you with a plan G.
13:56
SPEAKER_01: And right now the rates are a little bit fluctuating because of a new law in Indiana called the birthday rule.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I wanted to talk about that too.
14:05
SPEAKER_01: So you want to go into that?
14:06
SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, so uh Medicare supplement rates are going up right now because of a new law that took that just took effect January 1st called the Birthday Rule.
14:15
SPEAKER_01: And Indiana joined in some other states.
14:17
SPEAKER_01: Uh there were 14 states that had the birthday rule before this year, and now there's 31.
14:22
SPEAKER_01: And so what the birthday rule says is if you have a Medicare supplement and you want to switch to another company for the set on the same plan in order to save premium, you can do so during the 31 days before and after your birthday.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: Any company has to take you, it doesn't matter what your health situation is.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: So that's significant because before the birthday rule, you could switch anytime you wanted, but you had to answer three pages worth of health questions and go through medical underwriting, and then the insurance company just could decide whether to take you or not.
14:50
SPEAKER_01: Well, with the birthday rule, they have to take you during those 31 days before and after your birthday.
14:55
SPEAKER_01: So this is the first year for the plan in Indiana for the birthday rule, and I've been changing people several per week since January and saving them money on their premiums.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: I like to throw out an example of my uncle who turned 80 this year.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: He'd been with me since he turned 65, and his premium with one company was all the way up to$577 a month for a plan F, which used to be the best plan to get.
15:18
SPEAKER_01: Now it's G.
15:19
SPEAKER_01: I was able to move him to another company at about$249 a month as opposed to$577.
15:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.
15:25
SPEAKER_02: It's almost half.
15:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and he so he's got health problems.
15:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:29
SPEAKER_01: So the insurance company, but the insurance company had to take him.
15:31
SPEAKER_01: In the old days, he would have been turned down.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: Right.
15:34
SPEAKER_01: But now I was say I saved him over two hundred dollars a month.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: So I've been doing that for a lot of people.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: But the trade-off on that is since the insurance companies pe know they're going to be taking on higher risk people, they're just going to raise the starting rates.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: And so we've already seen that United Healthcare has raised rates twenty-five percent for their June increase.
15:52
SPEAKER_01: So a lot of people are who are with United Healthcare right now are getting letters in the mail that their premiums are going up anywhere from forty to ninety dollars, I've seen.
16:01
SPEAKER_01: So if if they have any health problems, they can't switch until their birthday time.
16:06
SPEAKER_01: And then they can go to another company that has lower rates for now and be locked in for a year at a newer rate.
16:11
SPEAKER_01: So it's it's good for people right now to be able to switch during their birthday time, but uh the reverse of that is the insurance companies are boosting rates all overall.
16:21
SPEAKER_01: So I'm thinking this year is the best year to make a switch.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: Next year we might be paying for it a little bit.
16:26
SPEAKER_02: We'll see.
16:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:27
SPEAKER_02: And you'll never know until the year comes up either, do you?
16:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: Right.
16:31
SPEAKER_02: One of the things you mentioned too was part D prescription coverage.
16:35
SPEAKER_02: There's a penalty for not having coverage.
16:36
SPEAKER_02: Do you want to talk about that?
16:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: So when you first turn 65 and get Medicare Part A and B, the government requires you to have prescription coverage.
16:45
SPEAKER_01: And you can get that through uh I've got a lot of former union steel workers who used to have a prescription coverage through their union.
16:53
SPEAKER_01: That was the case before 2005, which is when Part D started.
16:56
SPEAKER_01: But when Part D started, the government said, okay, we're gonna insurance companies are gonna offer you coverage now for prescriptions.
17:03
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't sign up, they want everybody to come in, even if they didn't take any prescriptions.
17:08
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't sign up, but you do down the road, you're gonna get a penalty for every month that you should have had coverage, but you didn't.
17:14
SPEAKER_01: And the penalty equates to right now about 39 cents per month.
17:18
SPEAKER_01: The significance of that is you need to sign up when you first turn 65.
17:22
SPEAKER_01: And if you don't, you're locked out until the annual enrollment period, which is October 15th to December 7th.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: That's when I'm that's like my if I was an accountant, that would be my busy season between October 15th and December 7th.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: Right.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: Because people can either sign up for the first time on a prescription drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan, or they can make a switch from one company to another.
17:43
SPEAKER_01: So that's that's the busy time of year for me when it's when I'm meeting with four or five people a day and my phone's ringing and I'm getting emails and it's tough to get through to everybody.
17:51
SPEAKER_01: But every yeah, even even people who the the plans themselves are relatively inexpensive.
17:57
SPEAKER_01: There's three or four different plans that are less than ten dollars a month.
18:00
SPEAKER_01: So even people who don't take prescriptions, I say, you know, get this plan from Humana for nine dollars and ninety cents, and then you'll have something if you need it, right?
18:09
SPEAKER_01: And you'll avoid being penalized down the road.
18:12
SPEAKER_01: So for the most part, it makes sense for people to sign up for a part D plan, except for some of those high income people, because in addition to paying the extra part B premium, they also have to pay extra on their part D.
18:22
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
18:23
SPEAKER_01: So you get you get hit double six.
18:25
SPEAKER_01: Right.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: So like if you're in that high income over$750, again, you're you're paying almost$500 more on the Part B, but then you're also paying$91 on your part D IRMA.
18:37
SPEAKER_01: So that$9.90 plan with Humana becomes$100.90 when you have the IRMA.
18:44
SPEAKER_01: And the IRMA is what exactly for the audience?
18:46
SPEAKER_01: It it's called income-related monthly adjustment amount.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: Nice.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: It's the government's fancy way of saying thank you for making more money.
18:54
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna charge you more.
18:55
SPEAKER_02: Got it.
18:56
SPEAKER_02: So it ends up being almost an extra two hundred dollars if you're making money.
18:59
SPEAKER_02: Now, do you happen to have the salary limitations there?
19:03
SPEAKER_02: You said$750 as a household.
19:05
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's yeah, it's it it's it's your modified adjusted gross income.
19:09
SPEAKER_01: Right.
19:10
SPEAKER_01: And the the it's$750 for married filing jointly,$500 for an individual.
19:16
SPEAKER_01: That's the top of the chart.
19:17
SPEAKER_01: And there's there's six levels.
19:19
SPEAKER_01: Right.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: And it starts at$202.90 for the premium for part B and then goes up to$689.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: And you can find that at healthcare.gov.
19:28
SPEAKER_01: It's on Medicare.gov, yeah.
19:29
SPEAKER_01: Medicare.gov.
19:30
SPEAKER_01: That chart's on Medicare.gov.
19:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
19:32
SPEAKER_02: Just making sure everybody knows.
19:33
SPEAKER_02: Uh, real quick, station identification was shows money matters with Greg.
19:37
SPEAKER_02: I'm Greg Farrell, CEO and owner of Ferrell Wealth.
19:39
SPEAKER_02: It's a wealth management firm, licensed financial advisor, and we work with clients all over the nation, helping them save some money.
19:46
SPEAKER_02: And this is what we're talking about today is Medicare with Paul Jankowski with Shepherd Insurance, you're locally in Balpo.
19:52
SPEAKER_02: And uh really just a go-to source resource for you or anyone, you, your family, uh, you know, anybody you know that's walking up towards that age of 65 and has questions about their benefits.
20:06
SPEAKER_02: Paul's a great resource to have.
20:08
SPEAKER_02: You can find them at 219-476-3299, is the uh number, right, Paul?
20:14
SPEAKER_02: Is that the right number?
20:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's my number.
20:15
SPEAKER_01: My email is P Jankowski, and that's P and then J-A-N-K-O-W-S-K-I at Shepherd INS dot com.
20:23
SPEAKER_01: And that's S H E P H E R D I N S dot com.
20:27
SPEAKER_01: Shepherd Insurance.
20:28
SPEAKER_01: Shepherd is a bigger insurance company based in Carmel.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: Who is that?
20:32
SPEAKER_02: And I'll make sure to Yeah, sorry to interrupt.
20:34
SPEAKER_02: I'll make sure to add that email and everything else to the YouTube and also, you know, Instagram, anywhere we put you on socials, we'll put you how to contact Paul as well, just so you know.
20:44
SPEAKER_02: A couple more things before we wrap up.
20:46
SPEAKER_02: I wanted to talk about the Medicare Advantage plans.
20:49
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
20:50
SPEAKER_02: Low premiums, but sort of an out-of-pocket expense and networks.
20:54
SPEAKER_02: What?
20:55
SPEAKER_01: Well, Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Advantage plans started about 21 years ago now because Medicare saw the baby boomers coming and thought we can't handle everybody on our own.
21:05
SPEAKER_01: We need help from the insurance companies.
21:07
SPEAKER_01: So they came up with Medicare Advantage plans for the insurance companies to take over the servicing for all the the baby boomers coming up.
21:15
SPEAKER_01: You still have to pay your Part B premium with Medicare, but you have to have Medicare A and B live in the service area of a particular plan, and you get your Medicare then from the insurance company.
21:27
SPEAKER_01: For example, like Humana, United Healthcare, Anthem, all those companies have Medicare Advantage plans in Indiana.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: So the Medicare Advantage Plan is it's a trade-off compared to a Medicare supplement.
21:37
SPEAKER_01: So a Medicare supplement, Medicare pays first, and your supplement then comes into play and picks up the balance for the most part.
21:44
SPEAKER_01: But you're also paying, you know, an average of$150 to$200 a month, depending on how old you are, and that premium goes up as you get older.
21:51
SPEAKER_01: Medicare Advantage plans, a lot of them have a zero premium.
21:55
SPEAKER_01: I'm not supposed to say free, a zero premium, and it's your health coverage and your prescription coverage.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Coverage all rolled into one plan.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: The trade-off is yes, you have a zero premium.
22:04
SPEAKER_01: First of all, how does how can you get insurance for zero?
22:06
SPEAKER_01: The trade-off is Medicare because the insurance company has taken them off the hands of Medicare, they don't have to deal with you basically.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: They're paying an average of about$1,000 a month.
22:16
SPEAKER_01: So it's called the Medicare Advantage funding.
22:19
SPEAKER_01: So if if you have a Humana Medicare Advantage plan, they're receiving$1,000 a month from Medicare to service your account.
22:26
SPEAKER_01: They have to use it to pay any claims you have, but they're getting$1,000 a month.
22:29
SPEAKER_01: And if you're healthy, guess what?
22:31
SPEAKER_01: They're making$1,000 a month off you.
22:33
SPEAKER_01: Right.
22:34
SPEAKER_01: That's why you see a lot of advertising on TV for Medicare Advantage plans.
22:39
SPEAKER_01: It's it's kind of out of hand during, especially during the enrollment period at the end of the year, because everybody wants a piece of that pie.
22:45
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: So the trade-off is you're you have a network of doctors and hospitals.
22:50
SPEAKER_01: There are PPOs, which are you know a bigger network and you're allowed to go out if you need to, and there is HMOs.
22:56
SPEAKER_01: The insurance companies, for the most part, are leaning towards HMOs anymore, which I don't necessarily like to do because I want people to be able to go wherever they need to go.
23:04
SPEAKER_01: So Medicare Advantage plans, low premiums, but then you pay as you go along.
23:08
SPEAKER_01: For example, if you go to see a specialist on a Medicare Advantage plan, you're gonna have a copay of$35 to$45 or$50.
23:15
SPEAKER_01: If you have a Medicare supplement, the supplement picks up its portion after what Medicare pays.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: After you on a plan G, you've got that$283 deductible.
23:24
SPEAKER_01: And then after that, the supplement pays everything.
23:26
SPEAKER_01: So with the supplement, you can go wherever you need to go, and you're not gonna have any bills after that deductible.
23:31
SPEAKER_01: With a Medicare Advantage plan, you've got low premiums, but you're gonna pay as you go along if something happens to you.
23:37
SPEAKER_01: And the biggest ticket item is if you end up in the hospital.
23:40
SPEAKER_01: On most of Medicare Advantage plans, you're gonna pay an average of three or four hundred dollars per day that you're in the hospital.
23:47
SPEAKER_01: The nice thing about Medicare Advantage plans is they do cap it to where there's a maximum out of pocket.
23:51
SPEAKER_01: Let's let's say an let's say a plan has a maximum out of pocket is six thousand seven hundred dollars.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: Well, if you end up in the hospital, they cap your hospital state a certain number of days that they charge you for.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: So if you're in the hospital for ten days, they might you might only have that copay for the first five or six days.
24:07
SPEAKER_01: So that is a good way of limiting your out-of-pocket.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: So if it's four hundred dollars a day for six days, then you're spending, but you're in there for ten, you're paying twenty four hundred dollars, which goes towards your maximum out of pocket.
24:18
SPEAKER_01: So it can eat away if you had a and if you had the hospital stay on Medicare supplement plan G, you're not gonna have any bills.
24:24
SPEAKER_01: But uh the trade-off is if you have a Medicare advantage plan, you're gonna eat away your savings if you end up in the hospital.
24:31
SPEAKER_01: But it is it is a way for people if people are healthy and they rarely see a doctor, you're gonna win.
24:37
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I tell people all the time, it's how you want to gamble.
24:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just don't get sick.
24:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
24:41
SPEAKER_02: Don't get sick and don't have any scripts.
24:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's perfect.
24:44
SPEAKER_02: It's it'll work out great.
24:46
SPEAKER_02: The other thing, too, I want to be able to mention to people, you know, one look, it's not free, it's not cheap.
24:51
SPEAKER_02: There's things you have to do just because you go on Medicare, it's not gonna necessarily, they're gonna be expenses, especially if you're you've you know, you're making money, you've built a portfolio, you're now creating income, you've got RMDs, you know, there's things that are going on that are gonna you're gonna have in the future once you turn 73 with these tax-deferred monies, but you can plan ahead, have an HSA, put money away, you know, get that tax deduction, and at least plan ahead for this time.
25:18
SPEAKER_02: That's why we're doing this, is to say, look, you know, you know you might not be 64 and a half going on 65.
25:25
SPEAKER_02: You might be in your late 50s and you need to be able to prep for this.
25:29
SPEAKER_02: So you know, there are alternatives, there are options to get ready for it.
25:33
SPEAKER_02: Uh it's just all about the education.
25:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you mentioned HSAs.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: With with when you if you when you enroll in Medicare at age 65, if you're if you're gonna delay your Social Security until you're six sixty-seven, that's kind of the maximum age, right?
25:47
SPEAKER_01: Six yeah, sixty-six.
25:49
SPEAKER_01: So if you delay your delaying your social security, you have you pay your part B premium on your own, and they bill people quarterly.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: Right.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: If you have money in an HSA, you can use the money in the HSA to pay the part B premiums.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: You can't use it to pay a Medicare supplement, but you can use it to pay for part B premiums.
26:07
SPEAKER_01: And I like to tell people also it's good to use the money in there for dental envision because Medicare doesn't cover basic dental envision.
26:15
SPEAKER_01: So if you have to get a crown or something, and you've got money in your HSA, that's the best way to go instead of buying a dental plan.
26:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and out-of-pocket things, you know, there are sometimes even prescription drugs, you get at a discount, you can use your HSA money for that.
26:28
SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
26:29
SPEAKER_02: Well, is uh so talking to Paul Jankowski here, really your Medicare expert in the in the world that we live in as we walk clients through towards six the age of sixty five and get on Medicare.
26:42
SPEAKER_02: Paul, thanks for being here.
26:43
SPEAKER_02: Would like to yeah, one last thing you want to leave the audience with, just as far as like planning and what they can do for the future.
26:50
SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, just kind of a little timeline.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: If you're in your early 60s and and you want to retire early, don't be afraid of Cobra, but also do the math and see what kind of premiums you would have through uh Affordable Care Act plan on healthcare.gov.
27:05
SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid of turning 65, it's a good thing because you can qualify for Medicare.
27:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
27:10
SPEAKER_01: Um and it's gonna be uh better coverage and most likely less expensive unless you're at the top of that income chart to get Medicare and then you get a supplement and a prescription drug plan is the strongest coverage you can get.
27:22
SPEAKER_01: And then the all-the-alternative is a uh a Medicare Advantage plan.
27:27
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
27:27
SPEAKER_02: Well, thanks for being here from two very, very proud IU Indiana University graduates.
27:33
SPEAKER_02: Want to say thank you.
27:34
SPEAKER_02: We even we even help out Purdue fans during these times.
27:38
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to 65, of course.
27:39
SPEAKER_02: We're happy to help.
27:40
SPEAKER_02: Paul, thanks for being here today.
27:41
SPEAKER_02: I really appreciate it.
27:42
SPEAKER_01: Paul, thanks, Greg.
27:43
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I wear my IU shirt if I know a Purdue guy's coming in.
27:47
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, of course, right?
27:48
SPEAKER_02: Just for fun.
27:49
SPEAKER_02: Well said, well put.
27:50
SPEAKER_02: And uh to everybody out there, I want to thank you for listening.
27:53
SPEAKER_02: Uh, we're gonna be on YouTube.
27:54
SPEAKER_02: You'll this will be episode, I think, 185 on Spotify and Apple, so you can find us in both anywhere you pod.
28:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh the show's Money Matters with Greg.
28:03
SPEAKER_02: I'm Greg Furrow, CEO and owner of Feral Wealth.
28:06
SPEAKER_02: And we talked money on this show uh at 103.1 FM W VLP on Thursdays at 1 o'clock and Saturdays replayed at 1 o'clock.
28:14
SPEAKER_02: So this show will be up and running for this Thursday.
28:16
SPEAKER_02: Uh I want to thank everybody out there, I want to thank Paul, and uh everybody have a great week.
28:21
SPEAKER_02: We'll see you.
28:22
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Greg.
28:25
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for tuning into Money Matters with Greg.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: We hope you gain some valuable insights today.
28:30
SPEAKER_00: Remember, your financial journey is personal, but you don't have to go it alone.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and share.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, here's the making your money work for you.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: Securities and investment advisory services offered through LPL Financial Registered Investment Advisor, member FINRA SIPC.