Senior voice May

Happy Mother’s Day,
Remember your Mom this May 10
th and do something special with her. Moms are always
there for you, making your favorite dinner, getting that shirt or blouse you had been wanting,
stepping in when you get yourself in trouble trying to soften the Dad talk, there are so many
things’ Moms do for all of us. Take the time to let your Mom know how much you care this
Mothers Day.
Well, let’s talk about what you need to do when you are turning 65 and getting our Medicare.
This can be a very trying time. First, you’re becoming a celebrity and 6 months prior to your
65th birthday you are going to receive tons of mail pieces and numerous phone calls about
your Medicare options. The mail pieces are information from many of the companies that are
offering Medicare plans in your area and additionally many agents are mailing you information
about the Medicare plans they are promoting. The phone calls are coming from; I can’t tell you
who because no one knows. Be careful about talking to anyone on the phone and giving them
your private information, you don’t know who they really are or where they are really calling
from.
If you are already getting your social security check then 3 months before your birthday social
security will send you your Medicare card with your Part A and your Part B start dates which
are usually the first of your 65th birthday month. There can be some deviation from this for
some but not for most of us. They are doing this because they assume you want your
Medicare to start when you are turning 65. If you are not already receiving your social security
check, social security does not send you your Medicare card. Why? Simply, social security
thinks you’re still working and don’t want your Part B to start when you turn 65. Social security
believes you have creditable coverage through group insurance. This is where it can get
confusing.
This is where social security can apply penalties if you don’t have Part B and Part D when
you’re eligible. So again, most individuals get their Part A and Part B when they turn 65, no
penalty. You also signed up for a Part D as a stand-alone plan or through a Medicare
Advantage plan, no penalty. The penalties are applied when you don’t get your Part B and/or
Part D when you’re supposed to. Here is an example, you are 68 and didn’t take your Part B or
Part D and you also didn’t have creditable coverage, ex: Group coverage and now you request
to add your Part B and purchase a stand-alone Part D. The penalty is 1% for every month you
did not have your Part B and/or Part D, so for our example 3 years equals 36%. This is just the
beginning and why this is important that you should get with a broker agent when you are
deciding on your Medicare Options.
Call Accent Insurance Group at 352-666-7373 and ask for one of our agents to go over how to
Avoid these potential penalties.
Happy Mother Day to all the Moms out ther