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 I’m John Stamper with Choice Plus Benefits here to warn you about a common trap 65-year-olds buying Supplemental Medicare Insurance get sucked into every day. Here’s what it looks like.

You buy a shiny new policy at a cheap rate at age 65 when you’re still healthy and in an open enrollment period which protects you against being turned down due to pre-existing conditions.

After a little while in the program, the rate goes up. Maybe not a lot, but it’s going up.

Then you start having health problems or you get into your 70’s and the rate goes way up, really fast, and there may be nothing you can do about it.

You may have been told at the outset that you could switch to a different policy when this one got too expensive – that was not good advice. At that point, your health may not be what it was when you were 65, and you’re not in an open enrollment period anymore, so it’s difficult to impossible to qualify for any other policy. Seriously. You do not want to go there.

There is a right way to do Supplemental Medicare Insurance. Get with an agent who represents the best insurance providers, who understands the long-term consequences of the policies they sell, and who sells you a policy based on your needs, not theirs.

If you have any questions about Supplemental Medicare Insurance or any other health insurance option, please call us, email us or fill out the form on our website. Thank you for your time. Have a fantastic day.

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If your loved one is beginning to exhibit some difficulties with activities of daily living or performing routine tasks, it could be time to consider researching long-term care facilities in your area so you can make the best possible decision concerning your loved one’s overall quality of life.

Popular Long-Term Care Options Today

Today, there are a variety of long-term care options available to provide just the right amount of assistance your aging loved one may need. Most of the options are designed to allow your loved one to maintain as much independence as desired while receiving assistance with daily tasks, like bathing, grooming, dressing, and meal preparation or eating.

When an aging loved one is no longer taking proper care of him or herself in the home, oftentimes the adult child becomes overwhelmed by caregiving duties, risking their own health and needs to care for their elderly parent. Or, the adult child may not be qualified to provide all the care needed on a daily basis. Long-term care for the elderly will give both the aging family member and the caregiver peace of mind that any healthcare needs will be met, now and in the future.

A few common long-term care options include:

• Assisted living – This long-term care option combines housing and assistance with daily living activities as needed. Residents enjoy private or semi-private apartments and amenities like scheduled transportation and social events, help with housekeeping, three daily meals and snacks, and much more.
• Alzheimer’s or dementia care – Many long-term care facilities or assisted living facilities include a special neighborhood for residents needing memory care. These neighborhoods or special wings offer specific memory care programming offered by specially-trained individuals, and usually include extra security features to ensure residents’ safety at all times.
• Skilled nursing facilities – Skilled nursing facilities provide around-the-clock care for those needing more medical attention and assistance. Most skilled nursing facilities also offer rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational and speech therapies following an illness, injury or surgery.

Long-Term Care Services Offered

Long-term care facilities offer a variety of services, including:

• Professionally-trained staff or geriatric nursing specialists available around the clock
• Medication management
• Assistance with activities of daily living: bathing, dressing, grooming, eating and mobility
• Personalized care plans designed for the resident’s specific needs
• Senior rehabilitative therapies, including physical, occupational and speech therapies
• Diabetes management with specialized diet plans
• Post-hospital care

These services are provided in a comfortable, home-like setting that encourages independence among residents. Most often, seniors who live in long-term care facilities enjoy a better quality of life and feel more independent than an elderly person aging in place in the home.

Article by American Senior Communities

Choice Plus Benefits is dedicated to fulfilling the investment, life and health insurance needs of seniors who are over 60. As choosing life insurance policies for seniors is critical, the company helps its clients to choose plans that will suit their specific requirements as well as budget. The company claims to be a leading private insurance company in Texas, which strives to offer consistent and high quality services to all its clients. The company ensures that the customers get the best choice and maximum benefits for the dollars that they spend on the policies.

Life insurance policies ensure financial assistance in case something happens to the sole earning member of the family. In case the sole earning member passes away, the family members will be responsible for some of the major expenses, especially if they don’t have insurance coverage. Life insurance for seniors is an excellent way to protect their families from the financial burdens that they may have to incur. The company provides complete information on the various types of life insurance policies that are available. Apart from this, they also provide information on the expected returns and the insurance policies that are appropriate for a particular income group.

Choice Plus Benefits helps in customers to choose the perfect life insurance policy for seniors that can protect their families from funeral and death expenses, medical bills and any other outstanding debts. Most people are of the opinion that life insurance policies for seniors are beneficial for meeting just the funeral and death expenses. In reality, it can also play a vital role in meeting many other expenses such as protection against future injuries as well as permanent disability.

Apart from a life insurance policy, the company also specializes in providing the clients with Medicare insurance, health insurance and group insurance to name a few. The company claims to represent the top rated insurance firms that stand by their products, have a strong financial rating along with an excellent reputation. The company takes pride in its team of certified, ethical and highly trained insurance specialists and advisers who have over 50 years of experience in the insurance industry.

Choice Plus Benefits claims that any product that is placed in their care is serviced by them on a regular basis to provide quality assurance to the clients. They provide their customers with the best available options to fulfill their coverage needs. The company also provides an instant quote to the clients who are looking for insurance coverage. Customers can fill up the online form with their personal details to get an instant quote.

About Choice Plus Benefits
Choice Plus Benefits was established in the year 1997. It was initially devoted to providing health care needs to its clients. However, the company expanded its services after recognizing the advantages of securing total health and financial well-being of the clients. It aims to help their clients find the best insurance and investment solutions for their needs and family. They represent the top-rated companies that have strong financial ratings.

24-7 Press Release

Affordable life insurance policies

Medicare costs are going up

Every year, Medicare sees adjustments to what it charges participants. For those who have hospital coverage under Medicare Part A, the following changes in premiums, deductibles, and co-payment amounts are the most important.

Data source: Medicare.gov.

Meanwhile, medical-care coverage under Medicare Part B will also see cost increases in 2017. The table below has most of the major changes.

Data source: Medicare.gov.

Also, high-income individuals with earnings of more than $85,000 for singles or $170,000 for joint filers will have to pay even larger surcharges. You can get the full amount of Medicare increases here Opens a New Window..

Fewer prescription drug plans will be available

Medicare Part D provides prescription drug coverage to participants, who can choose from among plans that private insurance companies offer. However, the number of different plans available to those participants is slated to go down again in 2017, hitting its lowest level since 2006.

Medicare beneficiaries will have about 22 prescription drug plans to choose from on average in 2017, according to figures from the Kaiser Family Foundation. That might sound like plenty, but the problem is that plan offerings tend to vary widely in terms of what specific drugs they cover and what cost structures they impose. For instance, average monthly premiums among the 10 top prescription drug plans varied from $16.81 at the low end to $71.66 at the high end. Those differences reflect the level of coverage each plan provides, but for those seeking to tailor their needs to a particular plan, having fewer options makes that task much more difficult.

Medicare and politics will go head-on

Finally, with changes in the White House and full Republican control of both key branches of the federal government, Medicare is expected to be one of the focal points of healthcare reform efforts. Most of the attention thus far has gone toward the expected repeal of the Affordable Care Act. But Medicare has an even bigger budgetary impact at the federal level, and so it will inevitably get attention as well.

President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on the idea that Medicare wouldn’t see major changes. However, Republicans since the election have been more vocal about looking for ways to revise the program. Support for the Medicare Advantage program is consistent with the party’s preferences for private-sector solutions, with the idea of more participants moving away from traditional Medicare toward the insurer-provided Medicare Advantage plans. In addition, changes introducing voucher systems that would potentially cap the amount of federal financial support toward healthcare costs could shift more of the financial burden of rising healthcare costs onto participants.

Any proposed changes to Medicare will inevitably stoke controversy and intense debate. However, it’s entirely possible that massive reforms could gain enough traction to come into play in 2017.

Medicare is a linchpin of financial security for American retirees. With both certain and potential changes coming down the road, Medicare participants need to keep a close eye on the program in the coming year.

Call Choice Plus Benefits today  972-850-0680

Turning 65 is a milestone to be celebrated! Upon turning 65 you are eligible to receive Medicare benefits and your Open Enrollment period will begin 3 months before and end 3 months after your birthday. This is your Guaranteed Issue Period. During this time companies CANNOT refuse you coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

What is Medicare exactly? There are several parts to consider when making your health care insurance choices. Understanding Medicare and how it works will allow you to choose the best plan to fit your needs. Here is a brief summary of Medicare coverage:

• Part A is Hospital Insurance. It helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospice and home health care.
• Part B is Medical Insurance. It covers doctor and other healthcare provider services, outpatient care, durable medical equipment and home health care.
• Part C is also known as Medicare Advantage. This plan offers options from Medicare-approved private insurance companies. Advantage Plans are a way to get benefits and services covered under Parts A, B and D and they may include additional benefits for an additional cost.
• Part D is Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage and helps cover the cost of prescription drugs. This plan can help lower those costs and protect against higher costs being passed onto you.

You probably have plenty of questions regarding the different benefits for some of the plans mentioned above and the different companies who offer Medicare Supplemental Insurance, such as United American, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Mutual of Omaha, just to name a few.

That’s where we come in. Choice Plus Benefits specializes in helping seniors with these important decisions and have been doing so for over 35 years.

With over 27 different prescription drug plans to choose from Medicare Part D can be overwhelming. Choice Plus Benefits will help you select the best plan for your needs, and manage it for you at no cost.

The Affordable Care Act also expands existing coverage for seniors, including preventive care and wellness visits without charging you for the Part B co-insurance or deductible. Seniors will no longer need to put off preventive care and check-ups, and will receive better access to cancer screenings, wellness visits, flu shots and much more.

With so many choices and so much information to absorb, let us clear it all up for you. Call Choice Plus Benefits today to begin your free benefits review.

Life Insurance is a contract between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money upon the insured’s death to the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries. In return, the policy owner agrees to pay a stipulated amount called a premium at regular intervals.

There are several different types of policies to choose from:

Term Insurance – Term life insurance is designed to provide financial protection for a specific period of time, such as 10 or 20 years. Typically, premiums are level and guaranteed for that time. After that period, policies may offer continued coverage, usually at a substantially higher premium rate. Term life insurance is generally a less costly option than permanent life insurance.

Universal Life – A flexible type of insurance for individuals and families wanting guaranteed protection for life. We offer Fixed Rate guaranteed and Equity Index Plans designed for highest maximum returns with no downside in capital. Unlike whole life insurance, universal life insurance policies are flexible and may allow you to raise or lower your premium or coverage amounts throughout your lifetime. Like whole life insurance, universal life also has a tax-deferred savings component, which may build wealth over time. Additionally, due to its lifetime coverage, universal life typically has higher premiums than term.

Whole Life Plans – These plans have been around for 100 years. You are guaranteed coverage until death and premiums remain level. Because of the lifetime coverage period, whole life usually has higher premiums than term life. Policy premiums are typically fixed, and, unlike term, whole life has a cash value, which functions as a savings component and may accumulate tax-deferred over time.

Joint Whole Life – Plans designed for business owners and married couples who want to keep premiums low without losing protection with fixed prices.

Children’s Policies – Designed either for maximum savings or maximum protection with low premiums in mind.

Endowments – Plans that are designed to leave maximum amounts of tax free money to churches, charities, universities, etc.

Buy/Sell Agreements – Designed to protect business owners if a partner dies. A set price is paid to settle the owner’s portion of the company, guaranteeing the survival of remaining owner(s).

People take out life insurance policies for a number of reasons. Such insurance provides security to family members upon the loss of a loved one. For instance, if the primary wage earner dies in his or her prime, the death benefit received from the policy will assist the surviving family members in overcoming the burden of the tragic loss. The proceeds can also help pay for funeral costs when the death is unexpected.

The cost of life insurance varies depending on such factors as the insured’s age, health, and occupation. Essentially, the more likely a person is to die at an earlier than average age, the higher that person’s premium charges will be. For example, the premium for a 25-year-old, male, non-smoker in excellent health will be far less expensive than a similar policy for a 65-year-old male smoker. Similarly, a sky dive instructor would have to pay much higher premiums than would a librarian.

Call Choice Plus Benefits today to begin planning for the rest of your life.

Take Care of Your Employees…..

Group insurance is a health care coverage plan in which individual employees or members are included under one ‘master policy’ owned by their employers. Because the group insurance plan has so many contributors, the policy often provides coverage for more services at a much lower cost per participant. Group insurance may be provided by other organizations besides for-profit companies. Labor unions, churches and other service groups can also obtain group insurance for recognized members and possibly their dependents.

Three main types of group health insurance plans and a number of other plans with smaller following are on the market. These plans include the health maintenance organization (HMO), preferred provider option (PPO) and point of service plans (POS). Each has some advantages and disadvantages, many of which come down to a personal preference.

Individual members of a group insurance plan receive insurance certificates which demonstrate their eligibility for benefits. If the master policy held by the employer requires participation in a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), then individuals are also registered as members. Other group insurance policies may be associated with major medical groups such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield. A major medical policy may or may not restrict an individual’s choice of primary physician and specialists. HMO policies often require a patient to use a specified physician, who must approve any visits to eligible specialists.

PPO group health insurance plans have network restrictions, but also allow the patient to go outside the network. In such cases, the patient usually pays a higher rate than he would normally pay if services were provided inside the network. Also, PPO plans usually do not require designating a primary care physician or receiving a referral before seeing a specialist.

Point of Service plans try to provide a middle ground between the HMO and PPO. The overall goal is to keep the patient in the network by providing incentives. These incentives may be better benefits or convenience. Often, people seeking service out of the network will have to submit their own paperwork and may even have to pay up front for the services and get reimbursed by the insurance company.

So, what plan should you chose? Overall, any health plan is generally considered better than not having one at all. Can you afford to pay out-of-pocket for a hospital visit? Call Choice Plus Benefits today.

Insured Through United Healthcare

About Medicare

Medicare is a federal government program that provides health insurance coverage to eligible beneficiaries. You’re eligible to join Medicare if you are:

• A United States citizen or legal resident who has lived in the U.S. for at least five consecutive years, AND
• Age 65 or older, OR
• Under age 65 and qualify on the basis of disability or other special situation, OR
• Any age, but have end-stage renal disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplant).

Who administers Medicare plans?

Medicare Parts A and B (sometimes known as “Original Medicare”) is run by the federal government. With Medicare Parts A and B, the government pays fees for your health care directly to the doctors and hospitals you visit.

Other types of Medicare plans, such as Medicare Part C (also known as Medicare Advantage), Medicare Supplement Insurance and prescription drug plans (Part D), are operated by private insurance companies that are contracted by the government. The government pays a fixed fee to your plan for your care, and your plan then pays your doctors and hospitals.

What are my Medicare coverage choices?

You can choose the type of Medicare plan you want, based on what’s available in your area and your coverage needs. Here’s an overview of what each coverage plan offers:

Medicare Part A and Part B (sometimes known as “Original Medicare”)

• Helps cover hospital stays, preventive care, doctor visits and other medical services.
• Run by the federal government.
• Can be paired with a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan to help pay your share of costs.
• Can be paired with a stand-alone prescription drug plan (Medicare Part D), to help pay for medications.

Medicare Part C – Medicare Advantage Plans

Medicare Advantage Plans provide the same benefits as Original Medicare, plus additional AARP Medicare Supplemental Insurance benefits, which can include routine hearing, vision and dental care. They cover all the benefits of Medicare Part A, including hospital stays, skilled nursing care and home health care, but not hospice care (which is still covered by your Part A benefit). These plans also cover all the benefits of Medicare Part B, including doctor visits, outpatient care, screenings, shots and lab tests. Many plans also include Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. These plans work similarly to employer-sponsored health insurance plans that you may have had or currently have, which may help you continue a similar level of coverage to what you have now.

The AARP® MedicareComplete® plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare. All plans include urgent care and worldwide emergency coverage and a 24-hour nurse hotline, and most include prescription coverage. Most plans have no additional monthly premium beyond what you already pay for Part B.

Medicare Part D (prescription drug plans)

• Helps cover the costs of your prescription drugs.
• Run by private insurance companies that are contracted by the government.
• Can be added to Medicare Parts A and Bora Medicare Advantage Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plan that does not include prescription drug coverage.

Medicare Supplement Insurance

• Helps pay your cost of Medicare-covered services, such as copays and deductibles.
• Some plans offer additional benefits not covered by Medicare Parts A and B.
• Run by private insurance companies. These plans are regulated by the state in which you reside, and are not a benefit offered by the federal government.
• Can be added to Medicare Parts A and B.

How much does Medicare Supplement Insurance cost?

Insurance companies may charge different premiums for exactly the same Medicare Supplement coverage. As you shop for a Medicare Supplement policy, be sure you are comparing the same Medicare Supplement policy (for example, compare Plan A from one company with Plan A from another company.)

Supplement plans offered by AARP are: A, B, C Select C, F, Select F, K, L and N.

Life insurance is a practical way to plan for life’s changes. However, when it comes to senior citizens or one’s parents paying for this insurance, this practicality can be seen as a financial burden. Many children in turn, end up buying life insurance for parents.

Especially if parents are under 75 years of age, and have no serious health problems, life insurance can be a way for parents to leave a legacy to their adult children. In any case, when purchasing a life insurance policy, it is important to structure the policy appropriately and apply for a modest coverage amount.

A few tips when choosing insurance for parents :

• Policy ownership is important – Typically, the insurance policy owner and the person who pays the premium are insured. If you just manage the policy and your parents actually own and pay for it, you have nothing to worry about.
  However, if you plan to pay the premiums and take the insurance ownership from your parents, you need to prove that you have an insurable interest. This means that you will need to document why you need the life insurance coverage for your parents. Most people give reasons such as paying off a loan or for estate planning.
• Avoid Buying too much insurance – The life insurance must be in line with the insurable interest. Unless the amount of coverage is justified, be prepared for the underwriters to ask for financial statements, etc. Avoid complications and opt for modest coverage.
• Opt for Affordable Insurance – Make sure that you can comfortably afford the insurance premiums.
  Apart from the above, the insurance advisers at Choice Plus Benefits are always ready to answer any query that you might have. You can rely on us to help you choose the best insurance and investment solution, as per your unique situation.