Medicare Monday | AIS Medicare & More

Share this content:

This month with KKTV we discussed gym memberships and Medicare. Lyndsey Pouncey of the YMCA joined us in discussing what the YMCA and the Senior Center of Colorado Springs have to offer to Seniors and how to gain access at no cost with your Medicare plan.

Medicare plans with gym memberships

A lot of Medicare plans now offer free gym memberships as a part of their benefits package. These free gym memberships come in a variety of names, but if your plan offers a free gym membership the end result is the same…. you get to go to a gym at no cost, such as the YMCA and the Senior Center of Colorado Springs.

Medicare plans such as Medicare Advantage plans (Medicare Part C) or Medicare Supplement plans provide these gym memberships. If you are unsure if your current Medicare plan is providing the free gym membership benefit, give our office a call and we can let you know if you have access or let you know how to get access. Many beneficiaries on Medicare do not even realize what benefits actually are a part of the plan they chose, let alone if there is a free gym membership included. So, do not feel alone if you are unsure what benefits your Medicare plan is providing to you.

That is what our offices in Southern Colorado are here for. With our local offices you can schedule reviews of your plan options and benefit reviews to ensure you take advantage of everything that is available in your area at no cost. We can also let you know what gyms are near you that will allow you to utilize your no cost membership benefit.

YMCA and the Senior Center

The YMCA and the Senior Center of Colorado Springs were able to join us this month for KKTV to go over some of the great benefits their buildings provide. If you have not been to a YMCA recently it is definitely worth the trip. The YMCA is providing daily Silver Sneaker programs, group exercises, pool therapy, racquetball games, cycling, and much more. They are very involved with the community and try to provide as much resources as possible to the senior community.

There are several YMCA buildings around Southern Colorado that provide a ton of senior oriented services. Take a look at the local YMCA locations and join one today at no cost with your free gym membership!

YMCA pool with seniors — YMCA pool class

Veterans and Free Gym Memberships

Veterans with VA access or Tricare For Life do not get a gym membership (unless you want to go to the base with all the trainees) included with their coverage benefits when they get Medicare. HealthCare coverage with Tricare and service-connected veterans can be top-notch, but when it comes to some of the ancillary benefits such as a free gym membership the government is not providing it.

The great thing is there are plans available for Veterans that provide the gym membership benefits, along with many other benefits. If you have not had a chance to review your Medicare & Tricare or VA access coverage, then you should reach out to us because you are missing out on benefits that you are eligible for. We know it can seem daunting and seem “too good to be true”, but there are plans available for Veterans that do not affect the government provided HealthCare to enhance the benefits provided.

Thank you to KKTV 11 Connects

We are very happy to be apart of the KKTV 11 connects family and to be able to provide these valuable interviews with them. If you have not had a chance to take a look at what KKTV 11 connects is doing in the community, take a look at KKTV 11 connects page. We look forward to next month’s interview and hope you will enjoy it. (Get excited: we will be joined by a great person, helping an organization do great things for those with Alzheimer’s- can you guess who it is, or what organization?)

As always if you have any more questions you are more than welcome to reach out to our office and talk with one of your local Medicare Brokers. We have several offices throughout Southern Colorado.

You can call us directly at 719-404-3202

Or navigate to our contact page and we can reach out to you.

Share this content:

This month with KKTV we discussed people turning 65 and what is available with Medicare. There are several things to consider when turning 65 and many options to choose from. Click her to learn more about Medicare Part A. Click here to learn about Medicare Part B.

Thank you to KKTV

Senior Fair coming up soon

We are very excited to announce the Senior Resource Fair that we will be hosting April 28, 2022. You may have seen our event posted on Facebook already, but we will have another post coming out here shortly explaining the event and the benefits of attending.

As always if you have any more questions you are more than welcome to reach out to our office and talk with one of your local Medicare Brokers. We have several offices throughout Southern Colorado.

You can call us directly at 719-404-3202

Or navigate to our contact page and we can reach out to you.

Share this content:

This month with KKTV we discussed one of our other areas of specialization within AIS Medicare & More. Focusing on the ‘more’ part within our organization, we have many services we provide. Auto and Home is an area of insurance that should be reviewed annually due to all of the changes that occur with rates and claims.

Auto Insurance

Auto Insurance rates operate from a bell curve, the younger you are the more expensive your auto insurance is, then as you age it levels out, however as you start to get to an older age you can start to see the bell curve swing the cost back up. Premiums for car insurance can vary a lot from age, credit, mileage, accidents, violations, and much more. Which is why checking in on your rates annually can be very beneficial, as one carrier may be great one year and then the next it changes drastically.

Some important coverages to ensure that you have in place are proper bodily injury, property damage, Uninsured and Underinsured motorists. Having state minimum coverage in place is something that we typically do not recommend as it is not going to actually be enough coverage if a claim were to occur. Our advisable limits are to have $100/300/100 as your Auto insurance limits. Those limits can be read out as $100,000 bodily injury per person, $300,000 per accident, and $100,000 property damage. With that in mind, we do also highly recommend having the same limits for your Uninsured and Underinsurance motorists’ coverage. UM/UIM coverage is very important because that is going to be your coverage that is available when someone that does not have enough coverage in place, you still have coverage available.

Car Insurance deductibles is another topic that is brought up in the quoting process and this really comes down to what you would prefer to pay if a claim were to arise. If you have a $500 deductible then you pay the first $500 of any claim, then the insurance company will pay from there. The same premise applies if you have a higher or lower deductible. Typically, the lower the deductible the higher your premium, the higher the deducible the lower the premium. AIS Medicare & More recommends to take a look at both options and the premium to ensure your monthly cost and financial responsibility for a claim are just right for you.

There are several car Insurance companies available, at AIS Medicare & More we represent 13 different carriers to ensure that you can look at all of them instead of only being able to look at one option. Having access to an insurance brokerage allows you to not be stuck with one carrier and makes your annual review easier as you don’t have to go out and shop with another person. We can shop many options for you within the office, so that you do not have to worry about finding another person. If you would like to get some more information about auto insurance, feel free to contact us.

Click here to have us reach out to you about your options.

Homeowners Insurance

Home insurance rates widely vary from carrier to carrier as well. Home insurance primarily is going to be based off of what your replacement cost is estimated at, risk associated with the area you live in, and claims. Replacement cost of your house is going to range from one carrier to another as each has its own estimation tool that tells the company how much it will cost to rebuild your house if it needed to be completely rebuilt. Risk associated with your house can be from your city, state, flood, fire, and other factors. The primary things to keep in mind is there lots of claims that arise due to theft or other people causing damage. Does your city or state have a lot of claims arise due to natural disaster, such as wind, hail, fire, floods, or anything else? These can also affect the rates of your homeowner’s insurance because it tells the insurance company whether a claim is more likely to occur, which would in turn increase your premium.

Auto and Home insurance discounts

There are several multipolicy discounts that are available for many people during the quoting process as well.

For auto insurance the following a few discounts that can be provided: early quote discount, claims-free discount, multi-car discount, multi-policy discount, low-mileage discount, safe driver discount, pay-in-full discount, along with more discounts depending on your situation.

For homeowners’ insurance the following are a few discounts that can be provided: claims-free discount, multi-policy discount, Burglar alarm discount, paid-in-full discount, along with more discounts depending on your situation.

As always if you have any more questions regarding your options, you are more than welcome to reach out to our office and talk with one of your local Auto and Home Brokers. We have several offices throughout Colorado.

You can call us directly at 719-404-3202

Or navigate to our contact page and we can reach out to you.

Share this content:

This Medicare Monday article will be going over When Medicare starts for everyone. There are different start dates depending on your circumstances. For most people Medicare starts at age 65, however there are special instances where Medicare can start before the age of 65 and when Medicare can start after 65.

Brief history of Medicare

Medicare was signed into law July 30^th, 1965, by President Lyndon B Johnson. This bill created what is now known as ‘original Medicare,’ which covers hospitalization (Medicare Part A) and outpatient services (Medicare Part B). When the bill was first passed Medicare covered only those that were 65 years old. Funny enough the first two people to enroll in original Medicare was Harry and Bess Truman, Harry Truman had worked on a bill such as this passed during his presidency. Years later Medicare expanded coverage to those with disabilities, end-stage renal disease, and those 65 years or older.

In 2003, the ‘Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA)’ was passed and introduced Medicare Part C, otherwise known as Medicare Advantage. In 2006 the ‘MMA’ was expanded to include stand alone Prescription Drug Plans.

Medicare continues to evolve and coverages continue to change with Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug Plans, and Medicare Supplement options available it is not the easiest program to navigate alone anymore, which is why local Medicare brokerages and local Medicare agents such as AIS Medicare & More exist.

Click here to have us reach out to you about your options.

Initial Medicare Enrollment Period

When it is the year, you will turn 65 you will want to keep in mind some important time frames. You will have a 7-month period around your 65^th birthday that is known as your Initial Enrollment Period. 3-months before your 65^th birthday you can start your Medicare enrollment journey. During this 3-month period you can submit your application (if needed) to Social Security to get your Medicare applied for. If, you do not get a chance to work on everything before your 65^th birthday, you will still have 4 months to get everything applied for. However, you start to have some delays in the effective date of Medicare.

If you apply for Medicare the month you turn 65, Medicare will become effective the next month. If you apply for Medicare the month after you turn 65, Medicare will become effective 2 months later. Finally, if you apply for Medicare 2 or 3 months after you turn 65, Medicare will become effective 3 months later.

How to sign up for Medicare

If you are not drawing from social security, then your Medicare enrollment is not automatic, and you must apply for coverage. The simplest way to do this is by going through your Social Security online account and apply for Medicare. You can choose to apply for Medicare Part A only or both Medicare Part A and B, depending on your situation.

However, if you are applying for Medicare after your 65^th birthday, due to working then you will need to submit an employer verification form along with your Medicare Part B application. This Employer Verification form is filled out by you and your employer (typically HR) to tell Social Security that you had creditable coverage in place so that you do not get a late enrollment penalty.

We can help you with the Medicare enrollment process to avoid any penalties or delays.

Automatic enrollment for Medicare

For those that are already drawing Social Security when you turn 65, your Medicare will automatically become effective the month your birthday and you will receive your Medicare card about 3 months before your 65^th birthday. If you would like to only have Medicare Part A become effective or not have any part of Medicare become effective you will have to send in a request to Social Security and they will disenroll you form the Medicare Part(s) you choose. Keep in mind that without creditable coverage you will start to accrue a penalty for not having Medicare active when first eligible (in this instance turning 65).

Medicare before Social Security

You can get full Medicare benefits before starting to withdraw Social Security benefits. With the ‘full retirement’ age now being 66 and 6 months for those born in 1957, most will be getting Medicare prior to drawing Social Security. There are no penalties or delays in coverage for getting Medicare prior to drawing your Social Security, you will also not get a lower Social Security for getting Medicare and not receiving Social Security benefits.

Can I start Medicare mid-month?

Medicare will always start on the first of the month. Medicare does not make anything effective in the middle of the month. So, if your application gets submitted in the middle of the month it will not become effective in the middle of the month. It will always go to the first of the following month unless it is being backdated to the beginning of a prior month.

This rule goes for all Medicare plans as well, you will not see any Medicare Advantage, Prescription Drug Plan, or Medicare Supplement start mid-month either. Everything is the first day of the month for coverages.

What age does Medicare start?

Medicare generally will start when you turn 65. For most, you will get Medicare when you turn 65 though you can get Medicare earlier or later depending on your situation. To get Medicare prior to turning 65 you will either need to be on Social Security Disability or have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and getting kidney dialysis. To get Medicare after turning 65 you will need to have creditable coverage in place, this will typically be a group employer plan. However, many people will decide to enroll into Medicare instead of keeping their group plan.

When does Medicare start after Disability?

Medicare will start for those receiving Social Security Disability for 24 consecutive months. On the 25-month of Social Security Disability you will automatically be enrolled into Medicare and received your Medicare card in the mail. Once, you have Medicare you are eligible for all the plan options like someone getting Medicare from turning 65.

As always if you have any more questions regarding your Medicare enrollment, you are more than welcome to reach out to our office and talk with one of your local Medicare Brokers. We have several offices throughout Colorado along with several independent agents in many States.

You can call us directly at 719-404-3202

Or navigate to our contact page and we can reach out to you.

Our offices are now hosting 'Medicare Monday' you are able to stop by one of our offices on Mondays and ask any questions you have regarding Medicare. Whether you have received helped from us in the past or not you can stop by and get your answers.

So if you have questions and do not want to have to worry about setting up an appointment, feel free to stop by on a Monday and we will be more than happy to help you. Anyone is able to stop by regardless of where you are in the Medicare process. If you are new to Medicare this can be your way to get your feet wet before scheduling your full new to Medicare appointment with us. If you are helping someone with their Medicare and just needing to figure out how they can get everything done properly, or if you would just like to understand it better it is a great way to get that assistance from us.