Dennis Sullivan, Medicare Insurance Agent

Answer: Special Needs plans are for folks on medicare and medicaid, being a DNSP. "D" standing for dual for having both, and CSNP, with the "C" standing for chronic meaning the beneficiary has diabetes, copd, or heart issues. Typically these plans offer larger grocery benefits and part b reductions.

Answer: You have the option to apply for a low income subsidy through the federal government, go to https://secure.ssa.gov/i1020/start . This will trigger paperwork to be sent out by the state for Medicare Savings Programs (MSP). From there a determination will be made to get state help to assist with food/utilities, etc.

Answer: You need to apply for a low-income subsidy also known as the Medicare Savings Program to alleviate costs with your prescriptions and possibly get your Part B paid for by the state.

Answer: No you don't not. When you were granted medicare parts A and B after 24 consecutive months that carries over. I would however call social security as you should now receive ssa rather than ssdi and there should be a difference in your monthly check...

Answer: Contact me. Available anytime. Dennis

Answer: Your'e part B premium will automatically be lowered if your'e income is lower in retirement. There are also plans with a part B buyback for as much as 175$ back on an advantage plan...

Answer: The financial risk of staying on basic medicare is the responsibility of an 80/20 split. Meaning the beneficiary could owe 20% of the bill after a procedure. $100 Dr. Bill could cost 20$. That 20$ is definitely picked up by a medigap plan or an advantage plan. Staying on basic medicare is not the way forward!!!

Answer: What are some ways to ensure your parents feel supported during the Medicare decision-making process? Some ways to make your parents feel supported. Well, it's a tough decision. There are several options. Obviously, you can stay with basic Medicare. You can go for a supplement. You can go for a managed plan. It's really a needs-based decision, depending on the resources that you have, your lifestyle, your traveling preferences, and obviously your health. There's quite a bit that goes into it. It's a lot more of a Q&A than it is a sale, in my opinion. That's how I've always looked at it. I've been doing this for quite a bit. I think I'm a pretty trusted advisor. If you can, get someone that will be with you every step of the way, who can help you cross the bridges that come with it. That would be my suggestion. Obviously, that's easier said than done. Ask around. Ask your friends if they know somebody, that type of thing, rather than walk into a brick and mortar, because they're just going to try to sell you what they're going to make the most out of. Hopefully, that helps. Have a good day.

Answer: If you're healthy and barely using your coverage, my suggestion would be looking into an advantage plan with a heartbeat buyback. Companies offer plans with buybacks as high as $174.90 on your heartbeat. They include vision, dental, hearing, and over-the-counter benefits. I mean, you're not paying into that heartbeat. Be it that maybe you're on a supplement, especially if people got in during open enrollment. You're in the same boat as them because it's really just a lottery, and everyone pays the same rate regardless of health conditions, etc. Especially if you get in during open enrollment, unfortunately, your premium is going to be the same as theirs, be it healthy or not. What I would look into, as mentioned, would be a heartbeat buyback, which is really designed around folks such as yourself that aren't in and out of the doctor. That's one way to alleviate the financial end of it. Anyways, that would be my suggestion. Hopefully, that helps.

Answer: Now, you cannot be denied for a Medicare supplement plan due to health issues. The premiums could be through the roof, but no, you cannot be denied if there's, as they say, a price on anything. But no, you cannot be denied. If you do have health issues and you're looking into a supplemental plan, you need to do it in your open enrollment, which is three months before and three months after your 65th birthday. That way, there are no health questions to get into a plan if you want to go the supplemental route. But no, you cannot be denied.

Answer: The biggest disadvantage of Medicare Advantage would be networks. As far as HMOs, or health maintenance organizations, are concerned, they do require referrals as well. A PPO, or preferred provider organization, does not require referrals, but your co-pays and deductibles are going to be more expensive. Medicare Advantage disadvantages really turn the corner over the years. A lot of plans actually have travel included now. I know several companies that I work with do have that option. If you were to go out of network, you're still going to be covered regardless, but your co-pays and deductibles are going to be accelerated.

But say you were to go on vacation. I know a company that has an option called the Passport option. You tell them where you're going, and they will assign a doctor there for two or three weeks. Say you're going on vacation from one state to another. So that is an option. I would say the one disadvantage would be the networks and the different co-pays that come along with moving in and out of network. But it's all plan dependent. Other than that, Advantage plans have come a long way. Ninety percent of them are zero premium. They have benefits included that basic Medicare does not, like vision, dental, and hearing. Most of them have a Part B buyback that eats into the One 75 Year Plan every month. Grocery benefits? There's really not. I'll put it to you this way: disadvantages far outweigh the disadvantages. But if there is one disadvantage, it would be the network coverage and the referrals that are included. Thank you.

Answer: No, for instance, if you had Aetna and a Plan G and you wanted to change to a Plan N, there would be no health questions. A better term would be underwriting. Now, if you changed companies, you would have to go back through underwriting. To the best of my knowledge, I've been doing this for over 10 years. That's a good question. That would definitely be something to look into on a grander scale. Yeah, but if you're staying with the same company, my best answer would be no as far as underwriting concerns there.

Answer: That can be answered several ways. Medicare is Federally contracted. Basic medicare is the same. An advantage plan varies not only state to state, but county by county. Supplemental plans do as well.. All depends on the circumstance.

Answer: Long-term care and Medicare have no correlation. Long-term care plans are usually provided by life insurance companies such as New York Life, Mutual of Omaha, etc. They are very expensive depending on what stage in life they are bought at. If you're already receiving Medicare, that's probably not an option to get a long-term care policy. That being said, it could be an option, but each case is obviously different. But I would, long story short, the answer to what should I be doing now to prepare is that there really is no correlation between Medicare and long-term care insurance.

Answer: Yes, this would be considered a preventive care measure under a medicare advantage plan. That is the major benefit of enrollment.

Answer: The best way to check for doctors in a specific network is to reach out to an agent who will go into his or her portal and verify. Always a good idea to follow-up with the doctors office as well.

Answer: That is not true. Medicare is a completely separate enity to life insurance. The two have nothing to do with one another.

Answer: A Medicare Advantage plan HAS to cover everything that regular or basic medicare does. The real deal is thatere is benefits outside regular medicare that you're entitled to that are offered by advantage plans.

Answer: Best answer is basic medicare covers 80% of the cost depending on the provider. Most advantage plans have a hearing aid benefit with an allotment towards hearing aids...

Answer: This is all dependent on the plan your'e on. This is a tough question to answer, not knowing the specifics of the plan...

Answer: Basic Medicare will cover this as an 80/20 split on the bill, meaning this will cost you 20%. Meanwhile an advantage plan would cover this in full especially with a chronic condition plan adressing the diabetes.

Answer: The simple answer is yes. These are covered under an Advantage Plan as a preventative measure for the well being of the client at zero copay...

Answer: The common misconception with dental coverage is the medicare based amount. Finding a dentist that does the service at cost is crucial.

Answer: Having an Advantage plan is beneficial for the benefits outside of original medicare. For instance, vision, dental, hearing. There is also an option to get a part B buyback to alleviate costs associated.

Answer: Basic Medicare doesn't offer anything in particular. Smoking cessation options are available through an advantage plan as one of the preventive benefits at no cost...

Answer: If your'e on an expensive specialty medication, chances are you may have a chronic condition such as Diabetes or a heart condition. There are specific plans known as CSNP Plans that address the chronic condition and keep costs as low as possible including medications.

Answer: Helping Seniors through the complex nature of Medicare. Being a valuable source of information is key to finding the best plan, etc. to maximize the benefits people are entiteled too...

Answer: Typically, Veterans take the route of a ZERO PREMIUM Medicare Advantage Plan to co-exist with the services offered at the VA. These don't carry part D (prescription drugs) because they receive those from the VA, thus carry Great beefits such as a part B buyback, dental, vision, hearin, or just a 2nd opinion...

Employer plans need to be evaluated on a cost basis compared to a MEDicare Plan..