Medicare Supplements Explained: Plan G, Plan N & Social Security Enrollment Tips

0:18 This program is designed to provide general information with regards to the subject matters covered. This information is given with the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, sponsors, or station are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial, legal counseling, professional service, or any advice. You should seek the services. Of competent professionals before applying or trying any suggested ideas. Attention to individuals, families and caregivers. It's Medicare Hour and More with Peter right here on k for HD Radio. This is the podcast for all types of intro solutions while specializing in Medicare because we Medicare. Here's your host, Peter R.

1:07 Joseph. Good morning, good morning, good morning, Welcome to our show. This is episode twelve. Yes we are okay, sorry about that, guys. All right, so all new technology right now. We're actually recording this because my family and I are going to be away for three weeks on a family vacation. We're taking the RV trip to Yellowstone. We'll be going through Zion National Park, a couple other national parks, Idaho Falls, so we're very excited. It should be a lot of fun.

1:58 First time driving the UR so wish me luck. Let's hope I don't crash this thing anyways. This is Medicare Hour and More with myself Peter Joseph as your host. You can find us live on K four HD Radio. You can download that app. You can also find us live on Facebook Joseph Insurance Broker, LLC, as well as YouTube at Medicare at Minute with Peter. That is our channel again, that's at Medicare Minute with Peter. So we'll see how this works. We're going to do a couple things this morning. We're actually going to show a clip on how to apply for Medicare through Social Security So you know, it's not very complicated, but you do have to be somewhat tech savvy. You do have to have a email address that's active as well as a cell phone number because they are doing that two factor authentication just like everyone else seems to be doing these days.

3:02 But we're gonna walk you through that. You just create an account through SSA dot gov. When that time is ready to get onto Medicare and you're turning sixty five or you're retiring, you create an account and then you're gonna sign up for Medicare. Part B as in boy through that system. So let's see how this is gonna work. All Right's see if I can find the right video here, and you can actually find this video on our YouTube channel. Here we go.

3:42 To create your personal my Social Security account with the login dot gov account, go to SSA dot gov and select sign in on the sign in or create an account screen, select create an account with login dot gov. You will be redirected to a lot log in dot gov sign in page. Select the create an account button. Enter your personal email address, select your email language preference. Once you've read the log in dot gov rules of use, check the box and select submit. Next, check for an email from login dot gov at the email address you provided, Open the email and click confirm email address. You will be redirected to the log in dot gov website. Here you'll create a log in dot gov password. Passwords must be twelve characters or longer and include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Follow these steps to create a strong password to prevent scammers from guessing it, use a unique phrase that only you recognize and is easy to remember. You can use more than one word and add spaces between words, add numbers, and special characters that are not your birth date are common sequences like one, two, three, four. Make this password unique

5:12 from the other passwords you use frequently, like your bank account or email password. Now that you've created a strong password to protect your account, let's set up your multi factor authentication commonly known as MFA. MFA is an extra layer of protection for your account that helps us make sure that it's actually you accessing your account and not someone pretending to be you. You can set up your account with several MFA methods. We encourage you to choose at least two of the most secure methods that you know you'll be able to use. If you lose these methods, you'll have to create a new account. Many people choose the text message option. More secure options you can choose from include an authentication app, security key, PIVE or cat card if you're a federal employee, and face or touch unlocked features. A phone call to your landline phone or backup codes are also available. Put are less secure options. Now, you will verify your identity for SSAY. This helps to protect your identity and prevent scammers from unauthorized access to your information. To verify your identity. You will need a driver's license or state issued ID, your social Security number, a US phone number on a plan that's in your name, and the ability to re enter your login dot gov password.

6:38 We will use this personal information to verify your identity against public records. Check the box to allow login dot gov to use your personal information to verify your identity, so lect continue to continue the process. You can choose how you would like to verify your ID. Select continue on your phone for the online option, or continue in person to visit a participating US post office to verify your ID. In this video, we will follow the online process. Enter your mobile phone number and select the send link button to receive a text message to continue the process. Once you receive the text message from login dot gov, select the link to continue the process. On your mobile phone, select the take photo buttons to take photos of each side of your ID. Here are some tips for taking your photos. Make sure your ID, especially the barcode, is clean and undamaged. Prop your IDA up against a solid dark background. Turn off your camera's flash and live photo function.

7:47 Make sure there are no glares or shadows, and that you're capturing the entire ID hold your phone as still as you can while you take the photos. Try to hold your breath for each moment you take the photo. After you take the photos of your ID, select the continue button. Select the take photo button to take a photo of your face. Here's some tips for taking your photo. Remove any items covering your face, keep your expression neutral, and make sure that your whole face is visible within the green circle so that your photo will be automatically captured. Make sure there are no glares or shadows. Hold your phone as still as you can while you take the photos.

8:32 Try to hold your breath for each moment you take the photo. Once your idea is verified, return to your original browser. You will be informed if you need to retake your photos. Next, enter your social security number and select continue. You will be asked to verify the information you have provided. If correct, select submit. Enter your phone number that is associated with your bare information, and select how you would like to receive a one time code OTC. Select send code. You will receive a text message or a phone call from login dot gov containing the OTC.

9:13 Enter the code and re enter your login dot gov password. Once you have verified your identity and re entered your password, correctly. You will be asked to save your personal key. You'll need your personal key if you ever forget your password, keep it safe and do not share it with anyone. Check the I saved my personal key in a safe place box and select continue, connect your verified information to SSA and agree to the Privacy Act statement in terms of service. Congratulations, you now have access to your Social Security account information.

10:05 Okay, So that is a good synopsis video of how you can apply and create your Social Security count on a ssay dot gov. That video is available on our YouTube channel. So I will show you that in just a second here. But you know, the most important thing is you could see that there's a lot of technology behind it. Multi factor authentication, two factor authentication, so you have to have an email and a cell phone number, and then you have to have a backup in case you lose your passwords. So once you have it set up, though, it's easy to get back into it. And on that screen is going to have a place a blue button where you can apply for Medicare part b oh right.

10:57 So I definitely wanted to bring that to your attention, and as we've been talking about that for the last few weeks, and that video really shows it accurately, and you know it's easier to see images to the words that we're speaking, so hopefully that will be helpful to you guys. And today's episode of Medicare Hour and More is brought to you by our valued show sponsors and community partners. We're grateful for the businesses and professionals who support education and help bring helpful resources to our listeners each week. We've got quite a few sponsors. A Central Engine Everything, Senior Insurance, it's an FMO lead, Heroes is a lead company for Final Expense and Medicare leads. And we're also sponsored by Johnny Alagna, realtor out here in southern California, Alana Scholfield, who is a CEO and medicare agency owner out in Connecticut on the East Coast and can find her on one of our episodes as well. Again, we are so thankful for all our sponsors. We wouldn't be here today, we wouldn't be able to do these shows without them, So shout out to all you guys.

12:10 Thank you so much. So we want to welcome everybody to our Medicare Hour with myself. I'm your host, owner of Joseph Insurance BROKERLLC. We've been around for almost ten years now. We help individuals, families, and small businesses navigate medicare, health insurance, life insurance, and business insurance, as well as retirement planning solutions. So we try to be your one stop shop so that you know you can trust us with all the products. We do specialize in Medicare, but again, I actually used to work for Farmers Insurance, so I know quite a bit about the P and C area like home and auto. So if you guys ever need help with all of that, you know, just reach out to us and we will definitely be able to help you out. So live from southern California, I'm reaching listeners everywhere.

13:02 This is Medicare, our Peter, helping you make smarter Medicare decisions with confidence. Again, I'm your host, and we're breaking down one of the most confusing parts of Medicare today, Medicare supplement plans also known as medigap plans. We'll explain what Plan G is, what Plan N is, Does Plan F even still exist? What is Plan A? What is Plan K. There's so many different letters. I know, it's just confusing. So but we are diving into the supplement side of things. We've spent a lot of time on the Medicare advantage side, just to recap you know, that is a network point of view things With a supplement, you're not in a network. It's kind of a known network plan. You don't need authorizations to see any doctors or specialists who take Medicare as payment. And that's about ninety eight percent of the country. So that is why people like the supplement. We're oute, but we're going to talk about how expensive it can get, especially the older you get. All right, So just so you know, and if you've been listening in the last few episodes, Original Medicare does leave gaps. When you turn sixty five and you get onto Original Medicare, what happens is that covers eighty percent of your cost. Well, what happens to the other twenty percent, Well, you're responsible for it, and there's no ceiling on that. So people sign up for supplements

14:34 and advantage plans because they want that twenty percent covered. If you just on Original Medicare with a Part D plan for your prescription drugs, well, lo and behold. If something God forbid happens to you, guys, and you're in the hospital for months on end, you're getting cancer treatments, whatever the case may be, you're going to be responsible for twenty percent of those costs. So we want to make sure that you're covered fully head to toe. There are other products out there that can help. They're called necessary products for cancer policies or heart disease policies, and we'll talk about that another time. Right now, I just want to focus you guys in on the supplement side of things, all right, So what does metagap mean. Well, medic gap or supplement, Medicare supplement is the same thing.

15:22 They're interchangeable words. They're private insurance paired with original Medicare, their standardizedized by the federal government, and it's the same benefits across the board no matter which carrier you go with. It's all about the rates competing against one another. But if you do United Healthcare or you do Anthem Blue Cross, you're going to have the same exact benefits if you have that same letter. So if you have Plan g plang's the same with Unite Healthcare as it is with Anthem Blue Cross, So just keep that in mind as well. So why do some retirees feel shocked after realizing Medicare doesn't actually cover one hundred percent of their medical bills. You know, it's because we all think we pay into substantially into Medicare comes out of our paychecks. If you're a ten ninety nine, obviously you have to pay Medicare tax bill and it is substantial. Well, you think paying for all those years that Medicare would be free, and that's not free. And not only is it not free, it doesn't cover all your costs. So you got to think about long term care policies. You got to think about necessary policies to make sure you're completely covered and not hit by a huge amount of debt and then you end up, you know, having to file bankruptcy, which happens a lot in our country unfortunately. So I want to make sure that you guys are knowledgeable and have the resources in hand to navigate this. So breaking down the plans, well, Plan G is the most popular supplement

16:55 plan today. Most of our clients are on Plan G. If they're eligible for Medicare before January twenty twenty, then they're on Plan F and Plan F is the only difference between Plan F and Plan G. Plan F has no deductible at all. Plan G has a very small deductible, and it does go up every year, very very slowly. But so for this year example, it's about two hundred and eighty dollars per year. That's the deductible you get to meet. Once you've met that, your original Medicare and your supplement both pay everything out one hundred percent, so they cover your hospital costs, your copays, your co insurance, your lab fees, anything like that, it's all covered. So you're just responsible for that two hundred and eighty dollars.

17:47 Plus you're responsible though, excuse me, for the premiums or Part B, which is this year two hundred and two dollars a month, and then your supplement premium. So with Plan G usually the highest rate for premiums, and if you're just getting onto a supplement plan, usually it's averaging about one hundred and thirty dollars out here in southern California per month the first couple of years, and then it slowly goes up. I've got clients now who are in early seventies paying about two hundred and fifty dollars a month right now, So that rate does increase every year and can increase anywhere from one to four percent depending on the carrier. All right. So again, Plan G covers all your Medicare costs except for that deductible. That'll Part B deductible. All right, And again it is often the highest premium. And again, like I said, many people still have Plan F. If you're eligible for Medicare and you were on it before January first, twenty twenty, then most likely you're on Plan F. We do review those plans with our clients as well, because Plan F premiums are outrageous right now, they're through the roof, and a lot of times it's cheaper for our clients to just switch over to Plan G and pay that very small deductible you're still saving in the long run versus having no deductible and paying that higher premium on Plan F.

19:20 All Right. So the next letter grade is Plan A. What is Plan A. Well, that's basic standardized Medicare supplement covers limited benefits, usually not the most popular option. Premiums on those are very low, and that's the reason it's a bare bones meta gap option isn't commonly selected compared to Plan G or Plan N as a Nancy right now, So keep that in mind. So what's the pot is. Positives are nationwide provider flexibility, predictable costs, and nationwide doctor access. So if you're traveling a lot, you know, let's say you've got family and other states and you stay there, you know, seven eight months out of the year, my recommendation would be on the supplement because you could see whatever doctor you want that takes Medicare. You don't have to go through an authorization, you're not stuck in the network.

20:09 You can carry your supplement wherever you want within the continental US. So it's very comprehensive coverage, low surprise medical bills, great for frequent healthcare users. The negatives, like I said earlier, your premiums rates will go up every year. And Part B deductible is not covered. So you know that two hundred dollars that we were saying is not covered all right, plan And as a Nancy, what is that, Well, it's a lower premium alternative to g That's why it is popular, small copays sometimes for doctor er visits. What it doesn't cover is part BE excess charges. And I've had clients on this plan who are sometimes build and sometimes not.

20:56 It really depends on your provider, your doctor network, medical net, where the hospital that you're being serviced at. They can choose to bill you for those excess charges, which can be equal up to twenty percent, or they cannot and choose to accept the supplement and original Medicare as full payment. So just keep that in mind. Plan EN premiums are a lot less on average, you know, saying about one hundred and thirty hundred and forty dollars for Plan G. Well, Plan N you're looking at maybe seventy to eighty dollars a month, so you can see some substantial savings, but you have to make sure you understand that in a lot of instances it's not going to cover your part be excess charges, all right, And it is a good fit for healthy retirees, especially if you're not using it as often Plan G are frequent users. Plan N would be kind of middle of the road, all right. Those plan affs still exist, like we said it does if you've been on Medicare before January first, twenty twenty, covers the part being deductible, so and it's often the highest premium, but you have no costs at all. Everything's covered all right.

22:17 I don't think I've ever done a show not live in a long time, and so I'm recording on zoom, and so I do have to look at notes. Usually I'm prepared when i'm live a little bit more, but I want to make sure I get this right for you guys. All right, So what's the biggest misconception people have about Medicare supplements? Well, I will tell you. The biggest misconception is that, let's see, I'm trying to think of a good one that one of my clients just came up with that no authorizations are needed. That was one that came up. So actuality, physical therapy does need an authorization. That's the only thing that does on the supplement side of things, So do keep that in mind.

23:15 Everything else doesn't. You can call specialists up, make an appointment right then and there, very easy to do. But physical therapy does need an authorization. The other biggest misconception is people think supplements include dental vision hearing. They do not. Sometimes they'll include like discounts, but it's not a true insurance, and so you have to get everything all the cards versus medical advantage, as we have talked about, is all in one. So with a supplement, you have to get a dental vision plan, and then you have to get a part D plan for your prescription drugs, and so you have to get all those separates and those you know, premium start adding up, and so you have to really look at your budget and see what you guys can afford around that retirement age and see if a supplement or an advantage plan which one makes more sense for you in your pocketbook. Don't choose based only on price, though, I will say that, yeah, the benefits are the same across the board, but some customer services for carriers are a lot better than others. So just reach out to me and I'll give you the tips on that. You know, you got to consider long term affordability. You know, my hope is that before you get to that Medicare age that you have long term care in place, because ding, ding, ding, like we've said, week in and week out, Medicare doesn't cover long term care costs. And you want to compare the carriers to stability and rate history, so we know

24:49 which carriers tend to go up a lot slower than others. We know which ones have been around on the marketplace for a long time versus ones that have just entered the marketplace. You want to be careful about those. You want to know their ratings because a lot of times these carriers will enter and exit the market and then you'll be stuck trying to navigate and figure out how to get onto another plan. It would be nice to just be on one supplement and not have to change it. Y're in and you're out. The last plan that we didn't really touch on is Plan K, which is not popular. It's a lower premium Medicare supplement plan designed for individuals who want some protection from major medical costs while keeping monthly premiums more affordable. Unlike Plan G or Plan N, Plan K shares costs with the member, so after Medicare pays its portion, Plan K generally covers fifty percent of many Medicare proved out of pocket expenses until the member reaches the plan's annual out of pocket limit. So that's that's pretty hefty fifty percent. But again, the premiums on Plan K are very low, and that's why people like it.

25:56 Especially if you're very, very healthy, you're not seeing the doctor that much. That might be an alternative to you to get on the supplement and get on the Plan K. That way you're able to see whatever doctor you want and you're not stuck in the HMO network. But that is a little bit on Plan K. So three things to remember as we kind of close out this session on supplements and you know again, you can get onto our newsletter. Please subscribe on our YouTube channel at Medicare Minute with Peter. You'll get all the latest up to date information on Medicare. But keep these things these things to remember. Supplements work with original Medicare plan. Benefits are standardized, and the right plan depends on budget and healthcare usage.

26:41 That's why it's important to get with an advisor like myself. We are local, but we're also licensed in thirty two other states. Remember, the best Medicare plan isn't the one your neighbor has. It's the one that fits your healthcare needs, lifestyle and budget. Right. So I usually have a guest that obviously you know, I don't today because we're recording this session. So I'm going to kind of share some latest information on Medicare and news. This is kind of fun, all right, But before I do that, I just want to say you know today is yeah, this this recording is going to be on our show next Tuesday at nine am Live. But I'm recording this on a day.

27:31 I don't like talking politics. We don't want to bring politics into this show ever. But I am sad to see Stephen Colbert lose his his late show tonight on CBS. Whether you think it's because of Trump or you think it's because of cost cutting, whatever the case may be, Colbert is a great guy. He's a hilarious, great comedian. I love the fact that we have freedom of speech in this country, and so I'm going to miss his quips and the guests that he's brought on, and so I'm sad to see that ending. And then sports notes, NBA playoffs have been unbelievable. I hope you've been watching.

28:15 I thought, you know, my prediction is the Knicks and Spurs and the finals, but I know these Calvs and Thunder are giving a run for the money with these series. I don't know if you saw that last next game, they were down by twenty two points in the fourth quarter and then they came back and won in overtime. So that was a crazy game itself too. They actually I think I scored them something like forty four to eleven in the last quarter and overtime unbelievable. I mean, that's crazy. And then of course, you know, the Spurs beat the Thunder and double overtime oneby was freaking nature.

28:55 And then you know, the Thunder came back, responded. So I think that's gonna be long series. But I'm excited to see how those series turn out. I hope you're watching. All right, Back to Medicare. I know I like to bring in some fun stuff every now and then, but let's get back to business. All right. All right, So recent Medicare news highlights. Can you hear me? Okay? So Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from pharmaceutical companies challenging the Federal Drug Price Negotiation Program established under the Inflation Reduction Act. This leaves in place lowered negotiated prices for ten widely used medications that took effect in twenty twenty six.

29:49 So that's good news and bad news. I mean, obviously, the good news is it keeps prices low. The bad news is we're seeing this effect of Medicare advantage benefits down the road. Benefit it's are being cut left and right, and so it's a little bit harder to navigate that. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized m A payment rates estimating I think it was about a two point four to eight percent, So it still doesn't apply to the five percent costs that carriers are seeing. So unfortunately, that's also negatively affecting the benefits. And then this is kind of cool. Senate Democrats have introduced a legislative framework to add a new in home a long term care benefit to Medicare. It's a great idea. I think it would be very costly, but like I said, you know, we all run into the situation where we find out the hard way Medicare doesn't cover long term care expenses, and so if you don't have a long term care price or policy in place, then you're kind of in trouble. Right, So again, you know here the base Medicare Part B monthly premium is two two ninety and it wrote it a significant portion of the cost of living increase that Social Security gave. So hopefully next year we'll see that premium not go up as much. And that's what's on the docket. You know, obviously, CMS centers for Medicare and

31:21 Medicaid are getting tighter and tighter on the fraud and regulations for agents and agencies, which is a good thing, so keep that in mind too. I'm going to go ahead and navigate two our next commercial before we close things out, So just to let you know, if you're a client of ours, obviously you're on our newsletter. If you're not, you can go to Joseph Insurancebroker dot com and sign up to be on our newsletter to get all the latest information on all things insurance, including Medicare of course, but this is a commercial to show you how to sign up for our monthly newsletter as well.

32:07 So I'm going to go ahead in hey there, we are so glad that you decided to subscribe to our newsletter. With Joseph Insurance Broker LLC. You are going to get the latest updates on our various insurance products. We do specialize in medicare and health insurance for under sixty five. We also offer small business group benefits and business insurance, so you can create the subject matter that you would like to receive. You can have notifications for all three or just specifically on Medicare. If you'd like. We will keep you up to date on the latest regulations in all the various industries and what you sign up for. You can always make an appointment with me personally www dot callen Lee dot com forward slash Joseph Insurance. We'll answer all your questions and address any concerns you might have.

32:57 Thank you again and we wish you well. All right, so again, just go to Joseph Insurancebroker dot com. Little thing will pop up showing you or I can even show you now right now what that will look like. No, no, no, okay, bear with me here, all right. So you go to our website. This is what our website looks like, and you have an AI chat here, but we do have an admin that hops on so if you talk to that person, they will respond back. And because I've been on this site, it's not going to show me, is it.

33:50 Of course not? All right, let's do it here on my phone. There we go. So if you see that that little window pops up, if you come to our site for the first time and just you put your information in, you click submit and you're on our newsletter. Is as simple as that. So I just wanted to show you guys that, and if you want to get a quote on anything up here on our site is get a quote, you just click that. We've got a blog that updates daily, so if you click that, all the information here will show up daily. It's also on our socials. And the other thing is we do have a medicare blog, so if you click that, how to choose Medicare advisors wisely, how to pick party without overpaying, so on and so forth. So great information. Definitely encourage you guys to show come through our website and get that information. All right. Oh right, So I want to close out our show, so I appreciate you guys making the time listening in. We've got fabulous guests lined up in the next few weeks. You can always go to

35:21 our YouTube channel. You can also go to Medicare Hourandmore dot com and you'll find all our show and clips and viral clips on there as well. You know, we want to thank you for joining us on Medicare Hour and More with Peater. Medicare decisions affect your healthcare finances and peace of mind for years to come, so we asked that you stay informed, ask questions, and never navigate medicare alone. We will see you next time. Wish us a save trip to Yellowstone and back and we'll see you in a few weeks. And we love having you on our show, why because we meta care.

36:04 Thanks for listening. Tune into Medicare Hour and More with Peter every Tuesday at nine am Pacific time right here on KFURHD Radio at KFOURHD dot com for more real life stories from experts who medicare about you and protecting your health, your finances, and your future. See you next week.