Hello,
We hope things have been going well for you and that you have been able to get out and enjoy the warm weather (in between the rain drops). It was long overdue. We want to thank all of you who have sent referrals our way. It helps our business and it means a lot that you trust us enough to refer people. Well, there’s a lot to cover so let’s get right to it.
Medicare changes. The only thing we know for certain right now is that the maximum out- of-pocket for prescriptions is going to go from $2,000 to $2,100 next year. We believe there could be some big changes to your plan next year, especially regarding prescription drug coverage and they are not going to be good changes for the most part. We don’t know any specifics yet.
Your plan could be losing some extra benefits next year like the small grocery card if you have it and the OTC (or at least a reduction in benefits). It wouldn’t surprise us if the dental benefit was also reduced. You can likely expect increases in copays for prescriptions too. We are hoping most of the medical copayments will remain about the same. Not to be redundant but we don’t know any of this for certain yet and won’t know all the details until October 1st. We just want you to be prepared for this so that you’re not shocked when you get our October newsletter. We suspect/hope that most of the companies will be very similar to each other for next year and that even with your plan’s possible reduction in benefits it won’t be worthwhile moving to another company or plan. As usual, we will let you know all the details and options in our October newsletter/annual review. Hopefully, it will be good news.
On that note, we have enclosed another sheet for you to fill out with a list of your prescriptions and doctors. We don’t expect networks to change much (if any) next year but prescriptions could change. Please fill this out and send it back to us as soon as you can so we can get it entered into our database. We don’t anticipate this being an annual thing but with all the changes last year and this year to Medicare we’re just trying to be prepared.
Prescription drugs Just a reminder that you don’t have to use your insurance cards for prescriptions if you could get them another way. The money you pay won’t go towards your max out-of-pocket but sometimes the savings are worth it. Ways to save on your prescriptions include discount prescription cards like GoodRx.com or WellRx.com. To find assistant programs offered by drug companies check out https://rxassist.org. There are also nonprofit disease specific foundations at www.copays.org and www.panfoundation.org.
Not a Scam BUT There is a new Medicare Advantage plan out there offering $100 per month in healthy groceries and over the counter benefits. It is for people who are diagnosed as diabetic or have a heart condition. It also has some low copayments and good dental/vision, but it has a $340 deductible for Tier 3 medications and then a $47 copay. You need to be diligent in checking prescriptions before changing or you could possibly end up paying more in prescription drug copays with this plan than you would actually save with the $100 grocery benefit. So don’t get tricked into switching plans over the phone. If you have questions and want to check out possibly signing up for the plan, please call me or Cathy.
SCAMS There’s so many scams out there, it’s frightening. It’s a multibillion-dollar industry now. We need to be more cautious than ever, especially with AI becoming more common. The top three most common red flags to watch out for that the bad guys use are:1) They use urgency or fear like when you get a call or an e-mail saying your credit or bank account is at risk and you must do something immediately to avoid loss or penalties. 2) Too good to be true with promises of free money, prizes, deals or even romance. They’re becoming more elaborate to where some victims actually received gains for weeks or months before the scammers empty their accounts. 3) Impersonation is getting worse as well. Fraudsters pretending to be family members in distress or claiming they’re from the IRS or some other federal office, local police, your utility company, or any other organization or business.
They also use text and emails to impersonate real people, so remember not to download anything onto your computer that you don’t know exactly what it is. Be careful about even clicking on things that you receive in e-mail because it can download malicious software on your phone or computer. So be careful. You may consider going to www.aarp.org/fraud. There you can sign up for a biweekly e-mail or text alert to find out what the latest scams are.
Cathy and I and our family are very blessed. All four grandkids are healthy as well as their parents and they are so much fun. Chris has been extra busy settling his mother’s estate. We hope you have a great summer. If you get a chance stop by the merchants’ building at the Randolph Fair in August and say hello. Thanks again for the referrals!
Take care,
Chris & Cathy Boring
