 Aloha everyone and welcome to another episode of Spain Young at Heart. My name is Maria Mera. I'm your host and I'm also a financial advisor with Edward Jones. In this show we usually talk about how to stay healthy financially, mentally, physically, emotionally, but sometimes even if we try and do our best we still need our healthcare. So I'm bringing a really good guest today. We're going to have to talk very fast because there's a lot of information that she can give us. She's a medical specialist. Her name is Robin Roisinger and she works for the Medicare Geek. Robin, thank you for joining us. Oh, thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Oh, our pleasure. So let's start from the beginning. What is Medicare? Well, it's four seniors, 65 and over, although they're talking about lowering the age right now. It's their hospital part A, their medical part B, and then that would be giving them the 80-20 split. The government pay 80% and they would pay 20% for their healthcare. So what does the Medicare specialist do? What do you do? I help people make sure that they have a good strategy. I don't always meet people who are looking at it from a strategic standpoint and looking at it every year. So who are you? Who should sign up for Medicare? Well, we have a lot of people right now who were working and they had employer coverage and now they need help to start their Medicare and then get the additional coverage of the Medicare supplement plans or the Medicare Advantage plans. So really, anyone who's getting close to 65 needs to start getting prepared. So is there any enrollment period that we should be aware of? Yes. Medicare season is going to be October, November, December. So October 15 to December 7th every year. But in the past few years, Medicare has given us an additional season of January, February, March just for folks who have Medicare Advantage to make one switch. And what was interesting about that this year is we had bad weather. So FEMA declared a disaster weather system and gave us until July 31st to make those same changes. So is this nationwide or? No, it's for Hawaii. Okay, so let's recap a little bit. I'm 65 or I'm turning 65. Do I need to sign up this year? Yeah, a few months before you would probably want to create an account at ssa.gov. You know, create a profile, username and password. And then you would go back in to let them know when I turn 65, I do want to start Medicare or I don't. Because if you have coverage, you may not want to pay $148.50 to start Medicare Part B. So if I don't sign up, it's not mandatory. I can't decide if I want to sign up or not. As long as you have credible coverage, you have your own coverage that covers medical and prescription drugs. Okay. Let's put another scenario. I'm already 67 and I forgot or didn't care to sign up when I was 65. What happened? So that's what we're helping a lot of those people right now because they had delayed it because they were still working and now they've lost their jobs with the pandemic. So we have two forms that we need them to fill out and get their employer to fill out about the coverage that they've had when we get those back to Social Security, start their Part B Medicare. And then at that point, we really need to get them an additional coverage, either a Medigap plan or Medicare Advantage. Okay. And you're the specialist, obviously, and you know very well all these terms. But let's break them down a little bit. What parts were you saying Medicare Part B, Medicare Part A, Medigap? Can you walk us through each part of Medicare? Yeah. Part A in a nutshell is going to the hospital. And if you've worked 10 years, then that would be covered. Part B is the part that costs 148.50. That's your medical, like going to the doctor. And Part B is D for drugs. That's your prescription coverage. And that's not included and you're required to get that when you turn 65 or when you start the Part B. The Medigap and the Medicare Advantage, those are the optional add-ons that you do to reduce your exposure to the 20% with the government paying 80% and you being responsible for 20% of all your health care, you don't want that. So you get these other plans to help cover that part. Okay. So can you choose HMO versus PPO or how does that work? Exactly. We're lucky here, especially in our county, to have the option of both. A lot of people don't have the freedom to choose from such a huge network. We have really great plans in Hawaii. So what are the plans that we have? Well, I represent everybody, but Kaiser and HMSA, they have their own agents. So I represent all the rest, United Health Care and Humana and Ohana and Aloha Care. I have to get my license in other states when my people from here are moving. So then I look at the plans in the zip code where they're going and I realize how great our plans are out here. We have plans that cost nothing. And they provide so many benefits. So are all the plan Bs $148 that you mentioned is the same for everybody? There is an increased premium. It's means-based. So for high earners, they would pay a higher monthly premium for the Part B. Yes. So if you're retired, how do you know if they are high earners? Is it based on social security or the investments? Social security will know and they'll let you know that they're going to charge you more than $148.50. But that's why it's so good to have an agent. We can help you do an appeal, especially if you've had anything like changing happen like moving or retiring, loss of a job, life changing events can help us to get that or it's called IRMA, I-R-M-A-A, to get that lowered. So let's say I want to sign up again for Medicare. If I reach out to you, so you help me choose my plan or because I'm lost, are you charging me a commission or a fee or how would that work? No, not at all. And I really do recommend that people reach out to someone local. I really don't know how anyone goes online and figures it out. Things, they figured it out on their own. You need an agent that'll help you if you need to do an appeal or just anything down the road. But no, there's no commission. Medicare tells the insurance companies what to pay us and they pay us. So when you say yes, who do you work for? I work for the Medicare Geek, which is under plan advisors, Hawaii. And that was a great friend of mine who got me into Medicare because he knew how much I love to help people. Is that why you joined, why you became a Medicare specialist? Absolutely. We have the job of almost like a social worker. It's so rewarding to change people's health and to help them financially at the same time is very rewarding. So is there anyone who sign up and they don't need to go to navigate through all these loops or everybody needs to make the effort of going and signing up? I always recommend that everybody be proactive a few months before with social security. Sometimes people just fall through the cracks. You don't want that to happen. There can be penalties later if you don't start part B and part D when you're supposed to. So you want to be careful and not have that happen to you. So what you're supposed to is age 65. If you, right, correct me if I'm wrong. If you sign up later, then you might have penalties. If you haven't had credible coverage, yes. Okay. So what if I already have, if I decided at age 62, I can get my social security and I decided to take my benefits already. Do I still need to also sign up for Medicare or that? Is that independent? It's the same office. But yes, you, I would still, when I'm about to turn 65, when those three months or so before I would still reach out and let them know, because they'll want to know how are you going to pay $148.50? Are you going to want a bill? Do you want them to take it directly out of social security? Do you want it to be debited from your account? So you just want a touch base. Yeah. So, so much also to navigate through that it's definitely just getting to it early. It helps, right? Yes, absolutely. So where, where could we find you if we want that help? I live in town. I volunteer at the Baratanya Walgreens, so Old Safeway at Baratanya in Pensacola. I volunteer there in the morning to have a Medicare help table just inside the door. And then I run around and do my appointments after that so I can come to, come to anybody wherever they are. So do you find that women more, women go to you more or men go to you more? Do you have a different in sex that they like to approach this? My goodness, you might get me in trouble here. I do think that sometimes the men can be a little stubborn and think that they've got it all figured out where the women who also ask for directions are the type of people who would stop and say, let me just make sure I'm doing everything right. I always say it's worth a five minute checkup on your Medicare strategy because occasionally I tell somebody, hey, you're doing everything right. But most of the time I end up telling somebody, I think we have a better plan. Yeah. And I don't know if I'm, but I heard that women are the ones bringing the men, their husbands to the doctor. So that might be yeah. I guess we are less afraid to talk about our health and to let doctors work on us than men do. My mom would always send my dad to the doctor, which she wasn't going with him, with a list of everything he was supposed to talk to the doctor about. And then he would come home and he wouldn't have done it. With the questions, at least the questions. Okay. Well, we're going to take a short break here and we'll be right back with the Medicare Geek with Robin Brasenger. Thank you very much for joining us. Welcome back to our St. Janice Hart. Today we're talking about Medicare with our specialist, Robin Brasenger, with the Medicare Geek. And we have a question from one of our viewers and he's or she is asking, I hear it's harder for disabled people to get Medicare. Is this true, Robin? I would say no. If somebody is disabled and on SSI from the government at whatever age, as long as they've been on SSI for 24 months, they're given Medicare. So they don't have to be 65. You could have a five-year-old on Medicare because they had been on SSI for two years. So that's the only time I work with people younger than 65. What is SSI? That would be the supplemental. It's like social security, but for somebody who's been deemed disabled or blind or deaf. Okay. So there is a difference right between healthcare and long-term care. Is Medicare covering long-term care as well? No, unfortunately not. I meet people with really, really expensive Medicare plans, but no long-term care plans. And I think they need to think about the long-term care maybe almost more than overpaying every month for their Medigap plan. Yeah, they're preparing for the unexpected that we all think that it's never going to happen to us, right? But we should always be prepared. So a little more about the difference. What is Medicare and what is Medicaid? Medicaid is any age. It's just low income. So it's healthcare for low income. And Medicaid is a state program. Here we call it Quest, MedQuest or Quest Integration. And that's based on income and assets. What ends up happening sometimes is I have people who are on Medicaid and Medicare. And then we have special plans just for them. Okay. So do you help with Medicaid as well? Oh, yeah. There's maybe like four levels of subsidies or help that we can get for people. I don't go anywhere without my chart that tells me the income and asset levels. I think a lot of people have no clue that they probably qualify and are entitled to some help. Yeah, that's always, I mean, I'm really to help navigate with all these issues. There is nothing like reaching out to you. So what about once I sign, I sign this year, do I need to keep signing every year or I'm good? No, I do make sure to touch base with my members every year in the fall. This year, when I am trained on the 2022 plans, then I'll call all my members and let them know what's changing. Also, if you're on prescriptions, you need to look at that every year, because the plans do change, the formularies change. Sometimes we're picking a plan just based on the medicine that the person takes and how to save the most money. But you really need to look at every year. You don't need to sign up every year. And then you should also know you're not married to the plan. You can change it every year. I can't divorce my plan or I can't. So if I have plan A and plan B for five years, this is good. Can I go to another plan B year five or year six? So you'll always keep the government A and B. And then you can definitely switch the D, the drug plan. Most of the Medicare Advantage plans that we do that have no cost, they actually include the drug coverage as well. So yes, you should always switch to the Medicare Advantage plan that is most advantageous to you. What if I have a preexisting condition at age 65? I'm gonna have to go through a physical or even if I don't. How is the process when I first sign for it? Right now, it's guaranteed issue. No underwriting. And Medicare Advantage plans are typically all like that. There would be on the more expensive Medicare supplement plans, the Medigap plans, that would be where you would get into health questions, possibly some underwriting, if you answered yes to some of the questions. But still, when that person turns 65 and is just going into Medicare, they do have a period of guaranteed issue. So is there even one more reason or the main reason other than the penalties to sign when you're 65? Yes, absolutely. If you don't have other employer coverage or if you're paying $400 a month out of your paycheck for your employer coverage, I can do so much better than that. Save money and get better health care. And the professionals that I'm going to see, are they the same or? The doctor? Yes, yes. Okay. This one, do you think out here you really wouldn't have any doctor who would only take one type of plan? They kind of have to take them all. Okay. So from your point of view, what's the wisdom from someone who is thinking about joining, what should they put in that checklist to be prepared for Medicare? So I get a list of my members' meds every year, the prescription, the dosage, the amount, the quantities, and I run that through Medicare.gov. So a list of your medications, that is an impartial website that will just tell you how much your health care is going to cost for the rest of the year. Then also knowing about the extras that the plans offer, the vision, the dental, the hearing, the gym memberships, acupuncture practice. What else? Do I need to prepare any other paperwork? Like you were saying, how much a year or what other paperwork should I prepare if I want to sign up for Medicare? Just the red, white, and blue card with Medicare number, not the old ones with the social security number, but the new ones that are numbers and letters, and it'll have a start date for A and a start date for B, and that's really all you need. Okay. Any other words of wisdom from you to help people navigate through Medicare? It's worth the investment every year to give your Medicare plan a checkup and just make sure you're on the right plan. The worst-case scenario is that you find out you're on the right plan. Okay. Well, thank you very much, Robin. I think the good thing is that this plays on YouTube, so people can watch this over and over again, too, if they need to repeat all the process. Also, the Medicaregeek.com, we are showing your email addresses well as if they want to reach out to you. I really appreciate how down-to-earth you are, how and I can understand and I can see how much you love it, so I really appreciate all your help helping us through this process. No problem. I'm happy to help. And thank you so much for joining our show today. Thank you for having me. It was fun. Okay. Thank you, everyone, and we will see you on our next show of the same young and hard. Stay healthy and if you need Medicare, you know who to reach out to. Aloha.