Nation Jan 14 What older workers need to know about the hybrid health care world Making Sen$e Medicare Maven Phil Moeller helps readers navigate the different health care combinations now available to so many workers staying on the job past age 65.
Nation Jan 07 Getting your hands around slithery COBRA coverage Workers who lose their jobs may have the option of continuing their employer group health insurance for a limited time under what's known as COBRA. But how does that coverage interact with Medicare and the Affordable Care Act? Making Sen$e…
Nation Dec 31 How can selling your home raise your Medicare premiums? Even a one-time boost in income, from the sale of a home, for example, will raise your Medicare Part B and D premiums, explains Making Sen$e Medicare Maven Phil Moeller. You probably won't see that increase, though, for two years…
Nation Dec 24 Can you go on and off Medicare? Is enrolling in Medicare a once-and-for-all decision? Not necessarily, explains Medicare Maven Phil Moeller. A retiree may want to drop Medicare Part B if he or she has the option of being covered under a new spouse's employer group health…
Nation Dec 17 Can you avoid falling into the Medicare donut hole? When you enter the "donut hole," prescriptions can become prohibitively expensive. But changing insurers won't help; the hole comes from Medicare, and although the Affordable Care Act will eventually do away with it, boomers are stuck with it until 2020.
Nation Dec 10 The Social Security and Medicare gotcha that makes contributing to your HSA illegal Philip Moeller considers a question from a reader who's old enough to collect maximum benefits from Social Security. When he files, though, he'll also get Medicare. And because he's still working, that'll spell trouble for his Health Savings Account.
Nation Dec 03 Should you ditch your employer’s insurance for Medicare? In the last few days before Medicare open enrollment ends for the year, Making Sen$e Medicare Maven Phil Moeller takes a question from a reader of a certain age who's not sure whether he should choose one of his employer's…
Nation Nov 26 If I’m turning 65 and still working, do I have to file for Medicare? People who have group health policies through their employers generally do not have to sign up for Medicare when they turn 65. But there are exceptions. Making Sen$e Medicare Maven Phil Moeller fills you in on the rules and takes…
Nation Nov 19 Don’t be fooled by Medicare drug plans with low premiums When shopping for Medicare drug plans, many consumers are wowed by lower monthly premiums and don’t look at other plan details that will affect their total out-of-pocket expenses. Making Sen$e's Medicare Maven Phil Moeller tells readers what other costs to…
Nation Nov 12 The Medicare drug subsidy that millions of enrollees overlook More than 30 percent of all Medicare Part D participants received low-income subsidies last year to help them pay their prescription drug bills, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that as many as 2 million more Medicare…