Dec 17 Can you avoid falling into the Medicare donut hole? By Philip Moeller 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. Continue reading
Dec 10 The Social Security and Medicare gotcha that makes contributing to your HSA illegal By Philip Moeller 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. Continue reading
Dec 03 Should you ditch your employer's insurance for Medicare? By Philip Moeller In the last few days before Medicare open enrollment ends for the year, Making Sen$e Medicare Maven Phil Moeller takes a question from a reader of a certain age who's not sure whether he should choose one of his employer's… Continue reading
Nov 26 If I'm turning 65 and still working, do I have to file for Medicare? By Philip Moeller People who have group health policies through their employers generally do not have to sign up for Medicare when they turn 65. But there are exceptions. Making Sen$e Medicare Maven Phil Moeller fills you in on the rules and takes… Continue reading
Nov 19 69 years ago, a president pitches his idea for national health care By Dr. Howard Markel Back in 1945 -- a mere seven months into a presidency he inherited from Franklin D. Roosevelt -- Truman proposed a “universal” national health insurance program. In his remarks to Congress, he declared, “Millions of our citizens do not now… Continue reading
Nov 19 Don't be fooled by Medicare drug plans with low premiums By Philip Moeller 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$e's Medicare Maven Phil Moeller tells readers what other costs to… Continue reading
Nov 12 The Medicare drug subsidy that millions of enrollees overlook By Philip Moeller More than 30 percent of all Medicare Part D participants received low-income subsidies last year to help them pay their prescription drug bills, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that as many as 2 million more Medicare… Continue reading
Nov 05 How to plug holes in your Medicare coverage By Philip Moeller Basic Medicare only covers 80 percent of most covered medical services, and there's no ceiling on those co-payments. So where should seniors turn to help them pay for the rest of their care? Making Sen$e "Medicare Maven" Philip Moeller updates… Continue reading
Oct 31 Medicare paid for drugs after patients had died, report finds By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Call it drugs for the departed: Medicare's prescription program kept paying for costly medications even after patients were dead. The problem was traced back to a head-scratching bureaucratic rule that's now getting a second look. Continue reading
Oct 29 Don't let your Medicare Advantage plan disappear on you By Philip Moeller If your current Medicare Advantage plan will no longer be offered next year, you should have received a notice to that effect. And you should have read it. Maybe you did and maybe you didn’t. Making Sen$e Medicare Maven Phillip… Continue reading