45 – What You Need To Know About Medicare

Christian Financial Perspectives

English - July 30, 2019 00:15 - 33 minutes - 45.9 MB - ★★★★★ - 11 ratings
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Previous Episode: 44 – Investing That Makes The World Rejoice

Next Episode: 46 – Financial Tips For Every Life Stage

Bob and Mary Jo discuss a topic that is very important to the financial life of most seniors, and that is Medicare with special guest Mr. Brooks Boyd of Senior Savings Organization.

Click below to listen to Episode 45 – What You Need To Know About Medicare

What You Need To Know About Medicare

Learn about the ins and outs of Medicare.

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Bob and Mary Jo discuss a topic that is very important to the financial life of most seniors, and that is Medicare with special guest Mr. Brooks Boyd of Senior Savings Organization. With over 30 years in the insurance industry, Brooks has the knowledge and expertise to help navigate the confusing maze of Medicare and all the options available to consumers and help avoid the pitfalls and penalties that may occur when making the wrong decisions.

Brooks is an Independent Agency Owner, with a focus on helping seniors eligible for Medicare make the best possible choices when it comes to Medicare Supplements and plans.

Medicare is such a complex topic, so Brooks shares with our listeners about how he and his company specifically helps clients sift through all the noise regarding Medicare and simplifies it for them. Learn how Medicare differs from Medicaid and so much more!

GUESTS: Brooks Boyd of Senior Savings Organization

HOSTED BY: Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA® and Mary Jo Lyons, CFP®, CKA®

Mentioned In This Episode

Christian Financial Advisors

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Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®

Mary Jo Lyons, CFP®, CKA®

Senior Savings Organization

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Brooks Boyd

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

[INTRO]

BOB:

Welcome to Christian Financial Perspectives, a weekly program where we talk about ways to integrate your faith with your finances. This is Bob Barber.

MJ:

This is Mary Jo Lyons.

Bob:

Are you ready to learn the truth about money from a biblical perspective?

MJ:

Join us as we discuss what God’s Word says about money and integrating your faith with your finances… If it’s your first time listening, welcome to the program. If you’re a returning listener, welcome back.

[EPISODE]

Bob: Psalm 7:5-9, “I have become a sign to many. You are my strong refuge, for you have been my hope, sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you. You brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long. Do not cast me away when I am old. Do not forsake me when my strength is gone.”

Mary Jo: Oh Bob, I just think that’s a great scripture and you know that part, “Do not cast me away when I am old.” We need to rethink how we think of old people and what old really is. I was just reading an article in the New York Times about a woman named Julia Hawkins. She’s 103-year-old senior and she just ran the 50 and 100 yard dashes at the 2019 National Senior Games held in Albuquerque. She’s an inspiration to us all on how to age well. She said in an interview, her secrets to longevity, they include to stay in shape, keep active, have many passions, look for magical moments, seeing things like sunrises and sunsets, and music, and rainbows, and birdwatching, things along that line that give us joy, and keep interested in a lot of things to keep you busy and your mind busy. So I’m not sure I want to live to be 103, but if I can run 100 yard dash, that’s okay.

Bob: Yeah, I’m not so sure about 103 myself, but if I could make it to 90 I’ll be very, very happy. You know, speaking of senior citizens, today on Christian Financial Perspectives, we’re going to be discussing a topic that’s very important to the financial life of most seniors, and that is Medicare.

Mary Jo: So we have a special guest with us today, Mr. Brooks Boyd, with Senior Savings Organization. Brooks is an independent agency owner and he has a focus on helping seniors that are eligible for Medicare make the best possible choices when it comes to Medicare supplements and Medicare plans. Welcome, Brooks.

Bob: Yeah, Brooks, thanks for joining us today. I see you have a lot of experience in this Medicare. I don’t. So I’m looking forward to having you on.

Brooks: Well, I want to thank you and Mary Jo for having me on, and I enjoy talking to folks about Medicare. The biggest question I get from folks is, “What is Medicare? How does it work and what does it cover?” And it may seem like a simple question, but the answer is actually quite complex. But just broken down, the basic answer for what is Medicare is, it is a national United States health insurance program for people 65 and older. It is also for people with certain disabilities or end stage of kidney failure. And it is divided into various parts and it’s important to learn how these things fit together.

Brooks: Medicare can feel scary when it’s entirely new to us. Most of us spend our lives working for an employer who selects our insurance for us, you know, we go to an annual benefits meeting and sign up for the plan they chosen for us. And when we hit 65, we’re clueless about Medicare and all the plan options. It’s a daunting maze that we have to navigate. If you’re new to Medicare, it’ll be your primary insurance. Maybe when you’re working and not even sure if you need Medicare, but you want to make sure that you don’t unknowingly get a late enrollment penalty. And that’s one of the biggest things and concerns that folks have is knowing what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Because there are penalties involved if you make a misstep, that can follow you the rest of your life.

Mary Jo: You Know Brooks, I understand that is one of the most important things for them to kind of keep in the back of their mind. But before we get too much further, I know one thing I wanted to talk about and kind of get you to clarify, there seems to be a lot of confusion between Medicare and Medicaid, but they’re very different animals. So can you talk about that a little bit?

Bob: Mary Jo, it’s funny you say that too. Mary Jo, just today I was confused, wasn’t I?

Mary Jo: You were.

Bob: Are we going to be talking about Medicare or Medicaid? And she said, “We’re going to be talking about Medicare.” I said, “Oh, okay.”

Brooks: And that is not uncommon. Matter of fact, sometimes folks use those terms interchangeably, but they are very different. Medicare is a health insurance program for the elderly. Medicaid, on the other hand, it’s financial or health care assistance for low income individuals. Now some folks, 65 and older can qualify for both. In that scenario, Medicare is primary and Medicaid is secondary. They can get on certain types of plans, they’re called dual plans, Medicare, Medicaid plans. But for the purposes of today we will be talking about Medicare. Again, Medicaid is financial assistance from the state,

Bob: So Medicare is such a complex topic. Can you share with our listeners more about how you yourself specifically, help people sift through all this noise regarding Medicare, and what can you do to help them simplify this?

Brooks: You Bet, Bob. Oftentimes we see people get confused early on. They want to try and jump right into figuring out a Medigap or a Medicare Supplement Plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan, and how that will coordinate with their employer coverage. But that’s really putting the cart before the horse. So let’s just put that aside for now. What I want people to focus on are the different parts of Medicare. Original Medicare consists of Part A and Part B. Those are provided to you by the federal government. In fact, you’ll enroll in these two parts through the Social Security office. Those are really the only two parts though that you would actually enroll through the social security office. But again, your original Medicare consists of Part A and Part B.

Brooks: Part A is hospital coverage. This is the coverage that pays for your room and board in the hospital or a skilled nursing facility. Part B is outpatient coverage. That includes pretty much everything else, the doctor visits, equipment, lab work, surgeries, durable medical equipment, et cetera. There’s also another part, Part D as in Delta, that is your drug coverage. Just think of that as a pharmacy card. It allows you to purchase your prescriptions at a much lower price than retail. Those are the different parts of Medicare. There’s actually another part, Part C, which I’ll get into in a little bit, but understanding those different parts helps understand how medicare works.

Bob: I want to make a comment in here then. So Part A is hospital. B is outpatient?

Mary Jo: Or just think of it as doctors, Bob. It pays for doctor care.

Bob: Okay. Okay. So like when my dad had a major accident, he was in the hospital for a month or so. Then he had to go to rehab. So was that Part B that paid for that?

Brooks: Correct. Part B. Anything that’s outpatient. Doctor visits, outpatient surgeries, rehab, yes, that is outpatient. Correct.

Bob: All right, and D is just drug coverage. So D’s pretty easy, because you think of drug starts with a d and that starts with a d. Am I right in that assumption?

Brooks: Yes you are. You’re on the right track. Now it’s important to know certain things about Medicare. There are no networks in original Medicare. You can see any Medicare provider that accepts original Medicare, no matter what supplement company you choose, by the way. And choosing a doctor outside of Medicare will cost, you’ll pay for what is called excess charges. What Medicare covers is a variety of services, doctor visits, preventive care, lab tests, emergency services, things like that.

Brooks: What it doesn’t cover though, and that’s where people get confused. They think that once I get Medicare Part A and B, I’m set. Well that’s not exactly the case because there are big gaps in Medicare. Part B has a deductible per confinement period of $1,364 for 2019, and that typically goes up every year. And that’s for the first 60 days in the hospital. 61 through 90 there’s a copay of $341 per day, 91 through 150, $682 per day. So you can see that you can run into quite a bit of expenses if you don’t get a Medigap or a Medicare Supplement Policy. And the same is true, Bob and Mary Jo, with Medicare Part B. Now there’s $185 annual deductible for 2019 and Medicare pays 80% of all approved charges after the required deductible of $185. After that, 20% is to the Medicare beneficiary, and there is no cap on that 20%. So if you have anything major done, you can run into some big dollars that you’re having to pay out. That’s why these Medigap Medicare Supplement Policies exist.

Mary Jo: Is a Medigap the same as a Medicare Supplement? Are those one in the same?

Brooks: Those are one in the same, and there’s also what’s called a Medicare Advantage Plan, and that’s what I was referring to earlier is a Part C, that is Medicare Advantage. Now real quickly, Medicare Advantage Plans were created as an alternative to original Medicare and Medigap. When you join one of these plans, you direct Medicare to pay the Advantage Plan a set monthly amount for your care. In return, all that you get from Part A and Part B services, they take on all your medical risks. So Medicare Advantage, in its simplest form, the best way to explain it is private Medicare. You opt out of original Medicare and now you’re getting your Medicare from an insurance company such as Cigna, Aetna, United Healthcare, Humana. Those are some of the major ones that provide Medicare Advantage.

Bob: Wait a second, sorry I ask a question. I heard something, I’m not sure if I understood that right. So you opt out. So if you’re getting Part C, you still have Part A and B?

Brooks: Well you still have Part A and B. You’re still going to pay for the Part B premium, but you’re in essence opting out of original Medicare. Now Medicare Advantage has to, by law cover everything that original Medicare covers and they typically cover a little bit more. For instance, dental, vision and hearing, those aren’t covered by original Medicare, but oftentimes you’ll see those types of benefits covered by a Medicare Advantage Plan. Also transportation to and from the hospital. There are meal services that can be provided in some of these plans.

Brooks: So there are differences, but also keep in mind with a Medicare Advantage Plan, you will have a network, whether it’s an HMO or PPO, you will have to stay within network in order for that plan to pay.

Mary Jo: You’ve gone over so much and you’re right, this is definitely a complex topic. So let’s take a step back. Tell us a little bit about yourself, your expertise, and how you can simplify this and why somebody would need to work with an expert such as yourself.

Brooks: Great question, Mary Jo. You can tell just by the short conversation we’ve had that Medicare can be very, very confusing, overly so. For whatever reason our government makes all these different acronyms and parts and plans. They all kind of meld together. What is Medicare, how does that differ from Medicaid? All these questions that people have. I have been in the insurance business since 1989 and my practice is 100% focused on Medicare. That is all I do. And I work a lot with referral partners who have clients that are Medicare age, aging into Medicare, and they just quite frankly need help. They need hand holding to navigate this maze and that’s where I step in. I specialize in Medicare. That’s all I do.

Brooks: I work with folks on just finding out, first of all what it is they know so far, and it runs the gamut. They could have been doing lots of research, so they know exactly what they want and where to go. But more often than not they’re about as confused as everybody else. They’re getting phone calls from across the country from big call centers that are trying to sell them a Medicare Supplement Plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan. They’re not sure what to do or where to go. Their mailboxes are being stuffed full of flyers and mailers from all these different insurance companies. They’re watching the commercials on TV, the Signa, the Humana, the United Healthcare, the Aetna commercials. They’re telling them to do this or they’ve got the greatest plan, but they’re not really getting any unbiased information. They’re not really getting any information that’s pertinent to their exact situation.

Brooks: And what I do, Mary Jo, is I sit down with folks and I say, “Look, my main job is to educate you in order for you to make the most informed decision that feels right to you.” And that’s it. So that’s where I come into play. But not only that, once they get a policy from me, I’m also going to work with them on an annual basis reviewing their prescription drug plan, because these drug formularies can change from year to year. So what may be working for them this year as far as drug coverage, may not work for them next year. It might be higher and there might be a better prescription drug plan out there that’s better for them.

Mary Jo: That’s a great point because you never know when your prescriptions that you need are going to change.

Bob: You know, another thing is you’re not dealing with an 800 number. You’re dealing with a person,

Mary Jo: Exactly.

Bob: Because I can tell you, we started off … I’m just trying to write notes and keep up with you, Brooks. And it gets very confusing very quickly trying to figure out, as you were saying, the different deductibles and how much it pays per day, and then this one covers from this point. I just want coverage. And something that is so complex, I need a human being that I can talk to that is going to be the same person, preferably every time and stick with me to help me understand this maze of Medicare.

Brooks: Well, you’re exactly right Bob, because things do change. Not everything stays the same, as we all know. Prescription drug plans, they’re in different tiers. Tier One, Two, Three, Four and Five. And a Tier One is your lowest cost generic drug, and you can pay as little as $3 or $9 for a 90 day supply. But if you’ve got a generic drug and it’s in a Tier Two or Three, you may be overpaying for that drug. And oftentimes I’ll get on the phone with a client, and we’ll get on a three way call with the carrier, and we’ll lobby for a tier exception to try and get that generic drug lower to a Tier Two or One. And that can save folks quite a bit of money on a monthly basis.

Brooks: Also sometimes folks will file a claim and they don’t quite agree with it. Well if they want to file an appeal for that claim, I can take them through that process. So these are just some of the things that I try and bring to folks, next level service, for when they do have a question or a concern or do need help when navigating Medicare, that they have somebody to go to.

Mary Jo: Well I just feel so lucky that we’ve been able to find you as a resource, because I know our clients always have questions. And I want to revisit something you said earlier. So when someone’s nearing 65 what’s the most important thing that they need to know regarding Medicare?

Brooks: Well, the most important thing they need to know is to get help. And I know that’s probably over-simplified but they are going to be barraged with a whole lot of information and it’s going to be overwhelming. There’s going to be an anxiety level there, and they’re going to be stressed out. So align themselves with somebody that they know and trust. Oftentimes they’ll go to their financial planner, their advisor that they know and trust. And typically somebody like you, Mary Jo, is aligned with somebody and you outsource that expertise to a specialist such as myself, so that they can chat, sit down and talk with those folks and just find out where they are in the process. Maybe they are still working for an employer, so they’re not ready to get on Medicare, but it might behoove them to get Part A and not Part B.

Mary Jo: So let’s touch on that for just a minute. So if they’re still working and covered by a group health care plan, they should go ahead and get Medicare A?

Bob: Mary Jo, you’re thinking of the exact same questions I’m thinking of. Because I was thinking that too.

Mary Jo: Sorry Bob.

Bob: No it’s okay, Mary Jo, you steal my thunder. That’s all right. Because I was thinking, because I’ve got clients that are still working. If they’re still working, do they need Medicare if they’re still working at 67 or even 68? And they’ve got that group health plan.

Brooks: Exactly, and that is a whole another can of worms that you open up and it should be more cut and dry. But guess what? We’re dealing with the government and it’s not. So let’s say you’re working and you’re at 65 or older, what do you do? It depends on what size company you work for. So let’s take a large company, 20 employees and up. Now if you work for a company that has over 20 employees, Medicare is secondary if your employer is that large. This is called Medicare Secondary Payer. In that scenario, your group plan is going to pay first, then your Medicare pays second. Most active employees with group coverage, they enroll in Part A because it’s premium free if you’ve been working for 10 years. Plan A can coordinate to lower your costs if you have a hospital stay.

Brooks: And let’s take an example. Let’s say you employer health plan has a $3,000 deductible. Well, for 2019, the deductible for Part A is $1,364, so that will coordinate so you’ll have a lower deductible when you go in the hospital. In that scenario, it would make sense to go ahead enroll in Part A. An exception though … now there’s always going to be an exception … is if you participate in an HSA, a Health Savings Account. If you have a high deductible plan and you participate in an HSA, you should not get Part A or Part B, because that will make the HSA taxable.

Bob: I just never … man, I had no idea.

Brooks: Well, and again, it’s not uncommon for me to come across folks that have been given wrong or incorrect information, and I’ll give you a a real for instance that I came across. He’s a client now, but when I met him last November, he had enrolled in Part A in 2010. He was 73 years old. And Part B, he enrolled, had an effective date in 2013, but he was still working for a large employer. So he was paying his Part B premium unnecessarily because he was told to by an HR director. The HR director he talked to really didn’t have the correct information. That’s not uncommon. So he, throughout the years, I estimated has paid over $20,000 unnecessarily in Part B premiums because he had group coverage.

Bob: He’s not going to get that back either, is he?

Brooks: No he’s not, unfortunately.

Mary Jo: So Brooks, isn’t there something magical about applying for Medicare early, before for your 65th birthday?

Brooks: If you have a disability, you can become eligible for Medicare, so yes.

Bob: You can apply after that. That’s the only reason to apply before?

Brooks: Yes, correct.

Brooks: Well, what you can do is go to the Social Security office or go to ssa.gov, and sign up for Part A and Part B. And you can do that online, it’s very simple. But also there is a Medicare supplement open enrollment. It is a one time window during which you can enroll in any Medicare supplement. You will not have to answer any medical questions during your open enrollment. In other words, the supplement insurance companies cannot turn you down during their personal open enrollment period. Now this only lasts for six months, so it’s imperative that when you turn 64, you start looking into your options. And best case, you sit down and start building or establishing a relationship with somebody that is going to guide you through this process, so you make sure that you don’t miss out on any late enrollment opportunities.

Bob: You mean this is only one time in your entire life?

Brooks: One time in your entire life when you turn 65, or if you still have group coverage and it’s creditable coverage, when you leave that employment and retire, you have a special enrollment period to where it is open enrollment and you do not have to answer any health questions at that time as well.

Bob: Let me ask you, once someone is on Medicare and they choose that specific plan, are they stuck in it for life then?

Brooks: No, and that’s actually another great question, Bob. It is not uncommon for folks that have been on a supplemental plan for three, four years or so, every year they’re going to have those premiums raise, sometimes several times in a year. And different carriers, they’ll have different rate stability. Some are more stable than others. Some have been in the game, if you will, longer than others. You see a lot of carriers out there, a lot of the major carriers, but there are a lot of other carriers that aren’t quite as well known, not that they’re bad insurance companies. Some of them are quite stable, and all the plans are standardized. Keep that in mind. If you’ve got a Plan F or G with Aetna, it’s going to be the same Plan F or G with Humana or Cigna or United Healthcare.

Brooks: But let’s say you’ve been in a plan for three or four years or longer, and it started out to be paying $100, and now you’re paying $150 or $160 a month. It would behoove you to shop around, if you can qualify and pass the health questions, to see if there is another carrier out there with better rates.

Mary Jo: So they would have to go through underwriting again?

Brooks: They would have to go through underwriting since they have passed for open enrollment at age 65, or when they left a group plan, they would have to qualify it. But it’s typically not uncommon for folks to shop around and get approved. It’s not uncommon at all. And also keep in mind that different carriers underwrite differently. Some will be very stringent on their underwriting, and they’ll have knockout questions that are very strict. The others are more lenient, and where you may not get approved with one carrier you can with another. So I tell folks every year or so, make sure that your drug formularies in your prescription drug plan have not changed, and that you’re going to not get hit with a big increase in your drug costs. But at least every two years or so, shop around your supplemental or Medigap plans to see if there’s not a better deal out there for you

Bob: Well that would be shop around if you’ve not gotten a major disease though too, because you know once you hit 65, 75 that’s when a lot of things start coming on, and if you’ve gotten a major disease or you’ve gotten cancer or something, it’s going to be pretty hard to go to someone else, isn’t it?

Brooks: It is, and unfortunately for those folks, they’re stuck where they are at now. Keep in mind they could always go to a Medicare Advantage Plan during the annual enrollment period, which is from October 15th through December 7th. Now, I typically don’t recommend somebody going from a supplemental plan if they have had a major disease like cancer or heart attack or stroke, to an advantage plan, because there is going to be that out of pocket costs. There is a cap on an annual basis for these Medicare Advantage Plans, but I just don’t recommend going from a supplement to advantage plan if they’ve had a major disease.

Brooks: Now it’s not uncommon for folks that have had a supplement and now they’re paying upwards of $200 or more a month, and they say, “Look, I just … I’m healthy. I’m tired of paying $200 a month plus another $25, $30 for my prescription drug plan. I’m going to go with a an advantage plan and I’ll pay a zero premium or maybe $20 a month premium, and instead of paying as I go, I’ll just pay as needed.” That’s not uncommon. And keep in mind that these advantage plans, there are some with very good networks. It’s about 40% of the market now. And I just read an article the other day that in about 20 years, about 70% of the market will be the Medicare `ans. Now that statistic blew my mind, but you know these things are becoming more and more popular. It’s not a which one is better, it’s which one is better for you.

Mary Jo: So I know that there’s a lot to consider with the prescription drug plans and that’s a concern for a lot of recipients. So what’s important for them to know about that?

Brooks: Well, fortunately there is a website called medicare.gov and that’s run by the government. Medicare. CMS is Centers for Medicare Services. And they can actually go in themselves and plug in their drugs, and it will turn out a list of all the prescription drug plans in their area, and it’ll show which ones are the cheapest and also how those particular drugs are covered. Or they can call up somebody like me and I’ll walk them through that. Keep in mind, just because a plan only costs $10 or $11 a month for a prescription drug plan, doesn’t always mean that’s the best plan. And a real good example of that is, what kind of service are you going to get from that particular carrier that is only charging you $10 versus a more common carrier that is charging $25 for that prescription drug plan? So the cheapest isn’t always going to be the lowest cost, if you know what I mean.

Bob: Oh yeah. You get what you pay for. Brooks, I know you’ve shared so much with this, and in the beginning we shared the A, B, C and D Parts, and there’s just so much parts to this thing. As we get close to the end, what are some common questions that you may get from clients that Mary Jo or I have not asked you today, that you might want to share for our podcast listeners?

Brooks: Well, good question. There’s always going to be a few myths that need to be dispelled about Medicare. Myth number one or question number one that I get a lot is people that say, “You know, Medicare is going to cover all my medical expenses.” In reality, it only covers about half of all medical and skilled nursing care expenses for an average Medicare enrollee, unless of course you get a supplement. But also Medicare does not cover longterm care, routine dental care, dentures, cosmetic surgery, acupuncture, hearing aids, exams for fitting hearing aids. Those are some of the things that Medicare does not cover.

Brooks: You know, a lot of times people will think that Medicare is free. Well we do know that Part A is free, but Part B is not. Part B this year, the premium is $135.50, and it goes up from there the more money you make. Again, a lot of people think that having poor health means I will not qualify to join Medicare. But as we discussed earlier, during your open enrollment, you do not have to answer any health questions.

Brooks: So, myth number four, one of the questions I get, “Once I’m unrolled, my coverage and costs will not change.” Reality is that costs and coverage change every year. Congress votes on this. There are changes coming to 2020 to Medicare. Some of the plans will be going away. Deductibles always go up. So there are changes every year.

Brooks: Also, one of the biggest questions is, when can I enroll in Medicare? Can I enroll at any time? Well, first time enrollment, it’s usually wise to enroll at age 65 if you’re not working or don’t have employer insurance. There’s a seven month window around your 65th birthday, three months before and four months after.

Brooks: So those are some of the most common questions are some of the most common myths that I get from folks about Medicare.

Mary Jo: Brooks, all those things that you said that Medicare didn’t cover. Now does a Medigap Plan cover those things?

Brooks: The Medigap Plan will cover the deductibles and the co-insurance for Medicare Part B, but the supplement plan does not cover for longterm care or routine dental care or dentures or cosmetic surgery or hearing aids. But the Medicare Advantage Plans, a lot of those plans do have some very good benefits when it comes to dental, vision, and hearing, transportation costs to and from the hospital, if you are checked into a hospital. So that’s why a lot of these advantage plans are becoming more and more popular, because some of the benefits that they’re starting to offer that original Medicare and the supplement plans don’t.

Mary Jo: Wow. You shared a lot of great information with us today, Brooks, and I just thank you for that. Summarize for our listeners, what’s the benefit of work with someone like you?

Brooks: Well, the benefit of working with somebody like me, Mary Jo, is we’re going to take you by the hand. They’re going to lower the anxiety and stress level. They’re going to help you make a decision that feels right to you. They’re going to explain all your options, explain all the parts of Medicare, explain the different plans, explain the difference between a supplement and a Medicare Advantage, explain when to enroll, explain the different enrollment periods. You’re talking about annual enrollment period, open enrollment period, special enrollment period, initial enrollment period. That’s enough to make somebody’s head explode, just trying to explain all the different enrollment periods alone.

Bob: You’re already making my head explode.

Brooks: My biggest advice I can give is don’t go it alone. Work with somebody that’s going to be an advocate for you. And if you can find somebody that’ll be an advocate for you, you’ll have somebody that you can turn to for the rest of your life.

Bob: Well, I’ll tell you Brooks, I want that to be you. You’ve done such an amazing job today on the podcast and sharing all these points. I tried taking notes, I couldn’t keep up with you. I tried to take notes and go along with you and your knowledge about Medicare just blows my mind. If someone wants more information, how do they find you?

Brooks: Well, it’s really easy. I’ve got a website, seniorsavingsorganization.com and you can go to that website and it’s got all my contact information. It’s got a whole wealth of information as well about different parts of Medicare. Some of the exact same things we’ve talked about today, some of the different parts and the costs and plans. So that’s my website, SeniorSavingsOrganization.com.

Bob: We will make sure here on Christian Financial Podcast, on our website, that we’ll have a link to your website and if y’all didn’t get all that … I mean I know a lot of you are probably driving right now, or maybe you’re running and listening to this podcast on your iPhone, so just give us a call. We’re always here. Mary Jo and I are always here to help serve you. One of the things that we’re doing on our website now is you can go right to our website and make an appointment with either Mary Jo or I for 15 minutes to ask us a question. So feel free to do that, and just go to christianfinancialpodcast.com or give us a phone call if you prefer the old fashioned way of talking to somebody by the phone. We love that. And that’s (830) 609-6986. Hey, Mary Jo, do you have any last things you wanted to say?

Mary Jo: Not at all. I think we’ve covered a lot and hopefully our listeners found some great value there, and hopefully they’ve got more questions and we can help facilitate that for them. So Brooks, thank you so much for joining us.

[CONCLUSION]

You’re listening to Christian Financial Perspectives. Join us next week as we explore what God’s word says about money. Don’t forget, you can sign up for our free newsletter on ciswealht.com or give us a call at 877-71-TRUTH. That’s 877-718-7884. To make sure that you don’t miss any of our podcasts regarding the truth about money, make sure to subscribe to Christian Financial Perspectives at christianfinancialpodcast.com for free. If there are any specific topics you would like to hear more about, we would love to hear from you.

That’s all for now, until next week!

[DISCLOSURES]

Brooks Boyd and Senior Savings Organization are not affiliated with Christian Financial Advisors. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts, Bob Barber and Mary Jo Lyons. Bob and Mary Jo do not provide tax advice and encourage you to seek guidance from a tax professional. Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc. DBA Christian Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor.

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