Medicare Check In and Check Up

Thank goodness, the avalanche of ads and emails and stuffed mailboxes with pleas to sign up with their Medicare plan is a distant memory. Whatever plan you chose is what you are experiencing right now and it’s important to take a moment to reflect on how you feel about the choice you made.

In our recent survey we asked you if you felt your Medicare prescription drug plan made drugs more affordable and accessible. Almost half, 49.3% said no. This is a long way from the almost 90% that, year after year, have said they were satisfied with their plan. What changed?  I’m convinced that it’s the barrage of rhetoric that is blasting out of Washington that is convincing people that their once valued prescription drug plan is somehow now not working. We need to step back and decide for ourselves what’s best for us.

I think now is a good time to evaluate where you stand with both your prescription drug plan and your Medicare supplemental plan, if you have one, or Medicare Advantage if you have chosen that option. Are the services recommended by your doctor available when you need them? Do you and your doctor have the ability to initially choose the prescription medicine that fits your specific condition and then to change as your needs dictate? How are your co-pays and co-insurance? Has your out-of-pocket expenses increased? It is sometimes difficult to make comparisons year over year when your health may have changed. If your health required more doctor visits, more tests or even some time spent in the hospital, your out-of-pocket expenses are obviously going to change. The real question is whether the plan you have is the best for your particular situation and, maybe just as important, will the changes proposed by the current administration improve accessibility and affordability?

Now is a good time to take some time and write down what works for you and what doesn’t with your insurance. Some of that introspection is an honest evolution of where your current health is headed. Are there inherited family vulnerabilities that should be taken into account? My wife’s grandmother, mother, and aunts, on average, lived to be over 100 years old. My father died when he was 66. Maybe there are some things I need to consider going forward. Family longevity is only one thing to consider. Science has given us tools that can look at our DNA and uncover threats to our health that should influence our plans for staying healthy as well as the insurance plan we choose. We should not only look at how our plan works for us when we get sick but also how it helps us stay healthy. For instance, when I lived in Virginia, I joined a gym that included a pool where I could swim laps. I paid for the membership, and it helped me stay healthy. When I moved out West, I found that my new Medicare Advantage plan included the benefit of a free membership to a local swimming pool. My insurance carrier reminds me (some people call it bugging them, but I choose reminding me) about things I should be doing to stay healthy. At my last physical my doctor said it was time to get another colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is not one of the fun things I’ve done in my life, but it is definitely for my own good. Well, because of a myriad of not really good reasons, I haven’t scheduled the procedure. This last month I’ve been getting emails from my Medicare Advantage provider reminding that it I should be getting a colonoscopy. I’ve set a deadline that I’ll get it done by the end of May. Remember, the reminder is from an organization that is going to pay for this procedure. They do that because it’s to both of our benefits to discover possible colon problems early.

So, here’s the bottom line, statistically less than 40% of seniors even review their insurance coverage during the open enrollment period and 10% or less change their coverage. Does that mean that 90% have had no change in our circumstances over the last year and we’re happy with our current coverage? It would seem logical that one of these four things will probably happen during this year:

1. Our health status changed.
2. Our current plan changed in some manner.
3. Competing plans that changed benefits might be of interest to us.
4. There were new plans offered in our area.

There are some things we can do now to be ready for the next open season:

1. Keep a diary of things you like and dislike about your current plan, both your prescription drug plan and supplemental or Medicare Advantage plan, as applicable.
2. Track how much you spend on your healthcare – be sure to include what you spend on preventative care.
3. Find out and document family health history. It will not only help you choose a plan but is something you need to bring up with your doctor.
4. Evaluate your own health and your health trajectory.

Hopefully, doing these things will give you the information you need to make an informed decision about your insurance. No one else is responsible for your health. If we don’t take the time to select the right plan for ourselves then insurance companies won’t be incentivized to compete for our services. We need to keep the competition alive so the government doesn’t seize the opportunity to regulate and dictate our healthcare.

Best, Thair