Medicare: Putting the Puzzle Together

Situation:

People often find themselves in a predicament when trying to understand the puzzle we refer to as Medicare. A B C D what?

Challenge:

Choosing the best strategy for protection and fully understanding options when still employed, retired or part of a spousal plan. In addition, the confusion of Medigap verses Med Advantage and RX D.

Understand if you are still working, whether or not, you need to carry part B, is your current RX plan creditable, will you have penalties for part B or D if you don’t take it at age 65, will you be able to change plans later... These questions are a few of the critical and often misunderstood pieces of theMedicare puzzle. Don’t find yourself in one of the many potholes that are unknowingly and easily created with Medicare options.

Outlook:

After an educational session with one of our team members, you will find yourself empowered to make the best decision for your family. You will feel confident in your own ability to put together theMedicare puzzle. Reach out to kira@affiliatedassoc.com for help today!

Medical Plans: The Prescription Leak

Situation:

One of the greatest concerns for any business is controlling their company medical spend, which often falls close to the second or third greatest expense on the P&L sheet. It is not uncommon for prescriptions to make up as much as 25% of the overall cost of a plan. So, why is it that so many employers are still focusing on generic steerage when after years of this activity, the members who can take generic have already migrated to generic? The focus needs to be on where to purchase, whether generic or not! 

Case:

Let’s take a company with 76 employees on a plan (not including dependents) spending $668,000per year in total medical and prescription claims. $141,000 of that is prescription only - or 21% of the total claims. A simple awareness campaign on purchasing opportunities will reduce the cost of the prescriptions alone by $68,000! That is a 10% reduction in total claim spend and 47% reduction inRX claims! When was the last time you were able to reduce any other aspect of company expenses by over 10%?! 

Outlook:

Don’t put your head in the sand and assume you have no control over one of your greatest expenses! Helping your bottom line in turn will help your employees – make it a win-win!!Awareness, information, and tools are all you need!