50+ Lifestyles

Seven Ways Medicare will Improve in 2019

By Richard J. Schillig, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF
Independent Insurance and Financial Advisor

The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period is the time during which people with Medicare can make new choices and pick plans that work best for them. Each year Medicare plans typically change what they cost and cover. In addition, your health-care needs may have changed over the past year. This enrollment period began Oct 15 and continues to Dec 7. This is your opportunity to switch Medicare health and prescription drug plans to better suit your needs. Any changes made during this annual enrollment period are effective as of January 1, 2019.

AARP recently published this article “7 Ways Medicare Will Improve in 2019.” I wanted to share those changes with you. Further details are available on AARP website. These changes range from an early close of the prescription drug “donut hole” to expanded Medicare Advantage Plan Benefits. This article written by T.R. Reid. Further details may be obtained from www.aarp.org.

Now 53 years old Medicare has higher states of satisfaction from its 60 million members than almost any other form of health insurance. It is about to get better. These are the seven improvements to Medicare that will take effect in 2019. Some of the changes will affect all beneficiaries while others will apply just to individuals who select Medicare Advantage Plans. These changes are:

Donut Hole. An expensive element of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit requires enrollees with high prescription costs to pay more for their medicines after they reach a certain level of spending in one year. This creates a coverage gap – also called the “donut hole.” After a beneficiary’s out-of-pocket reaches a second threshold, they enter catastrophic coverage and pay substantially less. Under the Affordable Care Act, the donut hole was scheduled to close in 2020. But the spending bill Congress passed in March will close the donut hole for some drugs in 2019.

Therapy cap gone. Beneficiaries of original Medicare won’t have to pay the full cost of outpatient physical, speech or occupational therapy because Congress permanently repealed the cap that has historically limited coverage of those services.

Better Information. Medicare is updating the handbook it sends to beneficiaries every year. 2019 Medicare and You Booklets should now be in the hands of all Medicare beneficiaries. This year’s booklet contains checklists and flowcharts to make it easier to decide on coverage. The online Medicare Plan Finder tool will be easier to use and an improved “coverage wizard’ will help enrollees compare out-of-pocket costs and coverage options between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage Plans.

More telemedicine. Medicare is steadily broadening the availability of telehealth programs that allows patients to confer with a doctor or nurse via telephone or the internet. In 2019 it will begin covering telehealth services for people with end-stage renal disease of during treatment for a stroke.

Lifestyle Support. Beginning in January, Medicare Advantage plans have the option to cover meals delivered to the home, transportation to the doctor’s office and even safety features in the home such as bathroom grab bars and wheelchair ramps. To be covered a medical provider will have to recommend benefits as home-safely improvements and prepared meals.

In-Home Help. Medicare Advantage plans also will have the option to pay for assistance from home health aides, wh can help beneficiaries with their daily activities including dressing, eating and personal care. These benefits represent a revised and broader definition of the traditional requirement that Medicare services must be primarily health-related.

Plan test drives. New regulations will let people try an Advantage Plan for up to three months and if beneficiaries are not satisfied they can switch to another Medicare Advantage Plan or choose to enroll in Original Medicare. Congress required this flexibility in the 21st Century Cures Act, designed to accelerate innovation in health care.

We continue our meetings during this Annual Enrollment Period. Meetings are designed to provided information on the options we have when becoming eligible for Medicare and the changes that are available with Medicare Check our ads for meeting days and times.

Richard J. Schillig, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF is an Independent Insurance and Financial Advisor with RJS and Associates, Inc. He can be reached at (563) 332-2200.