–
Hi! My name is Brian Monahan. I’ve been a Medicare supplement agent for over 15 years.
I hope you enjoy the video you’re about to watch. If you have additional questions you can click on my
name below which will take you to my Youtube channel page and you can watch any additional video that
you want. Also, at the end of my videos will be my name, my website address and my phone number
where you can contact me and ask me any questions that you might have. 1-844-552-7426
This is Medicare explained the easy way. In this video i’m going to explain in detail things about
medicare that confuses most people. If you look in the description box below there are chapters where you can click on the times for each section of the information that I’m going to give you.
I will break down 10 important sections, including: number one- terms used with Medicare,
number two- who is eligible for Medicare, number three- the four parts of Medicare, number four- signing
up for medicare Part A and B, number five- the cost of Medicare, number six- what is a Medigap plan,
number seven- what is a Medicare Advantage Plan, number eight- Part D prescription drug plans,
number nine- I’m going to sum it all up and number 10- why it’s important to have a Medicare
supplement agent.
Throughout the video there will be an i in the upper right hand corner of the video.
Click on these each time i mention a different subject that you might be interested in and a
a video on that specific topic will show in that eye you can watch the video after this one.
This video is not extremely long but with the i that shows up in the upper right of the screen and the
chapters in the description box below you will be able to skip to any subject that you need quickly for
more information on. It will also have links to my other videos in the description box.
So let’s get started with the video! Section one- terms used with Medicare. Here are some terms
to remember when watching this video. Number one is a premium. Number two is a copay or
co-payment. Number three is a deductible. Number four, coinsurance and number five is underwriting.
A premium is the recurring monthly cost of the plan itself. This is what you pay to have the plan.
A co-payment, or copay, is what you pay each time you visit a doctor. Might be twenty dollars co-payment
or five dollars. A deductible is the first amount you will pay before the plan picks up. What they’re going
to pay. So you might have a $200 deductible before the plan starts paying for your care. Coinsurance is
the percentage of the bill that you have to pay. Underwriting is when a company asks you health
questions and then decides whether they’re going to accept you into the plan. Please remember that term
underwriting.
Section 2- who is eligible for Medicare. Medicare eligibility is for people who are 65 and older or
people who have been disabled for over two years. Medicare Part A is free of charge if you or your
spouse worked 40 quarters in your lifetime and paid the Medicare tax during this time. A person must
sign up for Part B during their initial enrollment period (which i explained later in the video) unless they are
receiving social security benefits. Then they will automatically be enrolled in Medicare Part B.
Section three- the four parts of Medicare. A, B, C and D. Medicare Part A- inpatient services
which includes hospitals etc. Medicare Part A inpatient care in hospitals, skilled nursing facility care,
hospice care and home health care- if you are physically unable to get to a facility like a hospital.
Medicare Part A. If you or your spouse worked for 10 years (40 quarters) and paid into the Medicare tax
you will get Medicare Part A for free. You will not pay a premium for it each month. It comes out of your
paycheck when you’re working. If not, you can get Part A for a monthly premium. Medicare Part B- this
includes outpatient services such as doctor’s office visits etc.
Part B. This includes services from doctors and other health care providers. Outpatient care,
durable medical equipment and some preventative services. Medicare Part B. Pay attention to Medicare
Part B when you are initially signing up for Medicare. I will explain this in further detail later but signing up
for Part B is extremely important. Medicare Part B. The standard Part B premium cost in 2021 is
$148.50. That’s what you’ll pay each month for Medicare Part B if you’re in that tax bracket. If your
modified adjusted gross income as reported on your irs tax return from two years ago is above a certain
amount you’ll pay the standard premium amount and an income related monthly adjusted amount.
Let’s take a look at the standard amount to see if you’ll have to pay more. Here is the standard
amount that you will pay. If you filed an individual tax return of $88,000 or less. If you filed a joint tax
return of $176,000 or less. If you filed married but separate tax return for $88,000 or less you will pay
each month in 2021 $148.50.
Medicare Part C Advantage Plans. A Medicare Part C Plan is just another name for a Medicare
Advantage Plan. Why they confuse you with this i’m not sure but i will explain this in further detail and you
can click on the chapter for this in the description box below to move to that section for Medicare
Advantage Plans. Signing up for medicare Part C aka a Medicare Advantage Plan is optional and if you
click on the i above in the right corner of this screen it will take you to a video strictly on Medicare
Advantage Plans
This next section is Medicare Part D, which is prescription drug plans. Medicare Part D.
Remember. D stands for drug plans. Medicare Part D is the drug plans that are approved by the
government. They are private companies such as AARP, Aetna, Cigna, etc. but their Medicare Part D Plan
Is regulated by the federal government. Keep in mind that Medicare Parts A and B don’t cover 100% of
your costs and they do not cover drugs. You will need to look at a Part D drug plan or an Advantage Plan
that covers drugs to cover some of the deductibles and copayments you will be charged for with your
drugs.
Section 4. Signing up for Medicare Part A and B. A person can sign up for medicare online at
ssa.gov and click medicare enrollment or they can go into the social security office to sign up. Some
people receive their card automatically if they are taking early social security benefits. As I explained
earlier, Medicare Part A is free of charge if you or your spouse worked 40 quarters and paid the Medicare
tax during that time. Also a person must sign up for Medicare Part B during their initial enrollment period
unless they are receiving social security benefits. Then they will automatically be enrolled. If you don’t
want medicare because your work benefits are cheaper or carrying a wife and children you must opt out
of Medicare Part B. This is very important and I have it in another video of mine.
Section 5- the cost of Medicare. Once again most people get premium free Part A. Medicare
Part A is free of charge if you or your spouse worked 40 quarters and paid the Medicare tax during that
time. If you look at your pay stub and see Medicare and money taken out- that’s the tax for Medicare Part
A, a majority of people get Medicare Part A for free but if you don’t qualify for premium free Part A you
can buy it. It will cost either $259 or $471 each month in 2021 depending on how long they or their
spouse work and paid Medicare taxes. On to Medicare Part B. The standard Part B premium cost in 2021
is $148.50. If your modified adjusted gross income as reported on your irs tax return from two years ago
is above a certain amount you will pay more. Look for the eye above this video that further explains this
premium for Part B.
Now on to Part C. The cost of Medicare Part C, also known as an Advantage Plan or Medicare
Advantage Plan is different with each company and the plan they offer. Look for my video on Medicare
Advantage Plans in the i above and in the description box below where i’ll go into detail about Medicare
Advantage Plans.
Section 6- what is a Medigap Plan aka a Medicare supplement plan. Medigap plans aka
Medicare supplement plans help fill gaps in Medicare Part A and medicare Part B. When you go to the
doctor or the hospital you show your Medicare Part A and B card and also your Medigap card which will
be a private company such as Aetna, Humana, Cigna, AARP and those types of companies. There are 10
different Medigap plans including the most popular plans such as the G Plan and the N Plan. These are
government plans that are marketed, sold and serviced by private companies. AARP, Aetna, Humana and
Cigna all sell the G Plan but it is the same plan just with different prices.
Try not to confuse Medicare parts such as A and B with Medigap plans such as G and N. Two
totally different things. Medigap plans have underwriting unless you are in your initial enrollment period
or have a special enrollment period. Remember. Underwriting is when they ask you health questions and
they don’t have to accept you into the plan. It’s very different than Medicare Advantage Plans where they
have to accept you and have no underwriting. Medigap plans have underwriting. You will either choose a
medigap plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan to help cover the costs that Medicare doesn’t cover for
doctors and hospitals. This includes deductibles, co-payments, co-insurance etc. If you want to know
more about Medigap plans please click on the i above in the right hand corner or click the link in the
description box below labeled Medigap.
Section 7- What is a Medicare Advantage Plan? Medicare Advantage Plans also known as
Medicare Part C are private companies that group all covers together. The plans cover what Medicare
Part A and B cover plus most Medicare Advantage Plans include prescription drug coverage Part D and
also some vision, hearing and dental coverage. Once you sign up for a Medicare Advantage Plan you can
put your Medicare Part A and B card in a safe place because the Advantage Plan card will be all you need
to show the doctor, hospital, pharmacist etc. Medicare Advantage Plans group all of these coverages
together in one card. Keep in mind that Medicare Advantage Plans are either ppo or hmo- private fee for
service plans or special needs plans. Also Medicare Advantage Plans do not have underwriting so
anyone can sign up for one of these plans. If you want to know more about Medicare Advantage Plans
please click on the i above or click the Link in the description box labeled Medicare Advantage and will
take you to a video specifically on Medicare Advantage Plans and how they work.
Section 8- Part D. Prescription drug plans. Medicare Part D stands for Medicare approved
prescription drug plans. These are private company plans that are approved by Medicare and CMS which
is the Center for Medicare Services. There are approximately 30 prescription drug plans in each state
with different Formularies and copayments slash deductibles. Part D Plans can be very confusing to
someone who is new to Medicare. There is no underwriting for Part D Plans so anyone can sign up for
any drug plan offered in their area but the deductibles and the copayments are different for each plan and
each drug within the plan. If you choose to go on a Medigap plan you must choose a Medicare Part D
prescription drug plan from the choices offered in your area.
It can be any of the 20 to 40 plans offered from any company. Aetna, AARP, Cigna, etc. So keep in
mind Medigap plans are like a buffet. You could have an Aetna Medigap plan and then get a Cigna
medicare Part D prescription drug plan and then get a dental plan from Blue Cross. You group it all
together but they’re not together as one plan. If you choose to get a Medicare Advantage Plan for your
benefits and get off of original Medicare you must take that company’s drug plan. For example if you
purchase an Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan you can only choose the drug plan that comes with that
Aetna Advantage Plan which would be an Aetna drug plan.
Section nine- let’s sum it all up! So here’s actually what you have to do- figure out if you actually
want or need Medicare when you turn 65. If you want it you need to sign up for both Medicare Part A and
Medicare Part B. You have to choose either a Medigap plan or Medicare Advantage Plan and you have
to choose a Part D Plan if you’re going to choose a Medigap Plan.
For the last section- section 10. What a Medicare supplement agent does for you. We are
customer service driven and we cost you nothing to work with us. The companies pay us. You do not. it
would be the same price if you went directly with the company. We go over the benefits of working with
each company and give you many different choices to pick from. Not just one company as if you called
one of these Medigap or Medicare Advantage companies you’d only get one choice. Also we help you
with your drug plan at no additional cost to you. We go over the formulas. We help you pick out a plan
and so forth and that takes a lot of time.
We also help you with your vision, hearing and dental insurance-, if you choose to get coverage.
Once again this is free of charge to you. Another thing is we have an extensive list with 95 percent of the
Medigap and Medicare Advantage companies on it we show you all of them and help you compare them
so that you can choose the right plan for you.
Here are some of the companies that we work with. It’s just a list. AARP, Medico, Aetna, Cigna,
Blue Cross, Transamerica, Humana, Mutual of Omaha, Manhattan Life and tons of other companies.
USAA Medicare part d is something that senior benefits could possibly have. Also, don’t forget about the question, “ Does United healthcare pay for the shingles vaccine?” These are all basic questions people ask to compare all medicare supplement plans.
Another thing to think about is the town you live in. It is different if you are from Fayetteville, North Carolina or Atlanta, Georgia. This can make a difference in your Medigap plan N cost.
Disclaimer: This video and blog post are for entertainment purposes only. If you want advice on Medicare or any of its plans, please speak to a licensed agent, whether it is me or another licensed agent. No advice should be taken from this video or blog post. If you don’t speak to me about your individual concerns, I can’t give you my 100% opinion. Brian Monahan and Medicare 365 are not responsible for any actions that you take without consulting with a licensed insurance agent.
