Seems like every month our newsletter increases by a thousand or more, so welcome to all our new friends, hello to those of you have been here a while, and let’s get into this.
Here’s the Agenda
Bracing for Medicare in 2026I have two videos out right now that address relatively recent announcements in the Medicare Advantage space and the rate increases on the Medicare Supplement plan side that have been implemented in 2025. These videos go over WHAT is happening, WHY it is happening, and what your options are if you are experiencing these things. You can click on the pictures to watch if you haven’t seen the videos already 😉 |
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I am working on a similar video that will address Part D Prescription Drug changes coming. Here are the points I hope everyone takes from these videos and what you will see in communications from your insurance companies.
The video on the Advantage plan went a bit viral, and there are some common questions that are popping up from that that I’ll address here.
Those are the answers to the most common, relevant questions I’ve been seeing from the Advantage Exits video. On the Supplement side, those of you who get this newsletter got first look at the Supplement Plan Rate Increases spreadsheet. |
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Book Recommendation |
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| The Small and the Mighty Sharon McMahon I’ll do my best to explain why I enjoyed this book so much. I lived a mostly sheltered life growing up in the sense that I wasn’t exposed to much of the world and different cultures outside my home city and state. When I first got off the plane, I thought it was all a big prank. With time, I learned that Russians, who have certain stereotypes in America, are like me. This book tells the stories of people whose names are not as well known throughout history and their courageous actions that helped improve the lives of minorities and women in the United States. Unlike many other books of this genre, this book was not focused on making you, the reader, feel guilty about who you are or who your ancestors were or people who are in no way connected with you… were – especially given the fact that many of the heroes in this book lived and died well before we were born or old enough to have an idea of the world. So… that’s my introduction. I enjoyed this book. Words of Wisdom – Our Lasts Playing Tag My kids were at a park this past week, playing tag with a bunch of other kids they had never met before. But this was like… a legit, intense game of tag. Every kid carried this look of determination on their faces as they were fleeing or pursuing each other in the hopes of tagging or not getting tagged. Those same faces shift to elation or disappointment with the contact of the pursuant’s hand on the pursued. A friend of mine and his wife came over and their kids joined the fun, and as we were chatting about life… a thought came to me. We both thought about it for a bit and we had no way of knowing when that was. Were we 10? 12? 16? 30? My guess is that my answer is closer to the 12-16 range, and we’ll never really know… but that moment does exist somewhere in time! I went on with my life, not thinking too much more of my tag ambitions… it until last Wednesday… Shower Thoughts The fact that the day is a Wednesday is also important because every Wednesday, I go to lunch with my dad. For whatever reason, my thoughts connected my lunch with my dad to that “last time playing tag” idea from earlier, and I realized… There is going to be a “last time” that I get to go to lunch with my dad. This thought… sent me into a spiral. In last month’s newsletter, I shared how I’ve become a bit of an emotional guy – crying at random things that make me happy or sentimental. In this shower, as these “last time” thoughts are circling in my head, I just started crying. I wasn’t sobbing. The tears just came, and, with the water from the shower pouring down my face, had someone been creepily watching me during this shower, they would’ve never known that I was crying. An onslaught of emotions got me thinking about several routines in my life that will have… or have had… a “last time.” My Dad I shared the lunch routine we have, but we have another. Every time I call my dad, the beginning of the conversation is always the same. I start with, “David.” Now, I started calling him by his first name as a joke a long time ago and now… we keep it going. Him: Erik. Me: Did I wake you up? Him: Some version of, “I’ve already got a full-day’s work in before you even think of waking up.” Us: Haha Conversation continues about why we originally called. I don’t know when, and I don’t want it to be soon, but there will be a time where we will have our last phone call. My Mom My pet name from my mom was “Punkin.” The phone call from her would always start, “Hi Punkin!” Since she passed, I haven’t heard those words, and, unfortunately, never will again. Ever since I was little, I would tell her I love her and she’d respond with, “I love you more.” At which point, I would pull out the trump card with, “I love you the most!” She’d respond with, “Nope. That will never be true.” As a parent, I now understand that she was right. About a year before she passed, she gave me a little craft that hangs on the wall of our living room that says, “Love You More…” And, the back, she signed it, “Punkin – I will always love you more! ❤️Mom” |
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My Wife My wife was my high school crush. I never had the guts to talk to her while in high school, but later in life, I was able to trick her into dating and subsequently marrying me. We have a bedtime ritual, and I don’t even know how or why it started… it just… did. Every night, whether we are still tired or sad or angry… we do this same thing. I give her 5 quick kisses on her lips. 3 kisses on the lips, “Remember I love you the most,” 5 more kisses on the lips, another on the nose, one on her cheek, and 5-10 more on the lips. After her avalanche of 27-40 kisses, she says, “No way, Jose.” There’s the age-old wisdom of “never go to bed in the middle of an argument with your spouse.” Now that I think about it, basically, every night of our entire marriage ends with an argument. And, true to the theme here… My hope is that science figures out a way for us to live forever and that day never comes. My Kids My kids and I have two daily routines when school is in session. The first is a play on the I love you more game. They quickly figured out the “I love you the most” trick, so I was able to beat that one with, “I love you the most, I said it first.” We had to establish ground rules so they didn’t come barging into our bedroom too early in the morning, so after 7:00 AM, we are all allowed to say it, and whoever says it first, wins that day. Same rules apply later at 8:30 PM, to see who wins the night. I usually win, but every once in a while, they get me, so I have to change the rules for that day to somehow make so I still win. They will move on. There will come a time where they will no longer want to play. They will be too cool or too mature or any number of possible reasons will lead to there being a last time they want to play this with me. The second routine we have is when I drop them off to school. Every day, I give them a big squeeze hug, and I ask three
Followed by, “I love you so much.” I wonder if I’ll recognize the last time I will get to do this one. Firsts vs Lasts Once we are old enough to remember things, it’s easier for us to remember our firsts rather than our lasts. Our first kiss. Our first concert. Our first job or car or broken bone. These were novel experiences that changed our lives moving forward. But our lasts… we never really know when they are coming. The last time we ran at a full sprint. The last time we ate Ramen noodles. The last time we will fly in an airplane. The last time we picked our child up and held him or her in our arms. The last time we were picked up by our mom or dad. The last time we get to hug our mom, or our friends, or our kids. I won’t go deep into this, but Charlie Kirk was assassinated about 30 minutes from where I live. Outside the horror and sadness I felt learning that another son, husband, and father was killed in that way, my mind went to these thoughts about “lasts.” His last event. These lasts happen every. single. day. Whispers that nobody will ever hear or recognize. I get to interact with tens of thousands of people a year at this point, and with this many people, and the demographic of people I try to help, I experience many last phone calls or emails with people who I never get to interact with again because they passed away. People ask what I do for a living and I say I help people with Medicare. Most who hear this don’t know what that means. I don’t know that my wife fully knows what that means. But it has become much more than just making videos or taking phone calls or answering emails about Medicare – because of people like you who read this, or who I’m lucky enough to interact with, or those who watch the videos and comment on YouTube… because I know so many of you now by name (or YouTube username). I hear your stories. But… there are times when it is overwhelmingly heavy, thinking about our “lasts.” This Month My challenge to you is to take time this month and consider some of the more meaningful lasts in your life. Take the steps to make a difference with the ones you still have time to change. If you have relationships that have been soured, or people you left on less-than-solid terms, reach out to them, and influence the lasts in your life where you can. Moving forward, as you interact with people with whom you never think will be out of your life, treat those precious moments for what they are – and don’t let your last moments go by unnoticed. A Sincere Thank You Thank you for being a part of my life and allowing me to be one small part of yours in the form of this monthly message. I hope there are many, many more of these newsletters, and whether this is your first newsletter or your last… or anywhere in between… Please know that I appreciate you. I hope you have a wonderful month, and I’ll see you in the next newsletter 🙂 Erik |
