I’ve been waiting on certain announcements as long as I could before sending September’s newsletter out.
Things I was hoping would be released, haven’t yet, so we’ll save those for October 🙂
This edition’s retirement tip is heavily focused on those who are already on Medicare.
The craziest time of year in the Medicare world is a 9-week period from October 1st – December 15th.
The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is technically October 15th – December 7th, but October 1st is when plans are officially released and chaos ensues.
There’s quite a bit to cover here, and if you make it to the end, your AEP experience should be much more pleasant.
I have bold sections for you to more easily skim and lock onto what applies to you.
Here is the agenda:
· Getting through AEP together.
· The Book Recommendation.
· Words of Wisdom
Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)
Every year, people on either a Medicare Advantage plan or a standalone Part D: Prescription Drug Plan get an Annual Notice of Change from the insurance company offering those plans.
The healthcare world loves acronyms, so they shorten this to ANOC (A-Knock), and I’m going to refer to it as ANOC moving forward.
ANOCs – as their name suggests – outline every change coming to your current plan’s coverage for the next year.
If a copay is changing, it’ll say so.
If a drug you are taking is changing tiers, it’ll say so.
If your plan costs are changing, it’ll say so.
The ANOC should have already arrived for you.
If you have not seen yours yet, reach out to your insurance company and request it immediately.
Many will see significant changes to your plan in 2025, reflected in your ANOC.
Some of you won’t see much change.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to review this letter EVERY YEAR… and especially this year.
You are bombarded by Medicare marketing junk on top of all the other mail you get, so it’s easy for many to discard their ANOC without reviewing it.
Don’t let this happen to you.
There is too much riding on this in 2025.
Communication with Your Agent During This Time
Everyone currently on Medicare is allowed to change their plans during a 7 ½ week period. This leads to some serious chaos and tight deadlines. Normally, we may be able to answer emails in minutes or hours. With the volume of people your agent is helping, it may take a day or two, or maybe a week instead.
If you are going on Medicare for the first time AFTER the Annual Enrollment Period
This means you need Medicare to start in January, February, or later… please let us help you after December 7th. We will be able to get you on the plan you need in time, but we have to be able to help those whose deadline is December 7th first, before those with a deadline of December 31st (or later).
FOMO
There is an acronym thrown around called FOMO.
The Fear Of Missing Out.
It’s a very real motivator, and it’s why the Medicare TV commercials still exist. People on Medicare have a plan they like, but they see a commercial claiming all sorts of free stuff and insane dollars just thrown around and people think, “I don’t want to be missing out if there’s a better plan.”
As people who help others with Medicare, whether us or other brokers you work with, we all want you on the best plan available to you, just as much as you want to be on the best plan available to you.
If there is a dramatically better plan than the one you are on, trust that your agent will let you know. Don’t call the number on the TV.
I’m already hearing from folks that they are getting 20… yes… TWENTY calls a day from call centers telemarketing to them and trying to convince them to switch advantage plans.
Be careful.
If you don’t have major changes
You are fortunate, and while the rest of the world is dealing with the cost and coverage changes, you get to relax a little bit.
If you are happy with your plan after reviewing your ANOC, you don’t have to do anything.
Your plan will automatically renew for 2025.
You don’t need to notify anyone.
You don’t need to mail anything.
You’re all set.
Most who read this newsletter are not actually our clients, so if you are working with another agent or agency, the same idea applies.
If you don’t have any issues with your current plan, you don’t need to do anything.
Keep an eye out for messages from your agent.
He or she will be trying to make sure you are taken care of during this time.
If you DO have major, negative changes, here’s what to do:
Medicare Advantage Plans
Some possible negative changes to look for are:
- Added or increase in premiums
Maybe your plan didn’t have premiums, and now it does.
Maybe it had premiums, but they went up.If this is a problem, your agent can shop for other Advantage plans with low or no premiums, but we’ll want to make sure all of the other coverage keeps you protected.
- Doctors or hospitals now out of network
You really have two options here.
Either find another doctor/hospital or find an Advantage plan your doctor/hospital accepts. Ask your provider’s office which advantage plans they do accept, or have your agent look up in-network providers for you. - Increases in copays or coinsurance
Really look into how your plan will cover services you could see yourself using. Inpatient hospital copays, specialist visits, etc. Your ANOC will outline how these have changed for the upcoming year.If there’s a problem, your agent can shop for other plans to see if others are more suitable.
- Benefits being reduced or going away
To cope with the increased 2025 costs, some Advantage plans are cutting the other benefits. Things like dental benefits, vision benefits, or over the counter reimbursements could decrease. Check your ANOC here.Work with your agent to shop plans, but again, 2025 is causing widespread changes, so other benefits like these may not be as prevalent as they once were. Something we are all going to be adjusting to.
- Drug costs change dramatically
This applies to both standalone drug plans and Advantage plans.Make sure your medications are still on your plan’s formulary, meaning, the medications are still covered. Check to see if any medications were put on different “tiers.”
The tiers are a way to shift cost responsibility.
The higher the tier, the more costly it is to you in cost sharing… i.e. Tier 5 is much more expensive for you than Tier 1.Some drug plans will shift Tier 3 drugs to Tier 4 – which could mean higher costs to you with changes like this.
Some ways to offset the cost changes thrown on insurance companies with the Inflation Reduction Act changes here in 2025 would be to move some brand drugs off formulary, move drugs up in tiers, meaning more cost sharing passed to you, and increasing premiums. These are all in the realm of possibilities, and again, will be in your ANOC.
Drug Reviews
The best way to make this process most efficient for you is for those on a Supplement plan with a standalone Part D drug plan to use the Medicare.gov Part D lookup tool.
Medicare.gov has a great drug plan comparison tool where you can put in your medications, your preferred pharmacies, and then Medicare.gov will show you the lowest overall cost plan and how it covers your medications.
The tool is so great because it shows your lowest OVERALL cost option, meaning your premium plus your drug costs. Too many people go straight to the lowest monthly premium plan, but that may not cover your specific prescription very well. This will end up costing you more in overall costs. So, look for the lowest overall cost plan.
You can actually sign up for the plan on Medicare.gov.
Here is a video I made for the 2024 Drug Tool on Medicare.gov
They (Medicare) will be updating their website in early October to reflect the 2025 plans, and I’ll make a similar tutorial for 2025 that will be released on the YouTube channel.
Scope of Appointment
One of the rules they (Medicare, watch dogs, competing agents, and insurance companies…) try to get us agents to break is discussing plan specifics without a Scope of Appointment.
A Scope of Appointment – or SOA – is a form you need to sign before an agent can share anything about an insurance company and their Medicare plan.
Many people get a little weirded out when they have to sign something, but we can’t help anyone without it or else we risk losing our license and getting fined.
I made a video about what the Scope of Appointment is right here: Scope of Appointment Video
This is to protect you.
It does not obligate you to work with anyone or do anything with an agent… which is pretty much what the form says.
What if your Advantage plan is going away?
I am in the middle of recording a video on this exact topic.
There are many advantage plans across the country that are leaving the market. The insurance company is eliminating the plan altogether.
If you are part of one of these plans, you actually have more options than someone who’s plan just changed.
Your options:
- This qualifies as a Special Enrollment Period.
This means you can switch back to Original Medicare and a supplement plan if you’d like, and you wouldn’t have to go through medical underwriting – meaning you would automatically be approved.In some states, this is a blessing for those who were “stuck” on an Advantage plan after their health took a turn and they were outside their trial right period.
- You can get a new Advantage plan.
Just like any Annual Enrollment Period, if your plan is eliminated, you can get on a different Advantage plan without any issues. Your new plan would begin January 1st, 2025.
Okay… I think that wraps up our long, Pre-AEP Medicare Tip…
Don’t hesitate to reach out to your agent for help, again, understanding the communication timelines mentioned 🙂
Medicare Road Trip
I’m almost done getting out all of the state videos from the summer road trip.
Here is the playlist on YouTube with all of them: 50 States of Medicare
I think I’ve published 38 of 49 and am working to get the rest out as soon as possible.
Let’s move on to the book recommendation.
Book Recommendation
The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell
I hate war. I hate what it does to people and nations.
If you’re new here, I lived in Russia for a couple years near the border of Russian and Ukraine. I know many people in that area, and war is always heartbreaking.
If you haven’t read any of Malcolm Gladwell’s books, we need to fix that.
He is a captivating author, and dives into interesting topics with remarkable research.
This book details the various bombing tactics during WWII.
Much of that war was spent carpet bombing large areas.
This method results in huge areas of damage, it carries with it even more collateral damage, and, in the context of WWII, often meant they didn’t actually hit or destroy any intended, tactical targets.
As terrible as war is, the Bomber Mafia set out to make it more humane, with more precise strikes rather than utter annihilation of everything. The technology they developed would eventually lead to more of what we have today with the more precise drone strikes.
It is a highly interesting read.
Words of Wisdom
We are all hit with messaging trying to persuade us to do something.
It’s not meant to be salesy, but even the book recommendation is information meant to hopefully be enticing enough for you to get the book and get value from it.
With all this messaging, it gets hard to know who has your best interest in mind, or just their own self-interest, and it brought me back to some high school memories.
Brace yourself.
Teenage Angst
The formative teenage years are the best of times and the worst of times.
A life without the pressures of adulthood.
A life full of the pressures of trying to fit in and find yourself.
I played on the high school basketball team from my 9th grade year all the way through my senior year. But it was my junior year where this story takes place.
Our point guard was a year older than me (he’s a senior at this point in the story) and an incredibly popular individual.
This is not his real name, but we’ll call him Trevor.
Trevor had a lot of friends.
Trevor got the attention of a lot of girls.
Trevor was a great athlete.
As an underclassman on the same team – impressing Trevor and being his friend was a big deal to me in that window of time.
I took clothing tips from him.
I listened to the same music he did.
I told the same jokes.
I went to the same events…
It wasn’t that I wanted to be him, but I wanted to be liked by him.
Those who know basketball, know that the point guard controls much of where the ball will go during a game because he starts with it. He dictates who gets the ball based on where he passes the silly orange orb.
In general, the more you have the ball in your hands, the more you have the opportunities to succeed (or fail), get noticed by college scouts, have your parents pat you on the back and tell you how proud they are… maybe more girls won’t ignore you in the halls the next day when you say “Hi…”
Speaking hypothetically, of course.
Sidebar around My Greatest Basketball Talent
My first word on this earth was “ball.”
Every waking minute of every day, I wanted a ball in my hand and a basket I could shoot into.
I LOVED basketball.
I was fortunate to have my dad as my basketball coach growing up, all the way until high school. I’m biased, but he is a basketball genius, and the best coach I ever had.
Starting in around the 6th grade, I asked my dad if we could get up early, before school, and go through basketball drills.
We had a similar routine from the 6th grade all the way until my basketball playing days were over
This routine was my happy place.
By the time I was in high school, my dad and I wouldn’t need to say a word.
I’d just hear my breath as I ran up and down the court.
The sound of the ball landing in my hands and hitting the floor as I dribbled through moves I’d done thousands of times. And the ‘swish’ sound of the ball going through the net.
My dad would stand under the basket and rebound for me. Catching the shots and passing me the ball. We got pretty efficient.
Our routine had me getting up about 500 shots a day before anyone else had woken up.
For years and years and years.
After we’d go through our routine, we’d go home, I’d shower, and head to school.
In high school, I convinced the varsity coach to let me get into the gym before school started where I’d get up another 100 – 200 free throws before school.
If you want to see little Erik win a National Championship on Nickelodeon as a kid, here’s a video:
NBA 2 Ball
Here’s a news story where my high school coach says some nice things about my little morning ritual deep in the archives of the local news at the time: News Article
This is all to say that I was a VERY good shooter in my day.
LOTS of other weaknesses… but shooting was not one of them.
And this is a mini-word of wisdom hidden inside a bigger one.
My whole life, kids would tell me how lucky I was that I was a good shooter.
They’d tell me they just weren’t born with my same “natural shooting ability” I was.
These comments bugged me a bit.
They didn’t see, and were not willing to do, the work that happened while they slept.
And yes, there are things outside our control that contribute to our gifts. I was lucky to be born where I was… and have the body I have… and the dad I have… and the opportunities… but… it’s the hours of work we do when people aren’t watching that others often mistake for luck.
Let’s get back to the real point.
The “friend” story
Okay, so I set the stage for this moment in time:
- There’s an older friend we’ll call – Trevor – who’s good at basketball and I want to impress him.
- I’m a decent basketball player.
- Trevor had a lot of control over where the ball goes during the course of a game.
Now… I started to notice something weird during the season.
When I’d make a shot, the next time I was open, and a pass was coming from Trevor, it would be a little late, or a little off target, causing me to have to move or catch the ball in an awkward position, and I wouldn’t be open anymore.
If I made two shots in a row, I’d go minutes without ever seeing the ball again from Trevor, no matter how open I was.
If the coach called a play specifically designed to get me the ball, somehow Trevor would never be able to find an angle, or he’d tell me my defender was closer than I thought, or any number of excuses.
If you’ve ever driven in a golf cart, many will have built-in governors that won’t allow the cart to go above a certain speed. That’s how I felt playing basketball my junior year. Trevor wouldn’t allow me to get the ball more than he deemed worthy.
Off the court
When we weren’t playing basketball, I started to notice some other things.
He’d come up to me and start saying all kinds of negative things about our teammates and ask me what I thought.
My younger, stupid self would agree with him on some of it, and the next thing I knew, the other teammates were asking me why I’m talking crap behind their back. Trevor had been telling the other teammates that I was the one saying the things he was telling me.
Last thing… and this one really hurt…
There was a girl that I found to be very cute. Like… MAJOR crush.
I was scared to death to talk to her and never had the nerves to ask her out.
On a Friday night, while hanging out with Trevor, I told him about my crush and, since he knew her, could he put in a good word?
“Of course! I’ll hook you up, Erik!”
The next Monday, first thing in the morning when he got to school, he came up to me and said, “Guess who I hooked up with this weekend?”
If you guessed that it was the girl I had a crush on, and had just told him about… you’d be right.
Consider the source
It wasn’t until the end of the season that I saw Trevor for who he was.
It was nearly a wasted season, and I don’t even want to think of the wasted time and energy I put into trying to impress him.
I took his advice on basketball that turned out to hurt me.
I took his advice on music that I ended up hating.
I took his advice on how to talk to girls that made me look like an idiot (although… looking like an idiot is something I can pull off on my own).
He was posing as a friend, but in reality, he was poison.
So now, as I watch YouTube videos, or the news, or see social media posts, or interact with people in real life that are all trying to persuade me to think one way or another… or to buy one thing or another… or to make one decision over another… I have my own version of checks and balances to try and figure out the source.
Whatever I’m reading or watching, I run it through the “Trevor Test.”
Is the person presenting this information to me looking out for my best interest?
Or their own?
As you sift through the information available to you – consider the source.
Consider those who have a vested interest in your attention, your money, your energy, and your thoughts.
Surround yourself with people who want you to succeed rather than those who want to use you as a stepping stool to their own success.
And now… for the real twist… be the person who wants those who you call a friend to live their own best lives.
—
Many of you have been that for me. Your outreach of love and appreciation means more than you know, and I can’t thank you enough.
If you made it this far, my high school mascot was the Beetdigger.
It was voted the 3rd worst mascot in the country my senior year, and I think it was on one of David Letterman’s top 10 lists of worst mascots.
Any reply with Beetdigger in it will let me know you made it here.
Also, I’m always here if you want to reach out with any other questions.
Next Month
We will be in the thick of the Annual Enrollment Period next month.
2025 plans and rates and Social Security COLAs and all kinds of things could be announced next month, so stay tuned for more updates.
I appreciate you.
Erik
