{"id":281,"date":"2019-11-12T19:08:34","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T19:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/12\/medicare-update\/"},"modified":"2019-11-12T19:08:34","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T19:08:34","slug":"medicare-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/12\/medicare-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicare Update"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Some hard-working, taxpaying Americans get angry when they hear Social
\nSecurity called an entitlement program, perhaps because the word \u201centitlement\u201d
\nhas come to have a connotation with welfare programs. The reality is that
\nSocial Security is, by definition, an entitlement program, along with Medicare,
\nunemployment insurance and worker\u2019s compensation. These mandatory programs are
\nfunded by people who work through their payroll taxes, so they are eligible for those benefits through
\nthose tax contributions.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

These programs differ from the nation\u2019s six major welfare programs:
\nMedicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition
\nAssistance Programs (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income, Earned Income Tax
\nCredit and Housing Assistance. These needs-based programs are funded by federal
\nrevenues and administered at the state level.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

Federal government benefits for long-term care fall under
\nthe welfare umbrella of Medicaid; beneficiaries must meet certain low-income
\nrequirements. This leaves higher income retirees \u2014 who may have diligently
\nsaved for their retirement needs \u2014to have to pay for long-term care costs
\nbecause Medicare, in general, limits what it will cover.3<\/sup> The odds are high that you or a loved
\none will need long-term care; someone turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance
\nof needing some type of long-term care in their remaining years.4<\/sup><\/p>\n

This kind of care can be expensive: The median cost of a
\nprivate room in a nursing home is $102,200 a year.5<\/sup> There are
\ninsurance options to help pay for potential long-term care expenses; if you\u2019re
\ninterested in learning about these options, contact us for more information.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s good news for some Medicare beneficiaries who need
\nhelp caring for themselves at home: People who purchase a Medicare Advantage
\n(MA) plan now may have more options for household assistance benefits. In 2018,
\nCongress passed legislation that enabled MA plans to pay for some non-medical
\nservices for chronically ill members, such as coverage for grocery delivery,
\ncaregiver support and retrofitting homes with things like wheelchair ramps.6<\/sup><\/p>\n

The new legislation left it to
\nplan providers to decide what types of supplemental assistance benefits to
\noffer. Insurers have come up with some interesting offerings. For example,
\nAnthem offers Medicare Advantage plans with coverage options for quarterly pest
\ncontrol, an allowance to help care for a service dog, access to acupuncture or
\nmassages, sessions with a dietitian or up to 64 healthy food deliveries per
\nyear.7<\/sup><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Medicare annual
\nenrollment period runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. It\u2019s a good idea to
\ncomparison shop for plans with new options, or at least find out if anything
\nnew is covered in your current plan.<\/p>\n

Content prepared by Kara Stefan
\nCommunications.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1\u00a0 <\/sup>Kimberly
\nAmadeo. The Balance. Aug. 27, 2019. \u201cUS Welfare Programs, the Myths Versus the
\nFacts.\u201d https:\/\/www.thebalance.com\/welfare-programs-definition-and-list-3305759<\/a>. Accessed Oct. 5, 2019.<\/p>\n

2<\/sup> Ibid.<\/p>\n

3<\/sup> LongTermCare.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human
\nServices. \u201cWho Pays for Long-Term Care?\u201d\u00a0
\nhttps:\/\/longtermcare.acl.gov\/the-basics\/who-pays-for-long-term-care.html<\/a>. Accessed Oct. 14, 2019. <\/p>\n

4<\/sup> LongTermCare.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human
\nServices. \u201cHow Much Care Will You Need?\u201d\u00a0
\nhttps:\/\/longtermcare.acl.gov\/the-basics\/how-much-care-will-you-need.html<\/a>. Accessed Oct. 14, 2019. <\/p>\n

5<\/sup> Genworth. \u201cCost of Care Survey 2019.\u201d https:\/\/www.genworth.com\/aging-and-you\/finances\/cost-of-care.html<\/a>. Accessed Oct. 18, 2019. <\/p>\n

6\u00a0 <\/sup>Robert
\nPear. The New York Times. June 24, 2018. \u201cMedicare Allows More Benefits for
\nChronically Ill, Aiming to Improve Care for Millions.\u201d https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/24\/us\/politics\/medicare-chronic-illness-benefits.html?module=inline<\/a>. Accessed Oct. 5, 2019. <\/p>\n

7\u00a0 <\/sup>Shelby
\nLivingston. Modern Healthcare. Oct. 4, 2019. \u201cMedicare Advantage insurers tout
\npest control, acupuncture among new 2020 benefits.\u201d https:\/\/www.modernhealthcare.com\/insurance\/medicare-advantage-plans-get-creative-2020-benefits<\/a>. Accessed Oct. 4, 2019. <\/p>\n

Our firm is not affiliated with the U.S. government or any governmental
\nagency.<\/em><\/p>\n

We are an independent firm helping individuals create retirement
\nstrategies using a variety of insurance products to custom suit their needs and
\nobjectives. This material is intended to provide general information to help
\nyou understand basic retirement income strategies and should not be construed
\nas financial advice. <\/em><\/p>\n

The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable,
\nbut accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be
\nused as the sole basis for financial decisions. If you are unable to access any
\nof the news articles and sources through the links provided in this text,
\nplease contact us to request a copy of the desired reference.<\/em><\/p>\n

982050B<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some hard-working, taxpaying Americans get angry when they hear Social Security called an entitlement program, perhaps because the word \u201centitlement\u201d has come to have a connotation with welfare programs. The reality is that Social Security is, by definition, an entitlement program, along with Medicare, unemployment insurance and worker\u2019s compensation. These mandatory programs are funded by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}