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Many people approaching the age of 65 are under the illusion that their health insurance problems are almost over. What you should know about Medicare is that you are still going to need your Insurance agent.
Medicare in the United States is a government run health care plan for senior citizens. It is funded by payroll deductions and self employment taxes on workers. It is thought by many to be part of social security because it is for retired people 65 years of age or older. Actually, it is administered and funded separately from Social Security, but does share many of its problems.
What you should know about Medicare is a little about how it works. There are four different “parts” to Medicare. Part A covers hospitalization. Part B covers non-hospital expenses. Part C allows you to arrange some additional coverage outside the Medicare system, and the newest section, Part D, covers prescription drugs. There are an awful lot of rules and regulations involved in all the plans. A person who is first trying to understand Medicare benefits will usually find themselves wishing for a Part E to provide lawyers to wade through all the fine print.
The bottom line is that Medicare does not pay all of your medical expenses. It is filled with deductibles, co-payments, and gaps that result in high out of pocket expenses that most seniors can not afford. It still exists at the pleasure of Congress, and it can be cancelled or altered at anytime. It is also in serious trouble from a funding standpoint. The influx of millions of “baby boomers” is putting a strain on the system. Some estimates predict that it will be bankrupt in another decade unless benefits are drastically reduced.
What you should know about Medicare is that you are going to have to consider supplemental insurance policies to fill the gaps and cover large out of pocket payments. There are several types of policies that are designed to do just this. In fact, one group of regulated supplemental insurance policies is called Medigap Insurance. The name shows the need to “fill gaps” in Medicare.
When you are approaching retirement age, you need a good relationship with a trusted Insurance agent for a number of reasons. If you have done a good job of managing your financial planning, you are going to be ready to reap the results of that planning. If you have not done such a good job, retirement could be a frightening time. Social Security and Medicare do not exist to make retirement a “golden age” for you. That was never their purpose, and under today’s conditions they barely do their real function of providing basic survival. You can not afford to put all your trust in Medicare to provide your health care needs. The time to realize this and to begin planning accordingly is now.
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