Shownotes
In this episode, we are joined by Josh Kinzel from Seniority Benefit Group to discuss key changes and updates for Medicare Open Enrollment 2024, highlighting how these alterations might impact current and prospective enrollees.
Josh Kinzel brings 18 years of experience, with a focus on Medicare for the past 16 years. He assists individuals with the often intimidating and multifaceted choice of Medicare plans, alleviating concerns without any charge for services.
Open Enrollment for Medicare runs from October 15th to December 7th each year. The discussion underscores the complexity of Medicare and the crucial nature of informed decision-making. Fidelity Investments estimates retirees' lifetime healthcare costs can exceed $160,000, making a thorough understanding of Medicare essential.
A significant part of the episode is the reassurance that clients feel when working with local services familiar with area doctors and hospitals. The familiarity brings a level of comfort that can be very reassuring. Regarding premiums, there is uncertainty about the monthly Medicare premium, with a slight increase projected, reflecting typical stability during election years.
Several impactful changes include the Inflation Reduction Act that aims to cap annual prescription drug costs at $2,000 by the next year and the Extra Help Program, which offers income-based assistance for drug costs to those earning below $23,000 (individual) or $31,000 (married couple). This program plans to eliminate premiums and deductibles while limiting drug charges significantly. This financial support could benefit millions of individuals.
Medicare can now negotiate prices for certain drugs, akin to the Veterans Commission, starting with 10 approved drugs. This negotiation process is expected to lead to significant cost reductions, such as capping out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 and slashing insulin prices to $35 per month.
An ongoing promotional push encourages eligible individuals to apply for the Extra Help Program, emphasizing the ease of application and potential savings. The podcast also stresses the importance of accessible information for those impacted.
Updates to Medicare Advantage Plans were highlighted as they require mid-year updates to clients starting in 2025 to promote better utilization of available benefits like exercise programs, grocery benefits, and gym memberships, including the popular SilverSneakers program. Expansion in mental health and dementia care programs is also covered, offering support for older adults and caregivers. Additionally, expanded access to 24/7 mental health and dementia care support aims to help patients stay at home longer.
Planned negotiations for more drugs will start in 2025, with further expansions expected in 2026. The history of prescription coverage pre-2006 meant patients bore full medication costs, which evolved post-2006 into a system involving co-pays and deductibles, with significant changes brought by the Inflation Reduction Act, including the elimination of the donut hole and the introduction of a $2,000 cap on drug expenses.
Medicare's unique parts are outlined: Part A covers hospitalization often with no cost for those who've worked 40 quarters, and Part B covers outpatient services with a 2024 premium of $174.70, typically accounting for 80% of medical claims. Beyond basic Medicare, paths include Original Medicare with Supplements (Medigap) and separate Part D for prescriptions or Medicare Advantage (Part C), which integrates Parts A, B, and often D into one plan managed by a private insurer.
Josh emphasizes the non-profit nature of brokers and their role in educating clients without influencing the cost of insurance. Local expertise provided by groups like Seniority Benefit Group is invaluable in navigating Medicare options.
Key Moments
00:00 Helping with Medicare choices free of charge.
03:48 Internship led to unexpected 18-year insurance career.
08:47 Original Medicare covers approximately 80% of costs.
11:06 Medicare Advantage Plan: lower premiums, network-based, copays.
12:51 Providing guidance, not direct answers for health.
17:56 Income-based aid available for qualifying individuals/couples.
21:16 Insulin capped at $35; ten drugs negotiated.
24:58 Using SilverSneakers online; mental health services available.
28:22 Donut hole removed from drug plan stages.
30:48 Flexible payment plans; insurance premiums stable next year.
33:51 Pharmacists now allowed to lower prescription costs.
36:42 Advantage plans effective but understand trade-offs.
41:28 Original Medicare approvals often get rubber-stamped.
42:41 Medicare Advantage's benefits and drawbacks warrant discussion.
48:41 Help individuals, especially in small companies, access Medicare.
49:22 We help employers with Medicare-related questions.
53:09 Attend free workshops for Medicare education.
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Recorded in Studio C at 511 Studios. A production of Circle270Media Podcast Consultants.
Copyright 2024 Carol Ventresca and Brett Johnson
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Transcripts
Looking Forward Our Way podcast addresses today's critical issues affecting those 50 and over in Ohio. We focus on issues that affect our money and our neighborhoods. Our expert guests are here to provide the information and resources needed to address those challenges. We are looking forward our way. Hi. This is Brett. Each year, we ask our good friend, Josh Kinzel from Seniority Benefit Group to join us for an overview of Medicare changes. Open enrollment for Medicare runs annually from October 15th through December 7th.
Brett Johnson [:So in order to be ready for this very important decision, Josh generously provides us with information we need and plus I know Carol does a ton of research to prepare for this program as well too.
Carol Ventresca [:For myself as well as our
Brett Johnson [:audience. Right. So you know, Josh, thanks for joining us today in your 5th visit.
Josh Kinzel [:5th visit. Yes. Very exciting.
Brett Johnson [:And you just, celebrated a work anniversary too. I saw pop up on LinkedIn.
Josh Kinzel [:Yes. Yes. I've been working in this capacity for the same company for, 18 years. 16 years of it has been with the Medicare space. So Wow. Congratulations. Flying. Yes.
Josh Kinzel [:Thank you. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:We should we should have, you know, at least be toasting here. We we're gonna owe you. We're gonna have to do we're gonna have to do it before next Medicare season.
Josh Kinzel [:Well, then you might as well wait one more year and make it 20 years. Years and then we'll go there. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:That's for sure. For sure. So, Josh, thank you so much for coming here today. It's always fun to see you. We catch up a lot before we actually start taping the podcast. So we hear about the munchkins and and, what's going on in your world. So it's always good to see you.
Josh Kinzel [:Happy to be here.
Carol Ventresca [:Audience, you know, we're taping this program a few weeks before open enrollment begins. So there could be some details, that are not yet available to Josh, but we will provide resources to you, on our website to check while you are in the midst of making your Medicare decisions. But Josh, before we dive into those Medicare changes, we have to let folks know who you are working for seniority benefit group and how this organization serves our community.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm. Well and and it's an organization I've been proud to work with and for for 18 years now where our whole function is to dispel some of the, anxiety and fear around those choices when it comes to Medicare because we all hopefully will get to that age where we qualify, which is at 65 and but we think that there's you can just turn it on, and then you realize quickly that it's not just a one size fits all. And then, you're being bombarded from all the insurance companies saying, well, look at our way. Look at we're best and we're best. So our position at Seniority Benefit Group is to take all that noise that you hear around the Medicare space when you turn 65 and and try to box them to a more simple, easy to understand, so you know what you may need to do or not need to do. But what I'm proud of too is that we never charge a fee for our services. It truly is just something that I I feel like we're very much helping folks understand a very difficult topic and and just know that there's somebody there to to ride alongside with them.
Carol Ventresca [:And and how did you get into this?
Josh Kinzel [:Well, my I I went to Ohio State and my degree was in HR. When I grew up, I was very close to my family. We're hanging up we hang up with cousins and aunts and uncles all the time, and most of my uncles were pipe fitters. And I had one uncle that was in HR and he was like, Josh, you're personable. You're you're good around people. Get in HR. And so I knew I had to pay my own way through college. And so I said, okay.
Josh Kinzel [:I'm gonna that's what I'm gonna do. I didn't really know much about other than my uncle saying, you get to talk to people and you don't have to be a pipe fitter.
Carol Ventresca [:Exactly. So
Josh Kinzel [:but and and there were a lot of aspects of it I loved, but I couldn't get over the aspect of letting someone go. I I I I couldn't do it. But then, you're 2 years into the degree and you you're looking at the bills add up for college and thinking I'm gonna need to pay this back eventually. So I finished that. And as I was finishing that at OSU, our company, now named Seniority Benefit Group, they reached out just as an internship, really, to say, hey, would you answer some phones for us? I know you're you're a senior at OSU now. It'd just be a couple hours you could come in and we just need somebody upfront. And then that turned into and snowballed into a career where I realized insurance and Medicare wasn't something I would have wanted to seek out, maybe, without that opportunity being put in front of me. But 18 years later, I'm glad it was.
Josh Kinzel [:And because I do still feel this the the HR component of what I do now of what I loved about the HR piece of it to begin with is you're you're dispelling some rumors. You're protecting people from from different situations that maybe they can't protect themselves. You're providing information for folks, and that that really lines up with what I do now in the Medicare space where people are coming to me confused and and looking at me for guidance like they would have been an HR functionality. And so I think it's just been one of those where didn't expect to be here, but, I love that I am here and I really just feel like I'm helping out.
Carol Ventresca [:And and as a former career counselor, I love stories like this because those kinds of opportunities to do some sort of a professional work while you're in school are so valuable. Yes. You you just cannot Yes. Can't sneeze at those kinds of things. So, so wonderful. So, again, thank you for coming to see us today.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. No problem. Your genesis story of of that, you mentioned, dispelling all the the the noise. That is, you know, one of the main reasons we brought you on 5 years ago was that Carol and I talked about this topic going, there's so much noise out there and and that we need to talk to Josh. That would be a great topic that we can probably talk about every year. But Carol also found this piece and this may answer a little bit of why we do this as well too, is that Fidelity Investments stated that a new retiree should assume their lifetime health care costs during retirement could be over a $160,000. So if someone lives for 20 years in retirement, that's $8 a year. Few of us have that level of retirement funds, so it's important to know your choices for health care coverage and review options yearly.
Brett Johnson [:Obviously, if it's gonna cost 8, you kinda wanna have something help you cut those costs. So, let's talk about and and get an overview of the various parts of Medicare. We do this every year, but I think it's well worth it to kinda before we start digging in Mhmm. To what this year's look like to understand the alphabet soup of Medicare. Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:And I'm just let me add to from something Josh said about you educating people. People are afraid when they first start Medicare. I mean, I was and I had thought I was doing all of my homework and discovered how much I didn't know. Mhmm. But I I really do believe that if you have started on the right foot from the very beginning, it's not that hard afterwards.
Josh Kinzel [:Well and and I try to tell folks that too is that this is the most scary time, this first decision. Because normally, you've had insurance provided to you from your employer where you don't really get to pick and choose and you just say, well, I know I need the health insurance. So check yes to that box. But then, when it's on your own making these decisions, it there's a lot of hesitation. Am I doing the right thing? But to your point, Carol, what we find year over year when we help folks renew their plans, very little actually change their plan. They look at and say, well, you know, it was it was a struggle the first time, but now it's year 2, 3, 4, 10. I kinda get the hang of this. I know how it works.
Josh Kinzel [:I'm happy with what I have and I don't need to make a change. And and this is the bread and butter of the whole thing is that you start to educate folks on what that those those parts stand for.
Carol Ventresca [:Mhmm.
Josh Kinzel [:And so you have 2 parts that are through the government. You have part a, which is hospitalization. And a lot of times, that doesn't cost any extra for folks because you or a spouse have worked 40 quarters paid into the system. So when you go to apply for part a, a lot of times, there's not an additional fee associated with it. That's through the government. Part b is the other side of the equation where a is hospitalization if you're inpatient. B is everything other than prescriptions outpatient. Your doctors, your x rays, your rehab.
Josh Kinzel [:That's part b That does carry a premium. And and we are taping this where we know 2024 part b premium, the standard premium is 17470. We don't know exactly what's gonna be next year, somewhere in that ballpark though, but that so you have a, which is clinical free and hospitalization, b has a monthly premium. Those two parts are through the government. So it's not a insurance company. It's not that you pick. I want part a through through insurance company a and part b through insurance company b. It's a and b through the government.
Josh Kinzel [:Those two pieces, the building blocks of the rest of the decisions, those two cover about 80% of a medical claim. So if you have original Medicare a and b, where you're paying nothing for part a, but 1.75, let's say, for b, you have about an 80% plan, where you can go anywhere in the United States, show this what's what's a red, white, and blue card, and it will cover about 80% of the bill. Not down to the penny, bit more in the hospital, but give or take. Doesn't cover anything with prescriptions though, if you go to the pharmacy to pick them up. So, you're sitting there with a a government plan, original Medicare a and b, covering 80%. And, now, you're at a crossroads of, well, what do I do about the rest? I don't I don't want just 20% forever. There's no maximum out of pocket in that scenario. I need to know when I go to CVS, how are my medications gonna be covered.
Josh Kinzel [:So you're sitting there with original Medicare, and then there's 2 basic paths beyond that. There's so it seems when you're first diving into this and you get your Medicare and you booklet, that's a a 170 pages or whatever it is Carol mentioned, where it seems like there's a 1,000,000 different choices. It really comes down to 2 basic paths. One path being original Medicare. Those are your supplements. Your or Medicare Supplements or Medigap Plans, plus a part d as in drug components. So the first option is you have original Medicare a and b covering 80% of a bill. You'd add one of these supplements, let's say, through a private insurance company to fill that 20% gap.
Josh Kinzel [:Then you'd add a separate prescription drug plan, Part d, which we'll we'll talk more about as we go along here. But that's the first pathway. You have 3 different cards. You have Medicare covering 80, supplement covering 20, part d covering your prescriptions when you go to the pharmacy. That's 1. The other path is Medicare Advantage. And, this one is it's called part c is another name for that Where it consolidates it all into one plan. Where you have your a and b benefit.
Josh Kinzel [:You're paying the 1.75. But then, it's assigned to a private insurance company. So these part c plans, these are the plans that you see the most on TV with ads and when you're approaching that ages. And we'll explain a little bit later on. Maybe why that is the case. You hear more noise about those plans. But those are an opportunity to say, alright. Well, I'm gonna consolidate everything into one.
Josh Kinzel [:It's gonna be a plan that has a network of doctors and hospitals. It's gonna have co pays when I go to the doctor hospital. It's gonna have my prescription coverage built into that. The government will pay that insurance company to kinda be your plan. So that's a way of consolidating it. That way, that one will also have a little bit lower premium. So you have either the the pay them now approach of a supplement and a drug plan. That first option where you pay more upfront, but you go wherever you want and it really covers most of that bill or do you pay them as you go with the Medicare Advantage Plan or part c where you may not pay any premium upfront but you have your co pays as you go.
Josh Kinzel [:So those are the 2 basic choices you have. We're through the Medicare system. But then, most folks are still working or they have VA. So there are other variables that are thrown on top of those 2 paths that we help people walk through as well. But that's the main when it comes to parts of Medicare. It's a, through the government hospitalization, b, also through the government outpatient things, d, through private insurance companies, that's for prescriptions, and c, I I know I went a little out of border there, but c is Medicare Advantage, again, through private insurance companies.
Carol Ventresca [:Mhmm. And and when you mentioned that, premiums and things could be lower in those c programs, but the real kicker is to make sure that you as an individual understand your needs and what meets your needs. Yes. Because just because the cost is lower doesn't mean it's going to meet the medical needs that you have. So it's still there's some complications to it. There's a lot of questions, but if you've done a really good job of assessing what you think you need or that you are going to need in the next year
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:That's gonna make the choice making easier.
Josh Kinzel [:Yes. And and I would say the one thing that people do want from me that they don't necessarily get is that direct answer of this is what you should do. Right. Where I'm I don't take the stance of that. My my role in this whole this whole problem, let's call it, is I'm gonna educate you on those two ways. What's gonna work best for you? What you feel most comfortable with? That's what we're gonna help you with. I'm not my role isn't to say this is where you should go, and this is exactly why you should do it. And this is the perfect plan for you because there's there's variables that we just don't know with our health.
Josh Kinzel [:Right. But you're right, Carol. It is. There's a lot of variables.
Carol Ventresca [:And and going back to to Brett's notion of of why we want this on our podcast is that there are resources for people to use, like seniority benefit group, to get that information. And, it's really, really important to check with somebody. You know, if doing this on your own is not easy and it's not always going to be, fruitful for you, So I think that's really kind of my, whole my my goal for this is to make sure people know there are resources out there.
Josh Kinzel [:Absolutely. And and the other question that we get all the time is, would it be any different if I call the insurance company directly and they gave me their spin to it? And would would the cost be any different? And the answer is no. If you work through a broker like us or another broker in your neighborhood, more likely, there's no difference in that. So to to your point, Carol, there are resources out there that more likely don't cost you anything and and they live and breathe this stuff, so might as well utilize their expertise.
Carol Ventresca [:And and the broker, like Seniority Benefit Group Mhmm. Is in your area. You you really kinda deal in a regional area so that they know you best and the doctors and hospitals in the systems in your neighborhood.
Josh Kinzel [:Yeah. And and we hear that all the time. We'll get not frustrated because it that's not against the law necessarily, but when somebody will call and say, well, somebody from Texas or California called us, and that's totally fine. That's that's fair to do from out of state. But it there is a comfort level, I think, knowing that we're we're right here. We we've talked to a lot of the doctors that you you list out, and we've we've been to these hospital systems and and know that local network feel to it.
Carol Ventresca [:I've got the ticker list of changes. And, I don't wanna bore everybody, but I thought it would be important to see that there are a lot of thing bits and pieces that may or may not apply to you. So just to to keep all of these things in mind, and then Josh is gonna kinda walk us through some of it. One thing is we don't know for sure the monthly benefit, premium for Medicare at this point. I saw a couple of guesses online. It's looking like it's maybe about $10 more a month, but it's usually not too far out of kilter.
Josh Kinzel [:It's it's not too far out of kilter. And what I've noticed over the past decade plus is during an election year, normally, there's not a lot of change. There you go. To keep it. So maybe maybe this year will be similar where it won't be much of a change.
Carol Ventresca [:Yay. That would be great. I would agree with that. That's good. But anyway so we're not gonna really be able to discuss what that is going to be. We don't know today. Mhmm. Within a few weeks, though, you will definitely have that information.
Carol Ventresca [:And, medicare.gov is the website for everything about Medicare, and it will definitely be on that. And we will put a ticker reminder for you on that. One of the things that has really changed over this past year is this everything's changing on drug costs. And finally, Washington is doing something about those issues. In the past, I know I was thinking of saying this to Brett. In the past, veterans commit the veterans commission was able to go in and negotiate drug costs, and that's why they were able to provide veterans cheap
Josh Kinzel [:drugs
Carol Ventresca [:for all of these years. For whatever reason, Medicare did not have that advantage. So now they can't. And not on everything. But so far, 10 drugs were approved. But also, there's they've brought down the cap.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:So that, you you know, it I think it used to be was it 8,000?
Josh Kinzel [:Well, there's not
Carol Ventresca [:a huge amount.
Josh Kinzel [:Well and and that was one of those where the drug plans came out in 2,006. And ever since that moment, there was never an actual cap where the insurance said, alright. You've paid your balance. We'll pick actual cap where the insurance said, alright. You've paid your balance. We'll pick up everything else. There was a stage of the drug plan called the catastrophic stage where you paid a small percentage, so it didn't feel as bad. But there was never this the ceiling that you could go into the year knowing if if if everything goes wrong, this is what I'm gonna spend.
Josh Kinzel [:There was never that. And so the Inflation Reduction Act has really helped bring that ultimately to their goal here of 2,000 for next year.
Carol Ventresca [:I mean, a $2,000 cap compared to I have friends who are paying a 1,000 a month Yeah. For drugs. That is huge. So that that's gonna be a a a great change. The other extra help on Part d is that there is a program for people who need assistance in paying drugs. I think it's income based.
Josh Kinzel [:It is income based but that they're trying to promote that I read a stat that they believe 2,000,000 people could qualify this for this extra help just based on their income and what they know of of folks that they're trying to get people to ask for that help. So if you do think you're you're close to a threshold, which which I have some of the numbers that you have to be below here, an annual income below, basically, twenty 3,000 as an individual or 31,000 as a married couple. Even if you're flirting with that, they're they're saying, look, we've expanded to a 150% of the federal poverty level. If you're below that, which unfortunately, a lot of folks are, then then you don't pay a premium on your part d. You don't pay deductible that's there if it's on the plan.
Carol Ventresca [:That's huge.
Josh Kinzel [:There's a there's a limit on how much they could charge you for a brand name drug. Next year, it's gonna be $11.20 would be the most that you'd have to spend on a brand name drug if you qualify for Extra Help. So it's always been there, but they're making a push to make sure people are aware of it. And the application is not that hard either. So I would suggest if you're in if you're around that threshold of income, then go apply. Worst thing they could say is no.
Carol Ventresca [:So what we want to make sure that we do is to, put that information online for people to find the page. Okay.
Josh Kinzel [:I can send the link. Cool.
Carol Ventresca [:Very cool.
Josh Kinzel [:Yep. Yep.
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah. Again, audience, this is a complicated system, but it's not undoable. Just you gotta get the information you need and make sure you're talking to the right folks. Okay. There are going to be some, limits you had just mentioned to actual various drugs. Things like insulin and the cost of insulin has come down.
Josh Kinzel [:But I could mention some of the drugs be just so
Carol Ventresca [:Okay.
Josh Kinzel [:Some people would be able to hear. There there are 10 of them, so I can even just read them off where it's it's Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Embryl, imbruvica, Stelero, and NovoLog.
Brett Johnson [:I'm impressed that you can actually read and say those prescription names.
Josh Kinzel [:Well, that Because usually
Brett Johnson [:it's like an alphabet soup trying to say those prescription prescription name. Good for you. Well,
Josh Kinzel [:I I've been told same with confidence and people think, but you know, I'm sure that's not exactly right.
Carol Ventresca [:But I
Josh Kinzel [:know that like the elocrits will go away.
Carol Ventresca [:I'm gonna I'm gonna make him start that all over again
Brett Johnson [:because I'm gonna
Carol Ventresca [:ask you a question first. Yeah.
Brett Johnson [:That's okay. Okay. So so,
Carol Ventresca [:Josh, we've we've talked a little bit about, the the changes on the drugs, in terms of where Medicare is able to now negotiate. Not only those 10 drugs, but also there are some things like insulin and, some weight loss drugs, that kind of thing. Why don't you give us kind of an overview of drugs that are definitely the costs are changing?
Josh Kinzel [:Okay. So insulin actually has already changed. So that's a good thing where they're capping a lot of the insulins off of $35 a month. So there is that that was a huge change that that happened just recently. As a a benefit adviser, it was great to see these things come through because when somebody send you a list of medications and you have to tell them how much it's gonna cost them, the part of me going back to my HR days, I'm not one to fire anybody. I don't wanna tell somebody, hey, look. This is a life saving drug. It's it's making your quality of life great, but you're gonna have to spend a lot of money for it.
Josh Kinzel [:So the insulins were something that have been addressed to a degree, and it caps off at $35. The 10 of those those drugs that they're allowed to negotiate, unfortunately, it might not happen immediately, but but it maybe not in calendar year 25 that is. But those drugs, if if and I can read them again, or if they're on there from before, these are drugs that when when it came up on a list when somebody send in the mirror list of medications, I know I'll shoot. It's this is gonna be a conversation where it's not ideal. So it'll be nice that those 10 medications that really are very popular medications are gonna come down. The last one that you mentioned there, Carol, which is is, very popular as of late is Ozempic. And that's one where if it currently, if it's tied into a diabetes diagnosis, then Medicare and Part D, a lot of times, will cover it. There's still it was still high cost for that.
Josh Kinzel [:So that $2,000 cap is certainly gonna help folks. But if it was strictly for weight loss, then then it was a hard no from a lot of these insurance companies. So they're talking about potentially expanding what they will approve that for. But at the moment, it's if it's tied into another diagnosis, then that can be covered by the plans.
Carol Ventresca [:But basically, these drugs are really helping those who have who need blood thinners, have diabetes, have heart issues, arthritis, and gastro issues. So it's it it they are common problems that Americans have.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:And so kudos to those in Washington who are finally taking care
Brett Johnson [:of the issue.
Josh Kinzel [:Yeah. And and if and not one thing I always wanna tell folks when I'm talking to them, yes, I'm telling you about the insurance companies and the products, but that doesn't mean I'm a poster child for the insurance companies. Not everything that they do, I agree with. And they are challenging some of these things that you would think, hey, look. This is this is gonna create a better situation for folks. Let's let's ride along with it. But insurance companies are challenging to try to say, well, now, how are we gonna make our profits, basically?
Carol Ventresca [:And this is not different for medic traditional Medicare compared to those Advantage Plans.
Josh Kinzel [:Correct. Part d, whether you buy them separately or or the prescription that's built into Medicare Advantage, same deal.
Carol Ventresca [:Okay.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:Josh, couple of other things that are part of the changes for 2025. The Advantage Plans are have, will be required to provide a mid year update to clients. I thought this was kind of interesting. A lot of clients aren't taking advantage of all the benefits they have on these Advantage Plans.
Josh Kinzel [:Yes.
Carol Ventresca [:So now they're gonna be required
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:To give an update to the clients halfway through so they can start doing it. So say they they're not taking advantage of an exercise program. Mhmm. The the the advantage players were probably saying it's a buddy out there. So guess what? The feds are saying, no. No. No. Yeah.
Josh Kinzel [:You Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:They're paying for it. They got they need people to use it.
Josh Kinzel [:When I I do love this change here where if it is built into the program and it is in your plan and you have the right to use it and what I found too is there's only so much somebody can absorb during a conversation I'm having with them on the front end. They can listen to it and it's just human nature to say, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah. Okay. Mhmm. Mhmm. But then, come June, July, they don't remember the conversation we had in November.
Josh Kinzel [:So I'm glad that the insurance companies too have to kinda get on board here and say, well, you know, did you realize you had an over the counter benefit that you haven't utilized? Did you realize that there's a grocery benefit that you might be able to qualify, not even financially or gym membership? We haven't
Carol Ventresca [:we've noticed SilverSneakers.
Josh Kinzel [:SilverSneakers. We haven't noticed that you've used that at all. Did you know that was part of your plan? So I think this is a good thing.
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah. Well and so, like, I I will often use SilverSneakers online as opposed to going someplace. And so they don't know that I'm using it or not using it. So, yeah, I think great idea. Great idea. There are some other kinds of things that are coming up too, that are a little bit different, and and I'm I'm I guess I have to say I'm glad that mental issues, mental needs for older adults are being addressed. So there's a a program for dementia patients and their caregivers as well as some additional services in the mental health treatment are going to be available.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm. Mhmm. And it's just more of an expansion of what was kinda there, but now they're they're again making it more more these things when their claims are sent in, they're gonna be approved. But the dementia piece of it, there's just staggering stats about how many folks they say 7,000,000 Americans in 2023 suffer from dementia. So it's clearly, clearly something that needs to be addressed. And as the the government program of Medicare, it was falling behind where it was saying, a lot of these folks had other conditions along with dementia, and there is some fragmented care where now they're trying to consolidate that to avoid people just assuming well, now I have to go to nursing home. Now I have to go somewhere. I can't deal with it on my own.
Josh Kinzel [:So the whole point of that program is to educate caregivers, give them 247 access where they can call for support to keep them in their homes, hopefully, and address some of those needs before they get to the point where they say, well, I can't I can't live at home anymore.
Carol Ventresca [:Will it make any difference for people who already have dementia that are already in a memory care unit?
Josh Kinzel [:This is more the prevention of getting to that from what I understand. I'm sure there are are things that I don't I don't know about right now, Carol, of of people who are already there. But but the spirit of this, the way we read it is it's it's hoping to help prevent getting to that moment, but I'm I'm sure there are other things in there to help.
Carol Ventresca [:Okay. Good point. Thank you.
Brett Johnson [:Mhmm. Okay. Did you want to oh, you you covered the mental health in in both with. Okay. Sounds good. Sounds good. Okay. So the next set of changes revolve around drug costs.
Brett Johnson [:Whether you have Part d plan or an advantage plan that includes a drug benefit, it's it's really important to know whether your prescriptions are gonna be covered. Can you provide some tips on, you know, what's already been implemented and what clients should expect in 2025 and maybe even 2026 of if the the groundwork's kind of being laid out.
Carol Ventresca [:And and also, also, do we have any clue? I they've talked about more drugs getting negotiated or do we have any clue about what what else is up there? Those are the ones that they released to us. They they almost didn't say
Josh Kinzel [:what they were until they were approved of that list, So I don't know for sure the other ones that they're targeting. Group. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not specifically sure there. But to to answer your question, Brett, about the prescription piece of it, this year, like I mentioned a little earlier, since 2006, we've had this antiquated well, they knew they need to do something. Prior to 2006, there was no prescription coverage. And it's where you would go to the pharmacy, show a card, and be able to come out with that medication.
Josh Kinzel [:So they came out with something, which I give them credit for there. Even
Carol Ventresca [:with the donut hole.
Josh Kinzel [:Even with the donut hole. But but that is I I had I I'm allowed to remove that from my vocabulary starting next year is that the donut hole has finally been removed from the equation. Where, to take a step back before I explain forward here is there used to be 4 basic stages of a drug plan where you'd have a deductible, meaning, that's what you pay before the insurance kicks in. You paid every penny until you hit your deductible. Then you paid co pays. And then, as you're paying your co pays and your deductible, they're keeping track of the full cost to your medications. Once that reached a certain number set by the government, which is around always hovered around 5,000, then you went to this dreaded donut hole. And before the Affordable Care Act, with the donut hole, it was called the donut hole because you it felt like you had no coverage.
Josh Kinzel [:Those those high cost medications like the Eliquis that's on that list now, that cost $500 a month, let's say. When you're in the donut hole, you're paying $500 a month. Then, it worked through another calculation. You got to the catastrophic where you're paying 5%. So there's always this 4 stage model. With the inflation reduction act, they've removed the donut hole. They've put a cap on the cost overall of 2,000, which which is great. Again, as someone explained to folks that, hey, I'm not discrediting 2,000.
Josh Kinzel [:2,000 is a lot of money still.
Carol Ventresca [:It is is that 2,000 per drug or 2,000 total drugs?
Josh Kinzel [:Total. Cumulative. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. So it it is great there. And what they've also done, other than eliminate it down a hole, bring it down to a $2,000 maximum, They've put in place this program where you can kind of smooth your costs out a little bit. Where you're allowed to, let's say, come January, you fill a medication that that's gonna be a lot of that 2,000.
Josh Kinzel [:You say, I can't I can't I can't do that right now. The pharmacist is still gonna give you medication. You're gonna set up a payment plan with the insurance company that you have that smooths out that smooths out that 2,000 over the course of a year. So they make it equal payments every month. So you know you're gonna be bring in a $2,000 medication, let's say, in January. You'll pay for it throughout the year. And as you're paying for it throughout the year, you're still filling your other medications and everything. So that that is whenever something major like that is rolled out, I'm I'm I'm sure there's gonna be some bumps along the way, but the spirit of it, I really do believe in it that they're trying to say, look, we're we're putting a cap of 2,000 and we don't expect everybody to have 2,000 in January when all these things reset each year.
Josh Kinzel [:So we're gonna allow you to to set that up where it's a payment plan where you're not gonna get hurt by saying, hey. I that's that's the way I wanna do it. So there are some some very good adjustments to the plans. Now, in reference to what I said about the insurance companies before though, they sometimes will take that as an opportunity to to cry a little bit and say, well, if we have to cover these things, if we have to do these things, then we can't offer it at the price we're offering it now. And so the government and them are kinda going back and forth, and and they're figuring something out for next year. What we're we're finding and the rumors are that there's really not that much of a change in premiums and things next year. We won't know that for sure until after October 1st, but I am excited to for the conversations I'm gonna be able to have with folks going forward here. What's not as doom and gloom, where there is a limit now.
Josh Kinzel [:It's not just this. You you're gonna have to keep paying 5%, whatever that is. So it it's it's they've eliminated the donut hole. They've put a $2,000 cap on it. They've allowed you to spread your cost out. I think there's some really, really good things there.
Brett Johnson [:I think it's a good cause for a big donut party.
Josh Kinzel [:Yeah. Right?
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. You know, like, no more donut in your prescription. Just donuts here in the box. Exactly.
Carol Ventresca [:Well, you know, I I think I mentioned last year that the only part of Medicare that has been, I don't wanna say difficult, but bumpy for me was my Part d plan. And it was, because of the, broker that I go through, because of my retirement system, we have we don't have that many to choose from. And I'm not saying that there are that many more that we don't have opportunities to choose, but, so I've I've bounced around a little bit. But I have to say that I learned a really important lesson when I popped from one to the other for 2023. That was a mistake. Not because they didn't do a good job, but because I hadn't really looked at that payment plan
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:Very closely. So 1 month, my bill would have been $20, and the next month was a 160. We couldn't figure out why.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:And it wasn't that they had done anything wrong. It just it was I had not done enough homework on it. So I popped back to my other plan from the 22 plan to for 24, and but I did a much better job of understanding that that, cost of fluctuation in cost. Exactly. And so, again, it's it's a little complicated, but one of the things that I also, am just always amazed at is, you know, the cost of drugs are outrageous for some, particularly for people who have catastrophic diseases, cancer patients, and and there are other nongovernmental programs to go for. I, unfortunately, don't have access to that information, but, usually, pharmacists do.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:So if you are really still having difficulty that your plan d is still, you know, costing you quite a bit of money, there may be another option out there too.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm. Mhmm. And the pharmacist, like you said, Carol, they're they're a great great resource
Carol Ventresca [:Oh, they're wonderful.
Josh Kinzel [:Aware yeah. They know. And and just another oddity of our whole program here where I had a pharmacist client that not that many years ago, they weren't allowed to somebody come in with their insurance card and through the insurance is gonna be x amount. And the pharmacist knew that if I just press this button for you and ran it through this program, it'd be a fraction of that, but they weren't allowed to say. And so that was removed, thankfully, not that many years ago where that same pharmacist client was, like, that that was the greatest thing to happen to us. Because then we became the heroes, but not for anything other than just saying, look, I I just have to press this button for you and go through this program.
Carol Ventresca [:I I'm I'm gonna give a huge shout out to my Kroger pharmacy and my it's a team of women over there who are phenomenal. Mhmm. And I went and so I I thought I knew, okay, in January, I'm gonna have a larger bill, but it's every quarter. It'll be higher than the other months. So I get there and it was supposed to be, like, you know, I don't know, $160 or whatever. And, the young person who was taking care of giving me the prescription just looked at me and said, Kroger has a plan that we can use. And instead of a 160, it'll be 20. Oh, yeah.
Brett Johnson [:I did.
Carol Ventresca [:Okay. Yeah.
Brett Johnson [:Yep. Yep. So interesting.
Josh Kinzel [:Similar in our own personal world with kids and needing to fill Sure. And and we go to Kroger as well, ironically. Yay. They find a coupon for you and you yeah. I'll take that.
Carol Ventresca [:Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.
Josh Kinzel [:I go spend it
Brett Johnson [:I'll go spend it on groceries.
Josh Kinzel [:Yeah. I know.
Carol Ventresca [:Well, that's that's probably, you know Just
Josh Kinzel [:fine.
Brett Johnson [:But yeah. No.
Carol Ventresca [:I asked them. I said, well, do like, do I need to pay for this? Or they go, oh, no. It's just a benefit that Kroger's doing for clients.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:I'm like, okay. Thank you. Mhmm. Thank you. Thank you. So it's all good. Okay. So, let's keep moving on here.
Carol Ventresca [:So, Josh, many individuals jump to those Medicare Advantage plans because the monthly premium is so low or free, and they love all those commercials with all those famous older, actors who are out there needing to make a little bit more money in their world. And I really do think that all these people who do these commercials really should have to put say specifically, I'm getting paid for this commercial. Yeah.
Josh Kinzel [:It's down in the fine print somewhere, I'm sure.
Carol Ventresca [:Exactly. Exactly. But there are many issues at stake when when you're choosing a plan. With the changes in the drug costs, companies have had to make their profits somewhere. News media are insinuating that Advantage Plan clients may end up paying higher out of pocket costs. Can you give us a better understanding? Do we know what's happening out there and, what clients should look for when reviewing their Advantage plans? And let me add to this, once they sign up for an Advantage plan, the the plan can't change cost in the middle of the year. Correct?
Josh Kinzel [:Not in the middle of the year.
Carol Ventresca [:Okay.
Josh Kinzel [:Yeah. Yeah. And and one thing I would just let everybody know as as you're seeing something on TV or or writing something in the paper or or reading an article, People are gonna read it if the title of the article is run away from advantage plans or advantage insurance companies are making so much money doing this. And and what I would just say is the nature of what we do is, like I said before, we don't mind which direction you feel most comfortable with. We just need to educate you. And I do think advantage plans can work very well more than very well for a lot of folks. As long as you know what you're trading off with those. And, it is true that if you were to run it through and say, in a worst case scenario, where you had a year where you're in the hospital and you had chemotherapy, radiation, dialysis, these Advantage Plans do have an out of pocket maximum of a couple $1,000.
Josh Kinzel [:And and, let's say, the average is $45100. So that year that you had a really bad year, you might have came out of pocket 45100. Whereas, if you're on a supplement, maybe, you would have overall paid less in premium out of pocket. Not by entirely, but the the newspaper, the commercial can say and be true that if you have a really bad year, you're probably gonna be pay more on that Medicare Advantage. But what I wanna remind folks is, that's in a really bad year. And so most of the time, you you it's gonna work out just fine. And to your point, Carol, where you mentioned that some of these are $0. Let's explain how that works.
Josh Kinzel [:So let's say you have one of these $0 advantage plans through a private insurance company. They are being paid by the government. And the the number that we hear is about $1300 a month that the government pays the private insurance company to be your insurance. So the insurance company is saying, we want that government check every month. And how do we make it less than 0? We were just don't even just sign up. We're it's gonna be 0 here. Government's gonna pay us. So but what they do, and it's they add some things that you have as trade offs where that type of plan will have a network of doctors and hospitals.
Josh Kinzel [:Now we're fortunate here. We're recording in in Columbus where we have great providers from from a lot of hospital systems here that the insurance companies contract with. So that the hospital and network piece of it here in in Central Ohio really isn't all that much of a struggle. But the other trade off is you pay co pays for things. And some people don't mind that. Like, my my own mother, she's on a Medicare Advantage Plan. She loves it because of the extra things they add to her benefit. And my dad is the opposite.
Josh Kinzel [:He said, I don't want anything to do with those. They give me a traditional Medicare supplement and a drug plan. So I love having the experience of 2 very vocal people in my life telling me how it's working, what they like and dislike about it. So they're on both sides of the fence here. But with those Medicare Advantage plans, the the they want to get that government check every month. So they I'm gonna use the word dangle. It's not dangle, but they put those extra benefits on there to say, okay. I know when you're looking at us and you're saying, well, I don't want network.
Josh Kinzel [:I don't want co pays. They say, well, what if we had dental? What if we had vision? What if we had over counter? What if we had and so the past 5 or 6 years, it's just been this race stat, all these extra things to these plans, which in turn has made them very attractive to folks where they say, I can live with the trade off of the network and the co pays if I get these other things that I can utilize. Like,
Carol Ventresca [:yeah. I think the one thing that I'm always wondering about the advantage and I've never had an advantage plans and and I have a lot of friends who have had them, love them. But, if you have just because you have a vision coverage Mhmm. Doesn't mean it's gonna pay a lot.
Josh Kinzel [:Correct.
Carol Ventresca [:And and I think that's where people really, get short shifted on advantage plans. So as an example, when I was taking care of my dad on traditional Medicare, and he whenever he needed PT, he got the therapy for 90 days, you know, as long as he was making progress. So a friend of mine was in the hospital, went to get PT, and they cut her off after 30 days. And I was I'm like, why? You should get 90. Medicare pays for 90. She was in a rehab facility, so I just was able to get the social worker in to come and talk to her, and it turns out it was her Advantage plan that cut her off. And I and I asked the social worker. I said, so if she was on Medicare, who makes the decision? She said, we do.
Carol Ventresca [:We would know how much she needs and how well she's doing, and we would probably keep her on for 90 days. Well, duh. Yeah.
Josh Kinzel [:And and one of why that is from what we've heard is original Medicare. If you're on original Medicare, it is the government saying, yeah, or no, or that's not gonna be covered, or yes, it will. And from what they've said is that there's just so many people on original Medicare that the government doesn't have enough folks to police it. So what it turns into is if your doctor sends something in, then it's normally rubber stamped and, yeah, you're good to go. So I can understand the social worker stance of look. Anything we send them, if it's original medical, they'll just gonna say, yeah. But then, I on the flip side of that, though, my mother in law's, husband told me, a funny story from he has original Medicare supplement, and his supplement called him. And they were like, Mark, and and if it's the case, that's fine.
Josh Kinzel [:But have you had, 25 catheters put in this week? And he was, like, 25. No. No. No. I have I I've never even been to the he's, like, because Medicare has paid for 25 catheters for you. And we, as a supplement, our our role is to pay the other 20% once Medicare pays. So we're just making sure that that this is legitimate. So it was the insurance company that caught that fraud.
Josh Kinzel [:Wow. And so what that sometimes, when people look at Medicare Advantage, they said, well, it's the insurance company that is controlling my and I think if the government had its way with things, they'd say, I wish we were a little bit more Mhmm. Stingy with some of this because we're losing a lot of money on Medicare. Right. So it it that's not even I just wanna say that if if you wanna explore Medicare Advantage, it's it's well worth having a conversation with somebody who knows the ins and outs of it, can explain it to you. Maybe it's a fit. Maybe it's not. But but it is right around this time of year when Advantage has all the marketing.
Josh Kinzel [:It's normally when all the negative articles come out about it as well. And and I understand both sides.
Carol Ventresca [:And and and, too, you had mentioned that sometimes it's that if you've got a normal year, an Advantage Plan may sail through and you're just fine. Mhmm. But you have to really think about, well, could something happen?
Josh Kinzel [:It's And
Carol Ventresca [:and if it does, am I prepared to pay the difference that my insurances aren't gonna pay?
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm. Mhmm. Or just the out of pocket. It's not that services necessarily are different from advantage to a supplement. It's just who pays for what. And you're right, Carol, where you have to go into an advantage plan knowing that in the back of that in the background, there is a couple $1,000 maximum out of pocket that you might have to come up with. And some people aren't comfortable with that even with the $0 price tag. So they are not a fit for everybody.
Josh Kinzel [:And even over since when I started in Medicare, at least, in 2008, it was probably 70% supplement, 30% Medicare Advantage. Nationally, now, because the advantage plans have gotten stronger, there have been it's now over 50% new people to Medicare going into Advance for the first time ever. So, they they do work. They have their challenges. They have their trade offs just like any other insurance product. But, I do wanna just make sure that people are aware of both sides.
Carol Ventresca [:Right. Right. Absolutely.
Josh Kinzel [:Alright.
Brett Johnson [:So, we already mentioned we're taping this before the actual open enrollment which we do every year just so we're way ahead of the game. So, some changes in 2025 may not have been decided before we talk today. Can you give us some tips on the issues that are still to be determined, and how, our listener can find the most up to date information before they choose their policies for next year? Just as that process goes along. Yeah.
Josh Kinzel [:Yep. And and the good news is, we're recording this in September, the month before open enrollment or all the plans are released October 1st. But anybody on Medicare right now, you're getting your annual notice of change from your provider. So if you have a drug plan, look for that in the mail. It's It's gonna come from them called the annual notice of change, your ANOC letter. That will say what it is this year.
Brett Johnson [:So, it comes out in September. 1st year people, they should be looking for it.
Josh Kinzel [:Yep. Okay. Got it. And then, every year after that, it's September. If you're on a Medicare Advantage plan, they're coming out with the annual changes. Gotta be in your mailbox in September. So when the new plans roll out, you know what yours is gonna change to. And it gives you the ability to make a a move if you want.
Josh Kinzel [:The the other major two pieces that aren't released yet, but never are right now, is just that part b, like we talked about that premium that should be coming out early October. If not, before October. And something that we didn't really touch on, but, it it's a topic called IRMAA, where there's an income related monthly adjustment amount, where if you're a higher income earner, then you do pay more than the standard amount for Medicare.
Carol Ventresca [:And that is huge for some folks.
Josh Kinzel [:Yeah. Yeah. And and that table comes out with those thresholds being little different every year. But most of it, I would say, we're we're getting pretty solid with what's gonna be happening next year.
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah. Well, the one thing with IRMAA is I think, they already said what the, income level. It's moved up. It used to be at about 90,000, and I think it's gonna be at about 107.
Josh Kinzel [:Yeah. It's yeah. It's it's in such way up, and then we just have to wait for them to backfill the premiums into that table. Right.
Brett Johnson [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:So so if you have if your income level is high Mhmm. You have to pay more for your Medicare.
Josh Kinzel [:Yep.
Carol Ventresca [:Now does that happen for both traditional and advantage? Doesn't matter what plan you've chosen. It's really part of your, 10.40 Yep.
Josh Kinzel [:Tax tax refund. It's the original Medicare benefit that that's tied into that part b as in boy. And so this year, to give you an idea in 24, if you're an an individual when your tax returns over, your modified adjusted gross that is is over a 103,000. That's when it starts to go up from standard. If you're a couple, it's 206,000, then it goes up from standard there.
Carol Ventresca [:Right. And and that can be high. Mhmm. I I know of a case that someone is, still working Mhmm. But on Medicare because he he owns his own company.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:His wife is retired, and their, IRMA penalty is, like, $1200 a month. Mhmm. It's huge.
Josh Kinzel [:It's big.
Carol Ventresca [:It can be huge. Yeah. And it and I I always always laugh, you know, if it was 90,000 if you made $9,001, you were paying the same IRMAA penalty as somebody who had a $100,000.
Josh Kinzel [:Yeah. So it's And and one thing I, I've noticed over the years because we've I've been fortunate enough to have relationships with some of the hospital systems around here where I help their retirees. And I I just assume that if you're a nurse and you've been a nurse for for as long as and I show this chart and most of the time, they just laugh at it. I'm like, you should be making more than what that we're showing here. But, you know, that that's that's a side note.
Carol Ventresca [:Right. Right. Yep. Absolutely. So, Josh, one of the things that we always wanna talk about is, the work that Seniority Benefit Group does and and our, shout out to your colleagues and thank them for letting you come to see us again today. We appreciate your time and expertise. But one of the you're you've been talking about how your company helps individuals who are looking for plans. There's the other side.
Carol Ventresca [:How you help the employer side.
Josh Kinzel [:Yes. And so, most ultimately, the end goal of ours is to help that individual, but the the the other goal is to help as many of these folks as we can. And so, we've realized that a lot of folks are still working. 65 is not that retirement age that it used to be. And so, we're talking to employers, specifically, small employers where less than 20. So if you do work for a company that has less than 20 employees, Medicare becomes primary the day that you're eligible for Medicare. So you do wanna enroll in Medicare a and b at that point. And those smaller groups are the ones that have been really squeezed with offering coverage at affordable price.
Josh Kinzel [:So it's normally a very, very good conversation we have with that small employer that says, look, you're paying 1500 a month for mister Smith to be on your plan. He can go on Medicare and pay 1.75 or maybe 3 and and his coverage is gonna be better, and you're gonna be paying less. And so so we've really tried to promote that service of just the the employers and the HR departments that are answering these questions about Medicare. And they say, I I don't wanna answer. Here, call these guys. So we we have a lot of relationships with HR folks where and maybe that's back to my background, in schooling where I'm just saying, hey. I know you're getting questions about this, and this is not a topic that you went to school to to deliver information on. We can we can help with that.
Josh Kinzel [:So we we alleviate some of the burden from the HR folks that don't even answer Medicare questions. They can send it over to us to help. And the financial burden on some of the small employers where they're trying to do the right thing and offer employee benefit that 20 years ago wasn't bad to do and hard to do. But now, with everything else, it's just really a struggle to offer that. And so, when we can come in and say, look, you're not even doing a disservice to your employee by telling them to explore Medicare. You're actually helping them out. You can you can help that. That's a better situation for you too in most cases.
Josh Kinzel [:Just the cost of all of this. So it's it's that's our our employer side of it that really tries to get out to as many employers as we can to educate them to say, look. You just use this as a tool.
Carol Ventresca [:It is are there break points for small employers? You know, if you don't have 20 people, it's it's nearly impossible to cover fewer than 20 people?
Josh Kinzel [:Well
Carol Ventresca [:Do they go into large groups?
Josh Kinzel [:So it's it the first two years that I was with seniority benefit group prior to going into Medicare fully was dealing with small group health insurance. And that 2 to 10 was really hard to find an insurance company that was gonna be willing to offer an affordable plan, and that this was 20 years ago now. The larger employers are the ones that are able to to offer something a little bit better just because the sheer size of them. So it so, again, my heart kinda is in that arena as well, that small group employer that I that's where I started my career. And I know it's not an easy hill to climb there. So when I can come in and help that small employer with with just that piece of it, I I feel rewarded.
Carol Ventresca [:Great.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. Well, thanks again for chopping in. It's been a super overview. I mean, especially with all the the great changes and and and small changes that may make a big difference coming up here, for the Medicare changes for 2025. As we always do, ask you for some words of wisdom. What would you like to provide?
Josh Kinzel [:Well and and Carol kinda stole it from me a little bit. Not in a bad way. Sorry. No. No. No. No. No.
Josh Kinzel [:But the but this is great though that people hear it more than once. There are folks out there. We are out there to help, where we don't charge anything. We don't have to push you one way or another. We're not gonna try to fit a square peg in a round hole. And and I'm I'm not saying I'm the only one out there doing that. Certainly, there are other people in your neighborhoods that are probably independent brokers like myself. There are OSHA situations where the state funds these groups that, again, are like us.
Josh Kinzel [:So resources are there. You can if you're the type person you want to do it on your own and you just wanna reach out to me or someone like me to say, hey. This is what I came up with. Just give me your 2¢ on it. I I would I would highly encourage that. Just don't do it alone. You don't have to do it alone. It's not a painful thing.
Josh Kinzel [:You're not gonna get a bill from folks to it's not a bait and switch. Hey, call us and well, now that we talked about Medicare, you wanna talk about your annuities and life insurance. We don't do anything other than Medicare. So just make sure that you don't do it alone.
Carol Ventresca [:You know, too, one of the things that I did before I went to my to the broker I was required to use because of my pension system, I educated myself by going to a free workshop. Mhmm. And so I would suggest to the audience to also do that. There are a lot of places that do free workshops, particularly your area agency on aging. So our Central Ohio area agency on aging, they are experts at doing Medicare workshops. You're going to get the nomenclature down. You're gonna know what's what's part a, what's part b, what's c, what's d, and they're gonna give that to you again in a system where you could keep asking questions. Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:You know, if you have those if you have questions, there's somebody right there to do it. So, yes, take take advantage of all of the resources. One of the the the language pieces that I'm I always kinda get confused. You call yourself a broker.
Josh Kinzel [:Mhmm.
Carol Ventresca [:I was thinking they were called connectors. Is that the same if somebody hears that word?
Josh Kinzel [:So the connectors are for the Affordable Care Act. Okay. That's the, word that the government gave their folks to help folks on the Affordable Care Act, which is for someone not eligible for Medicare quite yet.
Carol Ventresca [:Right. Mhmm. Right. Okay. So that that's important that you make sure you are getting to a broker an independent broker Mhmm. Who, again, is not going to charge you, who is paid by the government regardless of which plan you you take.
Josh Kinzel [:Well, I wanna stop you real quick. We're not paid by the government. So we do have to say, I don't work for the government. We're not paid by the government. It's from the private insurance companies. But Okay. But yes.
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah. But but it's the same payment regardless of which plan you choose. So you're a a true broker Mhmm. Is not gonna say, oh, well, you really wanna take this one Yeah. Because they're gonna get more money. That's not gonna happen. Okay.
Josh Kinzel [:Correct.
Carol Ventresca [:Very cool. Alright. Josh, thank you. Oh, no problem. Wonderful. No problem. It was great it was great to see you again to catch up and and get all this information. And so our many, many thanks to our Medicare expert, Josh Kinzel from Seniority Benefit Group for joining us today.
Carol Ventresca [:And listeners, thank you for joining us. Do not forget to check the show notes. We're gonna give you all this information on our website at looking forward our way.com for contact information and all the resources that we discussed today. We are looking forward to hearing your feedback on this and any of our podcast episodes.
