John, good to see you that time of year. Let's talk about Medicare, basics and misconceptions. There are so many different enrollment periods with Medicare, and there are penalties if you miss your enrollment deadlines. October 15 kicked off the Annual Election Period that runs through December 7. First question, When are you eligible for Medicare? And what deadlines do you need to keep in mind, yes, so do not get this initial election period mixed up with October 15, when you are first eligible to sign up for Medicare is three months before on your birth, on your 65th birthday, or three months after your 65th birthday. So we've mentioned it in the past that Medicare isn't like the second 21st birthday for adults. This is the big day where for a lot of people who are on COBRA or on personal healthcare plans that retired before 65 this is when their healthcare premiums drop a lot. So the big thing is, I always tell my clients, three months before your 65th birthday, enroll you do not want to miss this period, because this then comes with lifetime penalties. So for your initial election in the Medicare three months before, on your 65th birthday, or three months after the dates you are referring to, period, Erin, that's your Annual Election Period that goes from October 15 to December 7. This is where you can make changes in your Medicare coverage for the upcoming year. You should always review the benefits, especially the drug benefits, every year.

Okay? So, as we all know, there are four parts to Medicare, A, B, C, D, let's talk through parts A, B and D first, and we'll skip back to C.

Yeah. So Parts A and B are your really, your foundation of Medicare. Part A is your hospital coverage. You do not pay a premium for this. This is a doctor visits and outpatient care. So this is where you're going to start paying your Medicare, Part B premiums, Part A and B cover those segments of health care. What they do not cover is long term care. Medicare is not a long term care vehicle, so do not depend on it. And Parts A and B are only going to cover up to 80% of those hospital doctor visit or outpatient care costs.

And Part D, John, Part D, well, D for drugs. So Part D is your prescription drug plan. This is really something where you definitely should be reviewing every year to make sure that you have you know, especially as your health changes, to make sure you have the right prescription program. Going forward, you are going to pay an additional cost. Part remember Medicare, Part B premium, those are the Irma taxes that we talk about. But Part C also has a premium allocated to it. Okay, so now let's talk about Part C. This is the advantage plan. Some say you need it. Others say you don't. How do we figure out what's best for us? Well, I already mentioned that Parts A and B only cover 80% of those hospital, doctor, outpatient visits. So imagine, in today's health care costs, Erin, if you had this catastrophic medical event and you were only covered for 80% that 20% can be a huge bill. So people gravitate towards two areas, either the Medicare Advantage plans, which often, you know, often have 00, monthly premiums, so that's a big draw to them. And you're going to go through a normal insurance company where you're going to need authorization from that insurance company, and then if you do need health care, you're going to have co pays and deductibles and out of pocket maximums. The other side of that is what's known as Medicare Supplement. And this is, you know, commonly, where you're just going to pay an additional monthly premium for Medicare Supplement. It's easier to get authorized, because you're not going to have to go through all the loops of the insurance company for authorization for procedures, and oftentimes the Medicare Supplement, you're not going to have any out of pocket costs for those procedures. So it's a little bit it's a higher monthly premium, but you understand what you're getting for instead of having a Medicare Advantage plan with no premium, which seems to be the draw, and then all of a sudden, if you have a medical event, now you're going to have out of pocket maximum. However, either way, when you're 65 if you choose Medicare Advantage, understand that Medicare supplement in your 65th birthday is automatic. But if you choose Medicare Advantage, and then you may be moving and your network is no longer covered, or you want that more robust coverage with the supplement, you then will have to qualify through underwriting. So this is a very big decision. I encourage you to talk with a Medicare specialist who will help you make the proper decision on what plan to choose. Yeah, I liked your analogy when we were talking offline. It's a fork in the road. Yes, okay, so clearly this is very complicated. How do you help a client figure out what he or she needs? Well, we help our clients by steadfastly reminding them to enroll before their 6050 do it as soon as possible, get it out of the way, check it off the list, and then you don't have to worry about the lifetime penalty when it goes beyond that. We, we like to refer our clients to either have to reach out to their Medicare experts or use our Medicare experts that we that we know and trust, to help our clients make the right decision for them. Yeah?

Because clearly, there's a lot that goes into it, and some of them got to make sure you make it the right time, right decision.

 Yeah. John and again, Erin, if you make the wrong decision, just based on, you know what a lot of people make decisions? What are what? Are, what are our friends doing? Yeah, you know what? What's everyone else doing? Don't follow the crowd on. Yes, get input from other people. I will never, not tell you to do that, but seek a solution that is right for your situation, because if you don't, you could end up costing yourself a lot of money. Yeah, absolutely. Well, John, again, I want to point everybody watching to your YouTube page, because we have so many great videos. Your Podcast also is such a great resource for many retirement topics, including Medicare. But if somebody would like to get a hold of you to talk this through, what's the best way to reach you?

Yeah, well, visit our website, www.gosecurus.com, and on the website, you know, we have all those resources that you've already mentioned, the podcast, the videos, but while you're on our website, you can visit the contact us tab, and while at while there, you can click on a 20 minute complimentary consultation where I'll answer any general questions you have about Medicare, or if you prefer an in depth strategy session, go ahead and click on the vision and clarity consultation, and we'll get you set up there. Or if you like doing things the old fashioned way, give us a call at the office. 858-758-9889, and they'll get you on my schedule.

Great. John, thank you. 

Thank you. All right. Bye.