Annual Enrollment Period: Your Path to Tailored Medicare Coverage

Are you ready to take charge of your healthcare journey? The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is swiftly approaching, and it’s your golden opportunity to customize your Medicare coverage to align perfectly with your evolving health needs. At Total Benefits, we’re here to guide you through this crucial period, ensuring that your Medicare plan reflects your unique requirements and aspirations for a healthy future. AEP: Your Key to Tailored Coverage: Circle the dates on your calendar: AEP commences on October 15 and concludes on December 7. These six weeks are a window of empowerment, during which you hold the reins to make changes that suit you best. Whether you’re seeking enhanced… Read More

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Understanding When Your Medicare Coverage Starts

Approaching 65 or exploring Medicare? Knowing when your coverage begins is vital for your protection and preparation. Enrollment timing is key for activating your benefits. Let’s simplify the essentials of when your Medicare coverage starts. Initial Enrollment Opportunity Medicare coverage launch centers around your Initial Enrollment Period, typically when you turn 65. This 7-month period spans 3 months before and after your 65th birthday. Coverage Commencement Date Your coverage initiation hinges on your sign-up month during the Initial Enrollment Period. Note that coverage always begins on the first day of the month. Late Part A Enrollment Opting for Part A after 65? Coverage begins six months back from your sign-up… Read More

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Understanding the Plan Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) in Medicare

Staying informed about your healthcare coverage is vital, especially when it comes to Medicare plans. One key document that plays a significant role in this process is the “Plan Annual Notice of Change” or ANOC. What is the ANOC? If you’re enrolled in a Medicare plan, the ANOC is your compass for upcoming changes. Every fall, your plan sends you this crucial document, detailing any adjustments that will take effect in January. These changes encompass a range of aspects, from coverage modifications to shifts in costs and more. When Can You Expect It? Mark your calendars for September. This is the month when the ANOC usually arrives, providing you with… Read More

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Medicare Coverage of Home Health Care: Booklet

This booklet describes the home health care services that Medicare covers, and how to get those benefits through Medicare. If you get your Medicare benefits through a Medicare health plan (not Original Medicare) check your plan’s membership materials and contact the plan for details about your Medicare-covered home health benefits. Download the Medicare Coverage of Home Health Care: Booklet to help you understand the home health services that Medicare covers and much more. As always if you have any questions or concerns about this bulleting please contact your Medicare health insurance experts at Total Benefit Solutions, Inc (215)-355-2121

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“Can I use my HSA for…….?”

Health Savings Accounts and You Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) aren’t new. They’ve been around since late 2003. Initially they were created along with the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act  to replace the Medical Saving Account System. Initially these plans were designed to help with Drug Costs under Medicare policies; However, as Insurance Premiums increased, more and more Employer and Individual Policies offered High-Deductible Plans to help curb costs. Due to that, HSAs were thrown into the spotlight as a way to use Pre-Tax Dollars to cover out-of-pocket Medical costs. In 2017, a reported 22million Americans have an HSA. Each year, that number continues to climb. Many people still have a… Read More

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President Trump Signs Prescription Drug Gag Clause Legislation

President Trump Signs Prescription Drug Gag Clause Legislation On Wednesday, President Trump signed into law S. 2553, the Know the Lowest Price Act, and S. 2554, the Patient Right to Know Drug Price Act. The legislation was passed by the House and Senate last month with bipartisan support and will ban “gag clauses” that prevent pharmacists from telling customers when they can save money on their prescriptions by paying out of pocket for the retail price of the drug, rather than using their insurance and making the co-payment. These bills comprise portions of President Trump’s “America First” prescription drug initiative that were released as part of a blueprint to lower drug prices in May.… Read More

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Social Media Drive Winner Announcement!

  Back in August we announced an End of Summer Social Media Drive Contest. The rules were very simple: If you left us a review, you were eligible to be entered into a drawing for an Amazon gift card valued from $25-$100… For each review you left us on one of our platforms (Google, Yelp, Facebook, Angie’s List, Linkedin, etc) you earned $25 towards that giftcard (up to four review max per person). The contest ran from August 1st, 2018 until September 30th, 2018, but today we finally got our winner. Our Front Office Coordinator, Samantha, joined me for the  random drawing. Please watch the short video below to find… Read More

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How to Protect Yourself from Medical Bankruptcy

According to a CNBC report, an estimated 2 million people were adversely affected by bankruptcies due to medical costs. In 2009, President Obama declared that someone files bankruptcies every 30seconds (or  about 1million people are affected per year!). A popular Facebook meme, shown to the left said the number was 643,000 people a year. Healthcare costs make any of these stats seem realistic, but why are they so different? One reason is that people gather information from different studies made during different years. Even though most of the information comes within the last decade, there are tons of factors that affect our economy. In 2007, 822,590 consumer bankruptcies were filed, but for 2010,… Read More

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