Sue Kelson (Butcher)

THANKS Gerd for setting up the get-together.  I sincerely hope they'll be a good response.  I'm going to try and make it there and look forward to seeing everyone.

Jeff Chivers

Thanks Chuck, Jan, Frank, Charlotte and others for your kind words.

Also Carolyn, congrats on getting your Medicare card and crossing that ominous threashold!! 

In answering Julie’s questions about enrolling in Medicare . . .

Generally speaking, nearly everyone who is eligible for Medicare should sign up for Medicare Parts A and B within your “Initial Enrollment Period” (IEP) a seven month period that begins three months before the month you turn 65, the month you turn 65 and the three months following your 65^th birthday month. If you don’t enroll in Medicare during that time, there are restrictions as to when you can enroll in Medicare going forward, as well as your possibly being subject to substantial late enrollment penalties.

However, in Julie’s situation where your spouse is still working and employer coverage will continue after your 65^th birthday, you will likely not be required to enroll in Part B (the part you have to pay for) until you come off your husband's group coverage. In most cases you should still enroll in Part A, as most employer group plans coordinate benefits with Medicare. But as Gerd indicated, there are some exceptions.  So it's always advisable to speak with the company's benefits person who will provide details respecting how ongoing group coverage coordinates with Medicare (if you should enroll in Part A, whether you are temporarily exempt from the requirement of enrolling in Part B due to your continuing coverage under his group plan etc.). When you eventually do come off employer coverage, you will be given another opportunity to enroll in Part B (without penalty) through "Special Enrollment Period."

With respect to how to go about enrolling in Medicare, you will likely be contacted by Social Security about three months before your 65th birthday.  If you are already receiving Social Security benefits, you will automatically be enrolled in Medicare Parts A & B. Otherwise you can go online and enroll in Medicare at:

https://www.ssa.gov/medicare/

or you can drop by your local Social Security office.  At the time you first  enroll, you have the option to temporarily “opt out” of enrolling in Part B if you so qualify based upon your having continuing employer coverage (as described above) or due to certain other special circumstances that may apply. 

As I’ve stated before (and should be apparent by now for those who have read my prior posts) enrolling in Medicare is not a “one size fits all” proposition - having many complexities, options and individual circumstances that should be taken into consideration when making these important decisions.  Making hasty or incorrect choices at the outset may not only prove to be costly financially, but may also limit your coverage options and quality care available to you for the remainder of your life.   

I’m more than happy to answer questions and/or meet one-on-one with you, your spouse/significant other or others you may know that could use assistance in this process – my service costs you nothing.  If I can be of help give me a call at 801-712-8448, my email at jfchivers@hotmail.com or send me a private message through the website Message Center (click either my photo or name in blue at the top of this post, then click "Send Jeff a private message" where indicated on my personal profile).  I also plan on attending the get-together Gerd has organized on August 20 where I will be happy to address any questions. 

Within the next few weeks, I plan posting a few more insights and tips to consider when choosing among Medicare coverage options.  Stay tuned!!!

Gary Bell

  Well I am back,  My computer been down for about  three weeks, So  I just hijacked my daughters. We were going to to the air show  Charlot.. except I got a phone call at six in the morning , My son called to tell his wife's water had just broke so We never made it!  The twins were born at 8:30 that morning, one and a half  months early. We were all surprized!! Mom and twins are doing fine, This gives us eleven grand kids.  thanks  Linda, Charlot, Dale, Carolyn , and Suzanne!!         Gary            Ps.   I've got to get hold of you  Jeff,  Whens the best time to call to talk?   Gary

Charlotte Warr (Andersen)

Congratulations, Gary!

Here's something guaranteed to make you laugh (even if you've heard it before).

Charlotte Warr (Andersen)

Paul, I'm responding even though you deleted your posts.

Some people are so literal that they can't recognize sarcasm/ humor/ irony/ satire when they read or hear it.

Charlotte Warr (Andersen)

I know what ROFLOL is and Ben Carson is bonkers. He makes me ROFLOL.

Dale Charlie Salazar

The LOL in my mind is that some on this site have said they like Ben.?!

Gerd Eysser

Thank you Dice.  I wouldn't have connected those dots on my own.  Takes a lot of imagine to do so.  A number of liberals have used  Alinsky's playbook as their guide.  But to connect those dots as Dice did takes some imagination.  Clinton is dishonest (as the FBI's probe clearly proved)  but I don't think she is a devil worshipper because she may look at Alinsky as one of her mentors. Love the political season.  I would hate to play Twister with pundits and politicians.  

Dale Charlie Salazar

What a gentle post Gerd.  "Power to the People!"

Gerd Eysser

Hillary did pick Cain.......er..... Kaine as her running mate. So maybe Ben was right. 😊  You can't make this stuff up. 

Charlotte Warr (Andersen)

Yeah, I guess you better "gerd" up your loins and prepare for the apocalypse when Clinton is elected. 

Charlotte Warr (Andersen)

This might be too whimpy for you motorcycle guys since it's a scooter but I thought you might enjoy it anyway.

Paul Michelsen

O Great, Char.

Now, I want one!

Gerd Eysser

Hillary knows all about girding up Bill's loins...or not.   Both are a piece of integrity "work".  Add in our current president and there is a wonderful threesome. All documented purveyors of falsehoods (trying to be gentle). 

Jerald DeGraw

Sorry, only read the last 3 posts, lately. Being a scooter makes it even MORE desirable :-) Yes, Gerd, YES !!!

Jerald DeGraw

...WAY behind...been out on the Pacific Ocean, on a Waverunner...VERY interesting  :-) Can't wait to go back and catch up on the latest Cubby Talk :-)

Charlotte Warr (Andersen)

That's what married couples are supposed to do, Gerd, unlike your orange candidate who has been "girding" countless women's loins up and even has a rape case of a 13 year olod girl pending against him. He has a "YUGE" list of accusations of all sorts of criminal activity (Clinton's are miniscule compared to them) yet people like you happily shrug them all off as being inconsequential. Look up hypocrite in the dictionary.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/donald-trump-scandals/474726/

By the way, here's the proper way of girding from the art of manliness:

Have you got your scimitar ready? 

Ken Hollen

Hey Jeff,

I hope things are good for you.  On your topic of the Affordable Care Act and it's impact on Medicare.  The purpose of the Affordable Care Act was to allow for entry of uninsured Americans and Americans with pre existing conditions a way into health insurance.  This included a high percentage of small business owners.  The Affordable Care Act was intended to be a beginning point.  From this beginning point, it was intended to be made better by working out the kinks.  However, there has been no focus of how to make it better, only on how to repeal it.

As for Medicare, Medicare has become less available for reasons most people are not aware of.  Participation as a Medicare Provider is voluntary.  The Affordable Care Act reduces and restricts the unnatural inflation of the healthcare industry that current over-charges Americans by 300% or more.  Traditionally, even with the Affordable Care Act in place, healthcare inflation grows at 10% to 12% each year.  Many Medicare Providers simply opted out.  They prefer to use their time getting paid at higher inflationary rates.

The Affordable Care Act can be administer with many Providers, as it does right now.  Under the current system, this multi provider system virtual eliminates small providers as we have seen in the news recently.  Ultimately, under the current system of multi providers, we will end up with a handful of massive providers with no control over healthcare inflationary costs.  Since America seems content with the idea of over paying for medical cost by more than 300%, a multi provider system with no cost controls is the way to go.  One thing to keep in mind is all medical schools in the USA receive money from the US Government.  Certainly, the concept of controlling cost is contrary to our thoughts.  The healthcare system is not a competitive system.  If a hospital adds 100 beds to a hospital, all the surrounding hospitals raises prices, the addition does not reduce costs.  

As for socialist medicine, Canada has received much attention as a socialist example.  Canada ranks higher than the USA for healthcare and costs 1/3 of what it costs Americans to have less.  We do have more freedoms with healthcare, but we pay for it.  The question might be is if we did have a socialist, one payor system and still paid more than Canada, but less than we pay today, would that be better?  We are generations away from the answer to that question while healthcare remains the leading cause of bankruptcy in the USA.

Charlotte Warr (Andersen)

Good, informative post, Ken. Thank you.

Gerd Eysser

Healthcare in Canada is better and more accessible?  That's a new one.  Our healthcare may be more expensive, but worse than Canada's?  You're going to have to show me the data on that claim.

The ACA was passed because the single payer system would never have seen the light of day.  Go back and watch Obama's speeches where he advocated a single payor system.  It's part  of the progessive strategy.  And the ends justify the means, thus the falsehoods American's were told.....architech of the plan even boasted about it.

There is no reason the change the entire healthcare system and lie to us to simply address pre-existing conditions and the uninsured.  But it all makes sense if the ultimate goal is a single payor system.

We  recently moved 2 miles from our old home and had our mail forwarded.  It took 10 days to start receiving mail again.  I spoke the the USPS in Sandy, UT about a delivery my DIL was waiting for.  They said it was ready to be delivered to our old address but had a 'hard' hold on because we changed addresses. So it was sent back to Denver for them to forward it back to our new address.  That's bureucratic efficiency!  And you trust them to run our healthcare system?  I don't.

Charlotte Warr (Andersen)

How you must have suffered, Gerd. No mail for 10 days.

Gerd Eysser

Char, you missed the whole point.  No where did I say I suffered.  My daughter in law is now in Phoenix.  Oops.  Federal government inefficiency is the point.  And to put faith in the same organization to fix anything, is baffling. Can you show me any federal government agency that is on budget or on time with anything, I look forward to your response. 

Let me share with you another first hand account of bureacracy in federal healthcare.  I won't bore you with the fiasco at the Phoenix VA where the OIG claims that 40 vets died because of delays.  

Here's a first hand account of the Salt Lake VA.  I'lll just summarize.  Sunday morning.  Neighbor calls and asks if I will accompany her and her husband to VA because he is feeling ill and has had some heart problems in the past.  We arrive at the VA.  Not another soul in the ER.  Zilch, zero, nada.  The reception notices us as we walk in the doors.  She ignores us.  I get frustrated and tell her this vet needs immediate attention.  

Her response:  "Did you take a number?" We take a number and then she gets us checked in.  You can't make this crap up!  And like I asked, you trust the feds to efficiently run our healthcare system?

I don't need the government to be involved in my life from cradle to grave.  Some people do, and I understand that.  So focus on them and leave the rest of us alone.  For a party that values individual freedom (association, speech, etc), they sure want to take that away.

One a side note, I have worked with hospitals in the US and Canada (albeit just 2 in Canada) in efforts to reduce HAI's and improve antimicrobial stewardship.  They both want to address these issues.  One has money, the other doesn't have the interest or money.  Want to take a guess as to which of the two healthcare systems are doing something about the issue?  But Canada has better healthcare?  Yeah, THAT is 'suffering'. Still waiting to see the study that shows Canada's healthcare is better than ours and the criteria they use to make such claims.  

Dale Charlie Salazar

Oh dear Gerd;

How frustrated you must be in life to focus only on the Democrats in your horror stories.  I do recall a guy named Bush taking us into a new war in Iraq.  Seems now we can't get out, but Obama did try.

As for lying to us.  Come on Gerd.  We've been lied to by every President since Washington.  It goes with the turf.  "Read my lips - no new taxes.  We were young men when Bush Sr. put this out.  Eight months later he put it on us.

And, I guess you are willing to let he poor die for lack of medical insurance.  In Canada the poor don't stay home and wait to die for lack of affordable treatment.

Ken Hollen

Gerd,  I never said the Canadian system is more flexible.  Actually I think I said just the opposite.  The Canadian healthcare system as well as virtually every "socialist" healthcare system in major first world countries rates better than the USA and for less money.  You can easily search Google for that information.

Gerd Eysser

Charlie, let me remind you of nature of my post.....

1.  I didn't blame the VA scandal on Dems.  I don't trust the feds to do anything on time or on budget.  That is a poltical agnostic comment.  I do not see the government doing anything to improve healthcare and thus I shared my experience between the US and Canadian markets because Canada was brought up as providing better healthcare.  Again, i ask you to show me a government agency that is ever on time and on budget.  I wish they were.  After all they are using yours and my money.  Please show me where US healthcare is inferior.

2.  "No new taxes" pledge was well intentioned, from what I recall.  It was a compromise with the other political party.  Unless you know that Bush said it at the time because he knew he would raise taxes.  Then that is a lie.  Keeping your doctor and premiums being reduced was a lie  'at the time' and now.  And the lie at the time that we were dealing with moderates in Iran to work out a nuclear deal.  Another lie boasted about by the current administration.  Healthcare and nuclear weaponry are serious issues.  And we were lied to about both. 

3.  I did mention that I understand that "some" people need the government to care for them from cradle to grave.  It's called a safety net which I favor, but it seems like one party does a lot of inviting to that 'net'.  It's called pandering.  There are folks who can't afford health insurance.  Help them out, for a lot less than what Obamacare is costing us.  BTW, did you hear that Medicare is now taking a hit of $700 B instead of the $500 B that was projected? 

4.  I love the "Bush lied to us about WMD's" nonsense.  If I recall correctly, and I hope you prove me wrong, every security agency around the world, including the beloved UN, said Hussein had WMD's.  That's why the UN (with worldwide support) passed resolution after resolution demanding inspectors to go into Iran.  I can't think of one agency that disputed or questioned that claim.  I guess the Bush coerced the rest of the world into believing something that didn't exist just so he could start a war?

smh

This current political climate always makes me reflect (and smile) on JFK's January 1961 Innagural address:  "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country." 

Ken, thanks for you response.  It that was truly the case, I would think the American people would buy into a socialist healthcare system.  Better healthcare at lower pricing?  Sounds like a winner.  Who would be against that?