Category: Medicare Supplement

A few weeks ago, Medicare announced the new Part B premiums for 2022. While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had projected a rise in premiums of 6.7% earlier in 2021, the actual increase in Part B premiums for 2022 is 14.5%, the largest increase ever seen. The huge increase is partly based…

Osteoporosis affects around one in three women, and one in five men, over the age of 50, meaning that more than 200 million people are suffering from osteoporosis in this country. There are many different kinds of treatments available for osteoporosis, with the current standard treatment being bisphosphonates. There is, though, another drug called Prolia,…

If you’re about to turn 65, now is the time to think about purchasing a Medicare Supplement Plan. Your Open Enrollment Period for Medicare Supplement Plans automatically starts the first month you have Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) and you're 65 or older, and lasts for 6 months. During this time you can avoid medical…

Do you know what one of the perks of getting older is? You have the flexibility and room in your budget to split your time between two homes. Many Medicare beneficiaries spend their time on the move, especially “snowbirds” who are looking to escape the cold in one state, and spend their winters in a…

March is National Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month, so we want to take this time to look at this type of injury, and raise awareness of the risk to older adults. A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, can happen when your head takes a severe blow and your brain hits your skull, causing a concussion…

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on February 10th that it will be expanding Medicare coverage for lung cancer screening. The new coverage will expand lung cancer screening in the private market, extending access to low-dose computed tomography (CT scanning) for Medicare patients, in order to align with current recommendations.  What Is…

It was not all that long ago that talking about women’s bodies and health was considered taboo, and a lot of healthcare was hard to access, or based on superstition. Fortunately, we have come a long way from taboos and superstitions with the help of changing attitudes towards women’s healthcare, as well as medical and…

With age comes the need to take some extra precautions, especially in your home to keep you safe from falls and other dangers. Falls are a big risk when you’re older, and they can happen in your home if you’re not careful with common hazards like wires or other obstacles. Not only that, but you…

In the United States, more than 60% of cancer cases are diagnosed in people 65 and over.  Advanced age is the biggest risk factor for cancer overall, as well as for many individual types of cancer. It is predicted that almost 2 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year, and with such a…

For decades, African Americans have dealt with many systemic inequalities in this country, including unequal access to healthcare, which has led to big disparities in the health of African Americans and Caucasians even today. However, the tides are slowly turning, and almost every marker of health seems to be improving for African Americans. For example,…

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, often gets misdiagnosed in young people. While around 11% of children ages 4-17 in the U.S. have received a diagnosis of ADHD, studies show that this is just a small percentage of people who actually have ADHD. This misdiagnosis, and failure to treat ADHD, can end up causing bigger…

Medicare does not cover 100% of all medical expenses, which is why many people choose to purchase a Medicare Supplement Plan. A Medicare Supplement Plan will cover whatever out-of-pocket costs are left after Medicare has paid its part - and if you have a Medicare Supplement Plan, you know just how much money this can…

The number of adults in this country with congenital heart disease (CHD) has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Currently, there are around 800,000 adults in the United States who have grown into adulthood with congenital heart disease, and this number increases by around 20,000 each year - and many of these adults living…

Dealing with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease is incredibly difficult: you might be both going through many changes as the disease progresses, and also feeling afraid of losing your memory. The behavioral changes that come with these conditions might be accompanied by feeling sad, irritated, scared, delusional, or even hallucinations, feelings that get worse at night.…

As you get older, you might find that you don’t have as big of an appetite as you once did, and that you eat less than you used to. This is actually a normal part of the aging process, but if you are losing a significant amount of weight because of your loss of appetite,…

It’s an unfortunate fact that anyone can become the victim of fraud, even those who think they’re being as careful as possible. It’s also unfortunate that scammers will typically target older adults who have Medicare, because they believe that it will be easier to confuse and mislead older adults, especially ones who are new to…

Diabetes is a very common condition in the U.S., affecting around 34.2 million Americans - and about 26%, or 14.3 million of them, are adults 65 and older. Diabetes can lead to other more serious health conditions such as heart disease and stroke, but it can also cause issues that are not as serious, but…

The federal government has finally announced Medicare premiums for 2022, allowing beneficiaries a little over 3 weeks of budgeting time before the end of the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). Medicare premiums are usually announced in late October or early November, but it has taken longer than normal to release the numbers this year, with…