Announcer:
It is time now on KROS for Financial Focus, brought to you by NelsonCorp Wealth Management. The opinions voiced in this show are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representatives securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. a broker-dealer, member of FINRA SIPC, investment advisor representative Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc. a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and NelsonCorp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. Now, here’s today’s Financial Focus program.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Good morning and welcome to this week’s Financial Focus brought to you each and every Wednesday morning right here on KROS. This is Nate Kreinbrink. Have Mike Van Zooten with me this morning. It’s not getting easier to say this, Mike, but this is the last Wednesday in August, and I don’t know if I’m quite ready to say that. I know for a while I was like, okay, 95 plus 158% humidity was getting kind of old for a month straight. But I don’t know if I’m quite ready for fall weather yet, though.
Mike VanZuiden:
We’re a little early. We are a little bit early.
Nate Kreinbrink:
We are, we were talking on the way up here. It’s week one for high school football this Friday night, and I know there’s been a lot of years where that first week, I mean it’s been 90 degrees and just hot as you know what out there, and we’re not going to have to worry about that. I think we’re down into the low sixties, even into the fifties, I think for-
Mike VanZuiden:
Really comfortable for high school football for sure, kind of what you expect high school football weather to be like. Right? But you’re right. The last couple of years there’s been some brutal heat and built-in.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Now as long as we take this for the next two months and okay, that’s a good trade-off, so we’ll see. I just hope that this isn’t like a precursor to what the season’s going to be for everything. But no, it’s been pleasant. It’s been nice to open up the windows, have those cooler evenings. We had football practice for my youngest one last night, and I didn’t put a sweatshirt on. It was-
Mike VanZuiden:
Yeah, it’s been kind of nice.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Getting a little cooler.
Mike VanZuiden:
The only downside is the ragweed counts have been just astronomically high and my itchy eyes and even my over-the-counter meds aren’t taking care of me this past couple of weeks.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Well, we do have Labor Day weekend coming up this weekend, and I think that kind of does unofficially officially mark kind of the start of the end of summer. So, we are trending that way. I think all the area schools now are in session, so they’re kind of in that regular routine again, which again is not a bad thing. So, we are trending. College football is this weekend.
Mike VanZuiden:
There’s some crazy top-notch, top-shelf programs battling each other this week.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I like it.
Mike VanZuiden:
Yeah.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I like it. Go play them.
Mike VanZuiden:
See if your Buckeyes can hook the horns, right?
Nate Kreinbrink:
We’ll find out soon enough. But as we get to this time of the year, it also does kind of transition into a little bit more of what we’re usually talked as far as the fourth Wednesday of each month. And that’s Medicare. Obviously, Medicare, if you’re turning 65, there’s that initial enrollment period at any point in time, but there is a special time at the end of each year that starts October 15th and runs through December 7th. And that’s the open enrollment period where again, if you’re on plans, you can make some changes during that time. But I think it’s important for people to kind of understand what you can actually do during that time, because although you can make some changes and have them go into effect January 1st, it’s not necessarily a blanket where you can change everything during that time period.
Mike VanZuiden:
Correct. So, I thought maybe I’d just run through some of the different scenarios as far as what your current situation is and what you have the opportunity to do then in this October 15th to December 7th time period. So, if you’re just on original Medicare Parts A and B, this is an opportunity for you to join an Advantage plan and you can do Advantage plans. Most of them that we see have built-in drug coverage, some do not. So, you could enroll in either one of those. You could also join a standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. One of the things to consider here is if you don’t have credible coverage, so you’ve been on Medicare for a while and you don’t have credible coverage when you go to enroll in some of these programs, there are penalties that could apply here.
So, it’s important to understand what you can do when and make sure you do it when you should. And if you’re just on original Medicare and you’re happy with the way things are going, then you can leave things as is during this period. And then the current plan that you’re on will just renew January one. Okay. So, if you currently have original Medicare and a standalone drug plan, this is your opportunity. You could leave original Medicare and join an Advantage plan if that’s your desire. You can switch your current Medicare prescription drug plans. And I think we talk about this quite a bit when we’re talking Medicare. This is a good opportunity to just review your drug coverage.
If you’re just in, you have a standalone drug plan, it’s a good time to review what you have. Take a look at the medications that you’re on and the coverage options for the plans for the coming year. And it may or may not be advantageous to make a change to your Part D plan, but this is the time of year to do that. And if you make a change to your drug plan, that would be effective January 1st. But if you’re happy with where you’re at and what the coverage you have and your premiums and your copays and all those sorts of things, then you can make no changes. Once again, you can just toe the line there. So, I think it’s important to, it doesn’t hurt anything to take a look at what you have and maybe there’s some money to be saved there.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Well, and I think too, when you look at it, and I think you hit it on the head there, Mike, as far as looking at your drug plan, and I know, I mean, if you went with a medical, a med sup or a plan and then you added a specific drug plan, again, this past year we saw some changes in a lot of those drug plans. And that is, again, the cap that they put on it. Or again, if you were on one for a couple of years, maybe a prescription that you were on wasn’t covered this year or may or may not have been covered or covered in a different manner. So, again, your lifestyle changes throughout the course of the year. Maybe you went to the doctor mid-year this year and they prescribed you another prescription to take that maybe isn’t covered with your current drug plan.
Mike VanZuiden:
Right.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Well, now is the time now where you can then go through and say, okay, what other drug plans are out there that maybe covers that new prescription and is going to get me to where I was prior to this new one? So, again, like you said, it doesn’t hurt to go through it because when we get the new coverage guidelines for 2026, again, I’m sure there’s going to be some prescriptions that maybe were covered this year but may not be covered next year.
Mike VanZuiden:
Right. Or it may be in a different tier cost.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Or in a different tier, right. So, that’s where, again, it’s always important to look at it. And again, what you have, if you’re on a drug plan and you’re good with it and you don’t want to worry about it, you don’t have to do anything. You will just automatically roll over and you will have that same drug plan, whatever the new coverage are, whatever the new guidelines are for ’26, you’ll still have that. But again, if you want to take a look at it, and it may be where we run everything and be like, nope, with what you have is still the best plan out there for you, well, then it gives you a little bit of a peace of mind knowing that, “Hey, I’ve got the best plan out there for me.”
And I think that carries a lot of weight with all these changes that go into it. And again, life changes and plans change, and we see that more and more with how this system is going, that what is kind of the norm for one year is not necessarily what’s going to be the norm for the next year. Because again, you have companies that raise monthly premiums or raise their coverage limits or what they cover, what they don’t cover. You change prescriptions. There’s a lot of things that constantly evolve, and this is the time period where again, you can go over that and see what’s best for you.
Mike VanZuiden:
So, yeah, take advantage of that opportunity. Just have somebody take a look at it. We’ll be glad to take a look at it with you if that’s something that you’re really interested in doing, but it doesn’t hurt anything to-
Nate Kreinbrink:
To look at it.
Mike VanZuiden:
… make sure we’re in the right place.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Now, when you go from plan to plan like that, Mike too, it’s important to know that, again, it may not necessarily be as easy as just filling out an application and go, depending on how long you were on something or what plan you’re switching from or what type of coverage you’re getting, there may be some additional questions that may be asked for you when you go through that.
Mike VanZuiden:
Absolutely.
Nate Kreinbrink:
So, again, looking at things, understanding what is all out there. And again, you may be to a point where, again, maybe you had creditable coverage through an employer or maybe through a spouse’s employer, but they’re going to be retiring or maybe that plan raised their rates considerably during that time period. It may be time period where again, you may want to look at maybe getting off that plan if you have that option and seeing what else is out there. But again, during this time period, understanding what you have, what it covers.
If you’re on a Advantage plan, the term networks come up quite frequently. So, maybe you got a notice in the mail that maybe your network is changing, and that may or may not be beneficial to you. But if you still stay on that Advantage plan, you have to go by those rules go by those networks. So, maybe this is a time period where you maybe want to look at something and say, “Well, I had this yesterday, but the rules changed for me. So, I want to see if there’s anything else better out there.” And that’s I think kind of what this time period is looking for.
Mike VanZuiden:
This is the time. It’s the time of year where those changes can be made. So, you’ve made decisions in the past, well, it doesn’t suit you quite so well. Now let’s talk about those things. Let’s make the change in that. Once again, the date’s October 15th to December 7th, mark those down. And I’m sure you’re going to see, I’m already seeing it, an increase in the television advertising.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Absolutely.
Mike VanZuiden:
You’re probably going to get your mailbox flooded with it’s that time of year. So, take advantage of the opportunities that exist to review your condition, your situation, and make changes if needed.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And I think it’s important too, like this, all that stuff that you get in the mail, just remember that that is a paid advertisement. So, they’re going to make it sound like all their specific plan is just the best plan that’s out there. And there’s no reason to think of anything else. But a lot of times, if you look at the small print on the bottom of that advertisement, it will strictly tell you that this is a paid advertisement by such-and-such companies. So, again, they are advertising their companies. They’re going to make their plan look the best. But again, that’s not a blanket statement because as we’ve seen over the years, coverage in one county is not the same as differences coverage in another county. And then you cross the old Mississippi River and you change states, and it’s totally different when you go from state to state to state. So, it’s something to keep in mind.
Mike VanZuiden:
Absolutely.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Again, got any questions, give us a holler. We’d be happy to sit down and go over things with you. Before I run time here, I did want to mention that every Friday, NelsonCorp teams are wearing jeans for charity. Money raised in the month of August will be donated to the Midwest Pets for Life program here in Clinton. Again, this is Nate Kreinbrink, Mike Van Zooten, bringing you this week’s Financial Focus. Thanks for tuning in and have a great rest of your week.
Announcer:
Financial Focus is a production of NelsonCorp Wealth Management in Clinton and Davenport. The opinions voiced in the show are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Any indices mentioned are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Registered representatives securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. a broker-dealer, member of FINRA SIPC, investment advisor representative Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc. a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and NelsonCorp Wealth Management are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice. For more information, visit our website at www.nelsoncorp.com.