Announcer:
It’s 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 Incorporated, a broker dealer, member FINRA, SIPC, investment advisor representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated. 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. Well, this is Nate Kreinbrink. I have Mike Steigerwald with me today. I was looking at the calendar and I was getting worried because I was like, this is no way that this is the last Wednesday in July.
Mike Steigerwald:
It’s flying by.
Nate Kreinbrink:
We got one more. So it’s not that quick.
Mike Steigerwald:
It’s flying though.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It is flying.
Mike Steigerwald:
Summer goes quick.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It’s definitely flying. You have a lot of those summer seasons, youth sports and all that is pretty much winding up and all that. I think Iowa right now has their state baseball and state softball tournaments going on. So that is winding up. Seven on sevens for the fall sport, like football.
Mike Steigerwald:
Yeah, before you know it’ll be…
Nate Kreinbrink:
School shopping ads.
Mike Steigerwald:
Yeah. Yeah.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It’s flying.
Mike Steigerwald:
I’ve actually seen some Halloween decor and decorations out already. It’s still summertime.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It is still summertime. I know you did have the Major League All-Star game, which kind of summertime, end of summer timeframes with where things are at. Again, cooler temperatures, it does feel a little more… You were joking on the way down here that it felt like tailgating weather coming off of last week when it was 100% a sauna.
Mike Steigerwald:
Yes. 95 and humid. Yeah, that feels like summer. Now, today, very good day.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Very good day today. It looks like weekend, maybe later weekend, supposed to warm up again, but again, enjoy it. We got a little bit of taste of rain. Could probably use a little bit more. Definitely getting that time, fairs, festivals, town things going on, RAGBRAI going on across Iowa. Fun and exciting.
Mike Steigerwald:
Yeah, lots of stuff going on.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Fun and exciting. With all that, I know we were talking as far as different topics and one that comes up. I mean, when you’re heading into summer, into summertime is, again, when we’re looking at Medicare, how does that work when you travel? Whether it’s for work, whether it’s for business, whether it’s vacationing, however that is, how does Medicare work when you travel?
I think it’s a great question because I think people have a lot of misconceptions as far as what they have, does travel, doesn’t travel, in the United States, out of the country, where that works, what part of Medicare falls into it. I think before we get into that a little bit, it’s again, just a quick review as far as the different parts of Medicare. When we say original Medicare, we’re referring to parts A and B.
That’s through the Social Security Administration, that covers your basic doctor visits, hospital visits. Everybody has that. If you’re on Social Security, you likely will get that card automatically sent to you prior to you turning 65. If you are not on Social Security and you are going to be transitioning to Medicare, you will have to go on and file for that yourself.
Then you decide what option you want to go to, whether you go with a Medicare supplement and there’s different plans for those, and then a standalone drug plan. Or you go with a Medicare Advantage plan, which includes the drug plan. So again, different ways to go. Some of them are monthly premiums. Some of them are max out-of-pocket, whether you’re in-network, out of network. Some of them have actual networks. I think that’s the biggest question to answer when you are looking at traveling.
Mike Steigerwald:
Yep. Yep. Perfect point, Nate. I do think that the common theme that we often talk about here is the planning aspect, right? Knowing what you’ve got, asking the questions prior to finding yourself in an unfortunate situation where maybe unexpectedly I need some care, and I am on the other side of the country. So what do I do? Again, figuring out your plan prior to leaving and seeing, yes, if my plan does have networks, okay, where are some facilities that I may be able to go to, to keep my out-of-pocket costs down while I’m traveling to whichever area I’m in.
The other thing would be for prescription coverage. So same thing, whether it is covered through your Medicare Advantage plan or I have my separate Part D plan, knowing what pharmacies are considered in-network. Most of those will travel pretty well. You should be able to find some places that can fill some prescriptions if need be, particularly if you’re going somewhere that you’ll be for a longer stay.
I probably am due for some refills. I’m not going to be able to just take the meds that I currently have, and I’ll need to have a prescription filled elsewhere. Just do the few minutes of homework. Most of the plans do have very, very useful tools online, apps on your phone that you could simply plug in what my city and state I’ll be in. They’ll give you the whole list of in-network pharmacies, walk-in clinics, et cetera, et cetera. Places that I could go if I find myself in a situation where I need care and I’m out of town.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Right. I think too, like as you said, looking at those ahead of time gives you that peace of mind to know it. When you’re making the decision as far as which option to go to as well, like when I mentioned, if you go with a Medicare supplement, there’s normally no networks with that. Anybody that, or any facility or provider that takes Medicare, you can go to with those supplements.
Again, when you’re traveling, when you’re doing that, again, if they take Medicare, you can go to that. When we look at the Medicare Advantage route is when those networks really become prevalent as far as being able to go to one. You usually, with most advantage plans, you have two max out-of-pocket maximums that you have, either in-network or in an out of network. For some of them, depending on which plan you have, there’s a considerable difference between that in-network max out-of-pocket and that out-of-network max out-of-pocket.
So again, it’s a great plan for when you’re living in your area that you live in and that you reside. Again, if you’re traveling for work, for vacation, to visit family, whatever the case may be, that network may not be readily as available, and you may be forced, if you need care, to go over to those out-of-network maxes. Those are sometimes pretty hefty.
Mike Steigerwald:
Yeah. Then just to piggyback on that point, Nate, I would say that when you are doing this background work and looking into your specific plan, that pretty consistently, and that’s how most plans operate. I mean, your care, the out-of-pocket cost for your care, if you go to a walk-in clinic or even an urgent care facility, if you can find one of those, it’s going to probably be less money out of your pocket than going to get emergency care. All plans, whether it’s Advantage or a Medigap plan, will cover emergency care. So that is something to keep in mind.
However, the cost is very different when you look at what will my cost be at a walk-in clinic or urgent care facility versus emergency care. So if you can, again, use the tools that are out there, ask the questions prior to going. Specifically, we have clients that spend several months out of their normal area. So again, they probably have a handle on it, but if you’re starting to do this and maybe you’re new to Medicare, something like that, and just really know what you have is really beneficial, can help keep money in your pocket.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Right. I think too, when we’re referring to these things, summarizing them with travel within the United States. Again, you start traveling abroad or you travel out of the country, those rules are a little bit different than too when it comes to each of those plans. So again, when you’re going to be doing traveling, especially with it’s out of the country, again, make sure you know what is covered underneath your plan, what is not covered underneath your plan.
Again, as Mike alluded to, plan accordingly, and do that research. Again, plan for the worst, hope for the best. Hopefully if you travel, you never have to use it. Again, we all know stuff happens.
Mike Steigerwald:
Exactly, exactly. That’s the idea. So again, popular time of the year to be on the road, spending time in different parts of this country or maybe others. So just being aware is really crucial.
Nate Kreinbrink:
I think too, when Mike mentioned as well on the way down here is, again, we talked about this a lot with Andy when he talks about proposed tax bills and proposed tax laws, changes and all this. There’s a lot of proposed Medicare changes too that are floating around out there as far as capping not just your drug plan, but just total out-of-pocket costs for Medicare.
Mike Steigerwald:
Yes.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Again, how that would impact whether you have a Medigap or a MedSup plan or you have an advantage plan or how those are going to all get intertwined with that cap. Again, as more becomes known, again, if it’s just a proposal, probably won’t spend a lot of time on it until we have a little bit better direction as far as where that will go. Again, just know that each way you go, which option you choose, there’s differences with that.
Mike Steigerwald:
Yep. Yep. Certainly. I will say that with these proposals and just the speed at which news comes out and the amount of outlets and the amount of articles that you can find when you’re doing any research on this, you’ll come across a lot. Really it’s just being able to decipher what really applies to me right now and potentially down the road. So just open eyes, open ears, and we’ll continue to cover what we would consider the most important pieces for our listeners.
Nate Kreinbrink:
All great stuff. If you got questions, give us a call. Be happy to sit down and answer any questions that you may have. Before we run out of time here, I did want to mention that each month, NelsonCorp is featuring a new charity of the month. For the month of July, we are focusing on the Big Brothers Big Sisters Over the Edge for Kids’ Sake Event. Again, this is Nate and Mike bringing you this week’s Financial Focus. Thanks again 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 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 representative, securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated. A broker dealer, member FINRA, SIPC, investment advisor representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated, 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.