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 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. 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 VanZuiden here with me. This is the last show of October.
Mike VanZuiden:
It is.
Nate Kreinbrink:
This month is, again, the year has flown by, but this month it seems even two is flying by.
Mike VanZuiden:
It’s really hard to believe how quickly time flies and wait till you get to be my age because it probably goes twice as fast as it does for you younger people. It’s crazy.
Nate Kreinbrink:
It just goes quick. We got Halloween this weekend. I know there’s been a few of the trunk or treats and then some of those going on, but Halloween’s, I think Friday, I believe is when some of them are in town, Saturday, whatever. But definitely feels a little more like fall.
Mike VanZuiden:
It does. It’s getting there. It’s been a really nice stretch here, kind of warm. And yeah, it’s comfortable outside right now, but it sounds like it’s going to get wet and cooler here real quick.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Yes, it is. Yes, it is. The leaves will continue to fall, though they’re changing and in that process now. So it’s kind of neat –
Mike VanZuiden:
For sure.
Nate Kreinbrink:
… to see the different colors pop in different areas and-
Mike VanZuiden:
Well, hopefully-
Nate Kreinbrink:
… Halloween decorations and obviously Thanksgiving and obviously every store has Christmas decorations up, so it’s not that far away.
Mike VanZuiden:
Sounds like things are going to get a little bit wet with some high school football games this weekend for some local teams. So hopefully the field conditions benefit our local friends, our local teams when that happens.
Nate Kreinbrink:
We’ve been fairly fortunate to think that we’re in week 10, what we haven’t had, I guess, on Friday nights. So hopefully, yes, you are right, hopefully it continues for another one and best of luck to those area teams that are out there.
Mike VanZuiden:
Absolutely.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Exciting time. Again, exciting times again as far as where we’re at in the Medicare world. And we are, I wouldn’t say smack dab in the middle, but we are nearing that part where we are in the open enrollment period where every year from October 15th to December 7th, you are able to make changes to some of the coverage, drug plans, that you have to go into effect January 1st of the following year, so of January 1st of ’27.
And we see it a lot of times where companies and coverages and all this, they make their changes for what they’re going to cover in the following year too. So it’s a very important time for many individuals that are on Medicare to, again, take a hard look at what coverage it is that you have and making sure that it’s still the right one for the following year. And one example of that is Advantage plans where we’ve seen a couple of them saying they’re no longer going to be in that space anymore.
Mike VanZuiden:
Right. So if you are covered under one of those Advantage plans that you’ve probably gotten some letters in the mail here the last couple of weeks to spell out that the plan that you’re on won’t be available next year, so that you’re covered right now until the end of 2026, and you need to do something different before the start of the new year. So this is the time to do that.
Instances like that for people that are on Medicare Advantage, if your Advantage plan goes away and that plan is dropped and they drop you, it opens a special enrollment period for you that allows for you to, if you were to choose, go back to original Medicare, which would be a Part D plan and then a Medicare supplement versus the Advantage plan. And it gives you basically guaranteed issue rights. So it gives you the opportunity to go back to original Medicare without having to go through a medical underwriting process, which can be pretty tedious. And it could be a difficult thing once you’re on and want to make a change. If you’re on a supplement plan, normally you’re subject to underwriting. So being dropped from your Advantage plan affords you the opportunity, if you choose, to go back to original Medicare and get covered by a Medicare supplement without answering all the medical questions that are involved otherwise.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And I think that’s huge when you look at how that space has, I guess you would say, evolved over the last five years even as far as the coverage, the networks and all that. And maybe it was a good decision at that point, maybe things have changed or whatever. Maybe you stay on it. Who knows? But again, having that option to have that guaranteed issue again, to not have to go through the underwriting and the medical questions is big. But again, I think there’s some confusion with that too. We’ve got some where they said that a provider that was in network is no longer in network. Plan isn’t dropping. Plan is still going to be there. It’s just their network is shrinking. That’s not necessarily a guaranteed issue at that point because the plan is still there.
Mike VanZuiden:
The plan is just they just don’t have as many doctors in network as what they had in the past, which is another reason why it’s a good time. This is that period where if you’re on a Medicare Advantage plan to just take a look at it and see if it’s still meeting your needs. Is your doctor still covered in network? All those sorts of things. This is that window of opportunity to make that change. So really important to do that, to take a look.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And when we look at that side and now if we flip gears and we look at the other side and if you have a standalone drug plan, this is also a very important time to look at the current drug plan that you have and obviously see if it’s still the right one going forward. Because again, in years past we’ve seen it, but it seems like it’s more prevalent this year where, again, premiums are going up, the monthly premium that you’re paying is going up. The yearly max out of pocket went from 2,100 to 2,400 for covered drugs on your plan.
But then also we’re seeing it where there was maybe some prescriptions that were covered in ’26 that may not be covered in 2027. So again, anything that you would pay if you would stay on that plan, you would have to pay out of pocket. And then again, those do not count to that max out of pocket that you have each year. So again, if you’ve got a list of prescriptions or anything, I would just again caution you to think that things are going to be the same. I would definitely take a look and make sure that you’re on the right plan again for 2027.
Mike VanZuiden:
I think one thing we’ve learned over the last few years with the evolving landscape, the changing landscape of just the whole Medicare Supplement Advantage drug plan world is very rarely from one year to the next does everything stay exactly the same. It’s ever evolving, ever changing and some vigilance to really take a look. We can’t stress enough. It’s important to take a look, make sure what you’re on is still covered. Are you paying too much? The premiums are going up. Is there a plan out there that covers the things that you’re on that might offer a lower premium, all those sorts of things. So those are things that we can certainly help with. And this is that window of time, October 15th to December 7th that you can make that change. And if you don’t, you stay on what you’re on and you’re on it again until this period a year from now.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Well, and too, I think when you look at it, again, if you’ve got a doctor’s appointment coming up yet this year that still falls in that open enrollment period, maybe hold off on doing any changes until after you have that appointment to see if any of your prescriptions do change and then make sure you go with the right one for there. Because again, like you said, if you’re on it and something changes the end of January, well, you’re stuck until the following year when you can make that change to do it. And again, I think when people look at the open enrollment period, and then as you said, it’s not a guaranteed change, you have to answer health questions, you have to do this. But again, the annual open enrollment period is for those individuals that are already on Medicare looking to make changes.
If you’re retiring, you still have your initial or your special election period where you can still do it right after you retire when you turn 65. So again, just because you are going to go into Medicare in a couple months doesn’t mean that you have to do it now. We want to make sure we do it at the correct time when you do it because, again, if you have that lapse of coverage, there’s usually a penalty that applies at some point.
Mike VanZuiden:
Right. And that penalty sticks with you for the rest of your life. It’s not a one time thing. It’s something you pay every month going forward.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Again, as Mike said, there’s a lot of changes all the time and it is overwhelming. And if you wondered why, again, if you’re 65 or older, your mailbox has probably been littered with political ads and Medicare ads. It’s the only time where Medicare companies can technically market and send stuff out to you. So again, you’ll be glad once we hit that deadline that those should ease up the mailman a little bit.
Mike VanZuiden:
Absolutely. And the television commercials. So hopefully here in a week we’ll see less of the political ads and shortly thereafter we won’t see all the Medicare ads. But honestly, lately I don’t feel like I’ve seen as many Medicare ads because the airwaves are just dominated by politics right now. But certainly we want to be a resource. If you have questions related to your Part D plan, your Medicare Advantage or just Medicare in general, we’re a phone call away to lend a hand and help you look at these things if you’re not comfortable doing it on your own. So certainly take advantage of that if we can help in any way.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Because it is, it’s overwhelming. I mean, if you don’t deal with this space on a regular basis, and again, to try to keep track of all the changes, and I say this with taxes, the same thing. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know and being able to utilize a resource that has seen an example like this in the past or who has dealt with it or knows things to look for and maybe some changes that they see that they know may apply to you, it’s definitely worth getting that assistance and that second opinion.
Mike VanZuiden:
Absolutely.
Nate Kreinbrink:
And again, it’s that peace of mind that I’m in the right plan that I should be and I’m not paying for something that I shouldn’t be or I’m paying more for something that I don’t have to be.
Mike VanZuiden:
I could save $30 a month on my premium and have the same coverage. That’s a good thing.
Nate Kreinbrink:
Yes. So again, got questions, give us a call. We’d be happy to go over something with you. Just want to mention real quick before we run out of time that each month NelsonCorp is featuring a new charity of the month. The charity for the month of October is the Clinton Pereira Earthquake Relief Fund. Again, this is Nate and Mike 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 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.