The red monster

It is funny to see how the actions of the outside world can trigger a ripple effect reaction in our psych. Just the other day I received a call and the individual calling got under my skin. Since I was observing myself at that moment I had this visual of myself. It was a red, giant head ready to attack on the prey. Just at that moment I realized that it had nothing to do with what the caller said. It was me, the ill tempered twin in me that could not handle the lesson. It is hard to divide ones attention for the mind can be so tricky. I feel defeated at times, because out of the hours that I am at the school of life I catch myself once or twice if that.

Medicare 123...continued

Please note that in the previous post i gave the Enrollment Calendar. This calendar is used by agents to aid in the sales field. An individual can signed up for a medicare advantage plan in different ways. One can call medicare and have the representative do the application over the phone, online by going to medicare site, walk into an agency that sales this type of plans, or simply by calling the company of choice. I can not tell you if one is better than other, i have never had the need to do that. I have heard from others and my conclusion is that one has to do research and enlight oneself before doing a thing. Now let me tell you about election periods. When an individual becomes eligible for medicare at age 65, they are called "age-ins". At this point one is eligible to enroll into a prescription drug plan, also known as, PDP or a Medicare Advantage Plan. One can choose to stay with traditional medicare and enroll into a PDP or pick a MAPD(this plans have medical/drug coverage build in). Also, some individuals may become eligible due to a qualifying disability. If you choose not to join, that is fine, you don't have to. Be aware though, that part D is a must, unless you can do without meds for the rest of your life. The reason behind the "must" is called "Late Enrollment Penalty" or LEP. If one does not join by the eligibility date, a penalty is imposed to the individual by medicare for the rest of your life. The penalty is a percentage dictated by medicare, so is different for each individual. With more seniors staying in the workforce past their 65th Bday the election period is prolonged and becomes delayed part B. For now let me stay with "age-ins" or newly eligible. To have an individual or MAPD plan one has to have medicare part A/B in place. In other words do your homework early. Apply at the local Social Security Administration Office in advance. Individuals have a 7 month election period or window. It starts 3 months before the month of your Bday, do not count that month, and it ends 3 months after. If you are enrolling into MA-only plan the code will be ICEP(Initial Coverage Election Period). If you are enrolling into an MAPD/PDP plan the code is IEP(Initial Election Period). Also, People who are in their 25th month of disability become eligible for part A/B and are qualified as newly eligible. For Prescription Drug Plans one only needs to have part A or B to be eligible. One does not have to provide proof of entitlement, the plan is required to verify with Medicare. It is safe to do the homework though, to avoid headaches. So there you have it "Aging in" can be fun...more fun coming your way, stay tune.

Medicare 123

Growing old can have it's plus and minus. Many like me think retirement, for others is time to enjoy the grand kids or maybe traveling. However, in the United States individulas who become of age have medicare benefits to worry about. Up until i started working in the health care field i had the faintest idea of when, who, how, and all those questions you might have in mind. I was sure that when the day came, i would be allright....was i wrong. On a daily basis i speak to at least 50 or more seniors from all over the continental USA. Also, i assist license agents who sell health care plans to people, i am not a license agent. My job is to receive calls from agents that want to know about status of applications they have submitted, commissions issues, prospects that call to provide information missed/needed, or simply because they were transferred by customer service to the wrong number/department. My function is pre-enrollment and as such, the first 90 days i can assist with anything that might be needed by the member/agent in order to succesfully stay in the plan. I think this post is going to require more than one part to it, so let me start with:
Enrollment Calendar for Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans(MAPD)
Initial Receipt Date Effective
December 31 January 1
January 31 February 1
February 28 March 1
March 31 April 1

Mi Tarea

Es difícil el dividir la atencion a mas de dos pensamientos. Me propuse a vigilar cada pensamiento que mi mente arroja y encontrar la raíz de dicho pensamiento. Sentada anoche escuche en un programa de TV, lo siguiente: “ Dios envió a su hijo Jesús, y el murió por nuestros pecados......así que todo lo hecho por ti (pecados) han sido borrados”. Un joven estaba tratando de suicidarse por ser la única salida que tenia, ya que la policía lo esperaba afuera. En ese instante pensé, el maestro Jesús no cargaba en si, los siete pecados capitales mas la legión que nosotros cargamos. Cuando nos encontramos en apuros es la única vez que nos acordamos de el. Nunca pensamos en abandonar nuestras malas costumbres. Nacemos, crecemos, nos multiplicamos y morimos siendo igual de chismosos, glotones, mentirosos y un sin fin de cosas que solo nosotros mismos sabemos. Como quiera que sea, esta batalla es muy difícil y los días se van frente a mi como arena en las manos. Tratare de estar vigilante hoy y no permitir que mi mente me dirija.