Medicare Supplement / Medicare Advantage Which Option is Right for Me?
Dear Toni: Can you please explain to me which Medicare option is better? Medicare with Medicare Supplement plus a (Part D) Drug coverage or Medicare Advantage Plan I am having difficulty in comparing the two options on an apple to apple basis. Thanks, Dale… Sugar...
Local Teacher Confused about Changes to TRS Medicare Plans
Toni: My wife is a retired teacher and we are both on her TRS-Care Plan. I also have retirement benefits from Dow Chemical where I worked for 30+ years. I have just found out that I’ve lost my Dow retiree health benefits because TRS enrolled us in the...
Retiring at 68 from Company Benefits…
Hello Toni: I turned 65 in March 2009, I continued to work full time with excellent company benefits, and I decided to delay Part B until December 1, 2012 when I have retired. I enrolled in a Medicare supplement plan F and a Part D prescription drug plan and now...
Medicare Myths
Toni….I have been following your “Toni Says” facebook page and last week you had a chart discussing different myths of Medicare. It seems I am just as confused as those taking the survey. Can you explain the myths on the survey? Thanks, Fred from Sugar Land, TX...
Fiscal Cliff Deal Avoids Cuts in Medicare Payments to Doctors…but Hurts Hospital!!
Good News for those on Medicare…but bad news for hospitals: New Years Day Congress averted the dreaded “fiscal cliff” by stopping a 26.5% payment cut to doctors billing Medicare…but hospitals now having to bear a major part of financing for the “doc fix”, are not...
15% Medicare Supplement Rate Increase is Outrageous!!!
Dear Toni: I recently received the renewal for my Medicare Supplement and the rate increase is not in my budget. It is over 15% and every year it seems to go up, but not as much as this year. I’m a 70 year old female with high blood pressure and type 2...
Need Help Getting Long Term Care at Home For Elderly Parents
Dear Toni: I desperately need your help regarding my husband’s parents who are in their late 80s. My mother-in-law has been very sick for the past 3 years and my father-in-law has been her caretaker. I’ve always heard that the one, who becomes the caretaker, also...
In the Donut Hole…I Need Help!!!
Toni, Please give me some advice because I am having some financial problems. I am concerned that I will get into the Donut Hole. I only receive about $1,050.00 income from my social security check. The Medicare Part B premium has reduced my SS check by...
NEW TO MEDICARE!! WHAT IS MY BEST OPTION?
Dear Toni, I will be turning 65 on January 23,2013and absolutely don't know anything about Medicare, how to apply, when to apply where to apply? How to select to what and when?? Which program is good and which one is not? I do have some health problems and am...
Can I Lose Medicaid by Receiving Social Security Disabiltity?
Toni: I have a question regarding Medicare versus Medicaid. It is a question that I have not been able to get an answer to from any resource. I am 58 years old and in April of 2010, I was diagnosed with stage IIIA metastatic breast cancer. I...
Retired Teachers Concerned About TRS Medicare Changes!!
Toni: I suspect you have had a number of questions regarding what is the best course for a Texas retired teacher (with expensive medical costs) and spouse to select between two alternatives; a new PPO Medicare Advantage plan or keeping the old plan at a slight...
$0 Co-Pay Generics…Look Out Donut Hole!!
Toni: This year, my mother got into the “donut hole” in September. It has financially devastated her and she almost stopped taking her prescriptions. She can afford her co pays of $80.00 per month, but it shows on her statement that the true...
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