In the Donut Hole…I Need “Extra 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...
Can Medicaid Really Take Mom’s Home??
Toni, Really enjoy your articles in the Examiner. Have a client who just received a bill for her mother's Medicaid payments during the last few years of her life. My client had no idea that Medicaid was running a tab; otherwise she would have had her mother's...
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...
Veterans Late Enrollment in Part B is Very Costly!!
Hello Ms. Toni: I am a Vet and have always received my healthcare from the Michael DeBakey VA center. I turned 65 last April 2011 and did not sign up for Part B in Medicare. Now I have a serious heart condition requiring surgery and I would like to go to a heart...
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...
Doctor’s Advice…Get Traditional Medicare…What’s That?
Good Morning Ms. Toni: Have been reading your column for over a year and now I need some Medicare help. I am retiring and turning 65 in May. I had a triple bi-pass in September of last year. Last week I talked with the office manager at my...
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...
I Use the VA…Should I Enroll In Part B?
Toni: I saw you on Fox 26 and I need some advice. I am a Vet and get my drugs from the VA. I am turning 65 in March 2013 and think it is ridiculous to pay $99.90 for Part B when I get everything for nothing at the VA. I don’t want to have to pay for Part B if I don’t...
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