MEDICARE CORNER
DON’T WAIT
2018
August ¢COURIER BY BUD BANK
Association of Investment Clubs. Member clubs
are currently active in most states of the U.S. Its
Photo courtesy of Bud Bank
purpose is to teach members to be more knowledgeable
The investment club had a special brunch meeting
and successful investors. The club may
TOWERS at Buffy’s restaurant at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July
be best described as a social group with a serious
15. Our main speaker was Elyse Wels, Financial
interest—it’s investment portfolio!
Advisor, and Judy Lev, Vice President of the Lev
Each member owns an equal share of this portfolio
Group at Morgan Stanley. Their discussion covered
and an equal say on the purchase or sale of
SHORE such interesting topics as “First Half Year
its stock.
Performance,” tarrifs, interest rates, politics and
Our August meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. in the
the outlook for the balance of 2018.” The food was
Coleridge Lounge on Tuesday, August 14. Residents
NORTH good the speakers were good and the company
who wish to see how the Towers Investment Club
(Standing, l. to r.) Club Treasurer Mort
was very good.
operates, please call Membership Chairman Bud
Ofsie, Membership Chairman Bud Bank,
Co-President Herb Cooper, Morgan
The club has been in continuous operation for
Bank to make a reservation to sit in on our next
Stanley Financial Advisor Elyse Wels and
20 the last 25 years and is a member of the National
meeting. Bud can be reached at 347-502-7365.
Co-President Marianne Levenstein Note:
If you receive Health Care
Coverage through the following
Agencies do not make any changes
before contacting them:
• Department of Defense
TRICARE
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Federal Employee Health
Benefits Program (FEHB)
• Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)
• New York City Office of Labor
Relations
• SUNY
• Employee Retiree Health
Coverage
General Open Enrollment begins
October 2018. You may be able to
make changes in how you receive
Medicare Health Coverage and
Prescription Drug Coverage during
October–December 2018.
There are options for types of
coverage.
• Original Medicare
• Medicare Advantage Plan
ORIGINAL MEDICARE
Original Medicare is Federally
Managed Health Care Coverage.
Parts A and B are covered by
Original Medicare.
Your out of pocket costs
depends on:
• After meeting your deductible
for Part A and/or Part B,
Medicare will pay its share of
what Medicare approves
• Monthly Premium for Part B
• If you are eligible for Premium
Free Part A
• Your Doctor accepts Medicare
assignment
• Whether you have a Medigap
(Supplemental) Insurance policy
• Most Beneficiaries add a
Prescription Drug Plan
Every three months you will
receive a Medicare Summary
Notice. This notice details what
Medicare has paid and what you
owe your provider. Remember the
MSN is not a bill.
MEDICARE
ADVANTAGE PLANS
Sometimes referred to as Part C.
Medicare Advantage Plans include
HMO and PPO. These Plans are
approved by Medicare but managed
by Private Companies. In most
cases, you receive your health care
through network providers.
Medicare Advantage Plans are
required to cover all Medicare
Part A and B services. They may
offer other services such as vision
services, dental services and “silver
sneakers.”
Most Medicare Advantage
Plans include Prescription Drug
Coverage. You must use your
Medicare Advantage Plan card
when receiving medical care.
Each Medicare Advantage Plan
has different rules you must follow
for receiving services. Your out-ofpocket
responsibility depends on
your Medicare Advantage Plan. In
some cases, you will pay a monthly
premium in addition to your
Medicare Part B monthly premium.
Each month between now and
October 2018, additional information
about Original Medicare
and Medicare Advantage Plans
will be included in the Medicare
Corner. You will be provided with
a list of New York State and Florida
Medicare approved Medigap
(Supplemental) Policy and Plans.
Remember: If you are satisfied
with how you are receiving your
health care coverage, you do not
need to make any changes.
The time is now to consider if
your current Medicare Coverage is
working for you
North Shore Towers Investment Club