What Is Medicare?
Medicare is health insurance for:
-
People age 65 or older
-
People under 65 with certain disabilities
-
People of any age with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
What you have to keep in mind, is that Medicare alone will not cover all your medical bills. This is the reason why most people who don’t have healthcare provided through an employer, will elect to choose some sort of supplement coverage in addition to Medicare.
Optional Prescription Drug Coverage
PART D
Optional Prescription Drug Coverage
A prescription drug option managed by private insurance companies under contract with Medicare to help cover the cost of prescription drugs. It may help lower your prescription drug costs and help protect against higher costs in the future.
Medicare Supplement Insurance
Works with Original Medicare Parts A and B
• Medicare Part A Coinsurance
• Medicare Part B Coinsurance
• Deductible Coverage Available
A Medicare supplement insurance policy, also known as a Medigap policy, helps pay your share (coinsurance, co-payments or deductibles) of the costs of Medicare-covered services. Some Medicare supplement policies cover certain costs not covered by Original Medicare Parts A and B.
Medicare Supplement insurance companies can sell you a standardized Medicare supplement policy identified by letters A through N. Each standardized Medicare supplement insurance policy must offer the same basic benefits, no matter which insurance company sells it. Cost and customer service are usually the only difference between Medicare supplement policies sold by different insurance companies.
Individual Health
Whether you are healthy or chronically ill, health insurance can provide the financial protection you need for both routine and unexpected healthcare needs. SMG Health is here to help you tailor plans that meet you and your family’s needs without breaking the bank.
We eliminate the guessing
SMG Health understands that health care can be very confusing. Our trained staff can help guide and educate you through this difficult decision. Whether it’s helping you on or off the marketplace you can have confidence that our licensed and train staff will be competent to explain policy benefits and design a health plan that fits your budget.
Open Enrollment
You can only sign up for individual health insurance during the Annual Open Enrollment period unless you qualify for a special enrollment period. The Annual Open Enrollment period for 2020 will be November 1st 2019 through December 15th 2019 and the coverage will start January 1st 2020.
Special Enrollment Period
1. A qualified individual or dependent loses minimum essential coverage.
2. A qualified individual gains a dependent or becomes a dependent through marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption.
3. An individual, who was not previously a citizen, national, or lawfully present individual gains such status.
4. A qualified individual’s enrollment or non-enrollment in a QHP is unintentional, inadvertent, or erroneous and is the result of the error, misrepresentation, or inaction of the Exchange or HHS.
5. An enrollee adequately demonstrates to the Exchange that the QHP in which he or she is enrolled substantially violated a material provision of its contract in relation to the enrollee.
6. An individual is determined newly eligible or newly ineligible for advance payments of the premium tax credit or has a change in eligibility for cost-sharing reductions, regardless of whether such individual is already enrolled in a QHP. (The Exchange must permit individuals whose existing coverage through an eligible employer-sponsored plan will no longer be affordable or provide minimum value for his or her employer’s upcoming plan year to access this special enrollment period prior to the end of his or her coverage through such eligible employer-sponsored plan).
7. A qualified individual or enrollee gains access to new QHPs as a result of a permanent move.
8. A qualified individual or enrollee demonstrates to the Exchange that the individual meets other exceptional circumstances (as defined by the Exchange).
Short Term Medical
We understand that sometimes you may need health insurance for a short period of time, to bridge a gap while you are in transition. Short term medical can do just that for you if you are in between jobs, waiting for other coverage to begin, waiting to be eligible for Medicare coverage or you’re without health coverage outside the open enrollment.
A Few of Our Partners
- To protect their life savings. Long-term care costs can deplete a retirement nest egg quickly. The average cost of care is $80,000 a year.
- To give more choices for care. The more money you can spend, the better the quality of care you can get. If you rely on Medicaid, your choices will be limited to the nursing homes that accept payments from the government program. Medicaid will also make you spend most of your assets with a few exceptions.
- To lessen the burden: Long-term care is not about the person who needs it, it’s about the family members that have to deal with it. Most spouses or children are not prepared to provide long term care service to their loved ones. This type of care causes not only health issues for the people providing care but it could also mean a spouse or a child may have to give up their career.
Disability
What is disability insurance?
Your ability to earn a living and contribute to your household is likely your most valuable asset. Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income—or helps cover the cost of household services for stay-at-home-parents—should illness or injury prevent you from doing your job. We can help protect your income, and your family, with disability insurance. Let us help you find the right coverage.
Why do I need it?
A disability policy can help supplement your employer’s plan.
By owning a disability policy, you can close the gap between what’s covered by your employer’s group policy and what you need to maintain your lifestyle. Even if you have group disability insurance through work, most group plans:
- Only cover a portion of your income (typically 50-65%)
- Deliver benefits often subject to income tax
- End when you leave the company
- Offer coverage for 6-24 months.
“Your ability to earn an income is one of your largest assets, so why not protect it the same way you’d protect your car or home?”
Take the next step and get a quote
Dental, Vision & Hearing
Many people turning 65 ask us about Medicare dental and vision as well as Medicare hearing aid coverage. Unfortunately, Medicare itself does not cover routine dental, vision or hearing exams. It also does not cover copays related to the health of your eyes, ears and smile. So it’s not surprising that we get lots of callers asking about the best vision, hearing, and dental insurance for seniors.
Don’t be left out of life because you are having trouble
hearing or seeing.
**Medicare doesn’t cover hearing aids or exams to get fitted for them. You’ll pay 100% of the cost if you have Original Medicare, Part A and Part B.
Hospital Indemnity
Hospital Indemnity insurance, also called Hospitalization insurance or Hospital insurance, is a plan that pays you benefits when you are confined to a hospital. This can be a planned or unplanned reason, or for other medical services, depending on the policy.
Why Hospital Insurance?
Hospital stays can strain even the healthiest of budgets. And in many cases, you can’t ignore the care you need even if it’s going to push you financially. Hospital Indemnity insurance plans provide payment for each day spent in the hospital, and many times for some other qualified expenses as well. That’s money you can use as you choose, whether for hospital bills or those other costs that come up while you’re recovering.
What’s the point of Life Insurance?
Life insurance helps you plan ahead and provide long-term financial security for your family when they would need it most. You can’t put a dollar amount on your loved ones, but a life insurance policy can help ensure their future is protected. We will help you to determine how much coverage you need and how long it’s needed. Then provide an affordable life insurance policy that is the perfect fit for you and your family.
Why do I need life insurance if I’m older?
Some older adults over 60, 70 or even 80 years of age, are looking for a coverage amount, enough to cover final expenses such as burial costs or to pay off bills. This is typically known as senior life insurance, burial insurance or final expense insurance. These senior life insurance policies offer a guaranteed way to help protect their legacy. The benefits can help your loved ones pay for medical bills and final expenses. This can alleviate stress on your family by helping to enable them to resolve your outstanding financial matters in your absence.
Get the coverage you need
If you have loved ones that depend on you, you need life insurance, no matter what age you are. From choosing between whole and term life insurance to picking the right policy, we’re here to help you every step of the way.