Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Open Season

Tis' the season...to apply for Medicare's prescription drug plan. Open season began November 15 and continues through December 31. During open season, new Medicare beneficiaries can join a prescription drug plan, while current beneficiaries should take this time to review the plan they're enrolled in. This is also a prime time to find out if you're eligible for Extra Help. Extra Help is available for beneficiaries with a limited income and provides those who are eligible with financial assistance for monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments. You can apply for Extra Help if:

1)You have Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and/or Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance); and

2)You live in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; and

3) Your combined savings, investments, and real estate are not worth more than $23,970, if you are married and living with your spouse, or $11,990 if you are not currently married or not living with your spouse. (DO NOT include the home you live in, vehicles, personal possessions, burial plots or irrevocable burial contracts.) If you have more than those amounts, you may not qualify for the extra help. However, you can still enroll in an approved Medicare prescription drug plan for coverage.

For more information on Medicare prescription drug coverage, including applications for Medicare and Extra Help, visit the Social Security website.

Laid Off: How to Stay Insured

The holiday season is upon us. With Thanksgiving around the corner and the winter holidays just weeks away, many American workers are receiving an unexpected (and unwanted) gift from their employers: pink slips. According to the Wall Street Journal, 1.2 million workers have been laid off this year. Lay-offs are occurring across the board and impacting a wide range of industries. Tinseltown legends Harvey and Bob Weinstein laid off 11% of their employees at Weinstein Co. on Friday, while publishing powerhouse Conde Nast has begun cutting their staffs by 5%, a move that bloggers have begun referring to as "Empty Nast syndrome." The unstable economy is causing stress for many workers, who wonder if their jobs may be the next to go. "I put all this time and effort into my education," says New York based graphic designer Ashley Jones. "Now I'm hoping it wasn't all in vain." But as major magazines fold daily, Jones says "I'm feeling uncertain about my future and I just hope I can support myself."

Every Thanksgiving, at tables across America, families lift their glasses and wish for good health for themselves and their loved ones. But how do you take care of your health if losing your job also means losing your health insurance? For the newly-unemployed, the animal of the season may no longer be the turkey: it may be time to embrace the COBRA. COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, a law that provides continued group healthcare coverage for uninsured former employees. COBRA allows you to keep the insurance plan you used at your former place of employment for an additional cost, though this cost is usually less than the cost of opening an individual insurance policy. On the other hand, there are affordable individual insurance policies as well as government programs for those who qualify. Explore your options and make sure you and your loved ones remain insured during this holiday season.

• "Newly Out of a Job? Here's how to replace the health benefits" by Anna Wilde Mathews at the Wall Street Journal: Mathews offers information and tips on using COBRA coverage, finding an individual insurance plan, and qualifying for government coverage.
  
• The Healthier and WISER series: The "Healthier and Wiser" series addressed some of the main health care coverage issues women encounter at different stages of their lives. It offers a variety of resources and information on how to stay insured.
  
• FAQs About COBRA: This FAQ from the U.S. Department of Labor offers extensive information on COBRA coverage.

For Love, Money, or Health Benefits?

“They marry for better or worse, for richer or poorer, for co-pays and deductibles.”

Most of us have heard the age-old warning “Don’t marry for money” at least once in our lives, but how many of us are familiar with the phrase “Don’t marry for health benefits?” An article in the New York Times called Health Benefits Inspire Rush to Marry, or Divorce suggests that as the cost of health care rises and many individuals find themselves without adequate insurance, couples are making marital decisions based on their health care situations. One couple married shortly after meeting so that one partner could have health coverage; another couple seriously contemplated ending their marriage in order to qualify as low-income and receive health care subsidies from the state. One woman admitted to staying in an unhappy marriage because she was unable to afford health insurance, and by staying married to her husband could ensure she was adequately covered.

When we think of marriage, we tend to think of love, security, children, and let’s be honest, fifty years of telling him to pick up his dirty socks and hand over the remote. So when did marriage become linked with health benefits, and will co-pays and deductibles one day be slipped into our marriage vows? Before you take that walk down the aisle, know that there are other options out there for women without health coverage. As a starting point, check out Healthier and Wiser: Women Without Coverage Part I and Healthier and Wiser: Women Without Coverage Part II, the first two posts of a WISER blog series that addresses some of the main health care issues women encounter.