It's crazy season. We liken it to this visual..... We're located in Michigan so in our neck of the woods, right around October 1 each year, the squirrels just sort of become insane. They cram nuts into their mouths and bolt across the roads seemingly suicidal as we drive by. Anytime you look outside, it seems that there are a dozen in any given area scurrying around. THAT is exactly how …
Covid-19, Coronvirus & the Medicare Transition
Covid, Covid-19, Coronavirus, Social-Distancing, Quarantine, Pandemic….. Who would have known that as we turned the page in January to the land of 2020 that these words could possibly (1) be known to us and (2) part of our “new” daily world. Since March, we’ve added several new words to our everyday vocabulary. Stress, anxiety, furlough, early retirement, bored, depression, Cobra coverage, …
Got Quotes?
If you are approaching the age of 65, you are probably all too familiar with postcards in your mailboxes telling you that if you call this 800 number, you're going to get enrolled into the best Medicare plan for you on the planet! Everything will be free, perks galore will arrive on your doorstep - Just call the 800 number to hear more about it. Or, you'll get a phone call from an agent telling …
Michigan Auto Insurance Changes – Careful
We've been getting a lot of e-mails and phone calls lately regarding Michigan's new auto insurance options due to hit the marketplace on July 1, 2020. Here's a sample question from a Michigan driver trying to understand what the impact could be if he should change coverage levels come July 1. "I was reading about the upcoming change in auto insurance on Mi.gov site, after a local news …
Cobra, Covid & Retirement – Warning
Soooo, yesterday I was lucky enough to hang with a small group of Detroit area insurance brokers and some human resources folks. We were having a Zoom roundtable discussion hosted by Crain's Detroit Business for an August piece. Our topic? Best practices of late with Covid and a "new way of working". As the only "Medicare person", the message I wanted to get across to this group was simple and …
Don’t Be That “Just Because” Person
Cameron and I were talking about one of his consulting calls with a couple and he said "we need a blog about not being that "just because" person". I understood exactly where his brain was going to so I jumped on it. These "Just Because" people are the folks that enrolled into Medicare Part B ----> "just because". If you're going to enroll into Medicare and Part B specifically, we just …
Is Medicare Advantage “GOOD” or “BAD” ?
You see all of the commercials advertising for Medicare Advantage Plans. They talk about free dental built into the plan, your prescription coverage is built in and you get a gym membership on top of that. Your friends might tell you that they LOVE their Medicare Advantage Plan. In our backyard here in Michigan, you may have seen the plans. Priority Health Edge Plan, Key Plan or BCBSM (Blue Cross …
Cobra coverage! Help us out here, world…!
Ok, so "world" is a bit dramatic, but.... In the U.S. --- Absolutely. I'm going to head right to the "helping" part first and then you'll see why. If you are in any of these roles: Human Resources - any role within and at any company anywhere; A financial advisor helping your client through job transitions or with retirement; A person that is over age 65 and considering signing up …
Covid, Retirement and Medicare…
Trying times! Medicare itself comes with a whole package of possible problems and no really great instruction manual. That's why we at Giardini Medicare are essentially the instruction manual! And, along those lines, in a few weeks we'll be able to reveal a helpful new tool that we've created for people making the transition to the Medicare system. Stay tuned there. One call yesterday, went …
Transitioning to Medicare means WHAT, really?
We talk a lot about "transitioning" to the Medicare health insurance system. We once in a while will have someone asks "what does that really mean and what do you really do?" Here's a perfect example for you. I'll tell you about John and Linda, who I spoke with yesterday. Linda is working for a large employer in Michigan and has her health insurance through that employer. She's a few years …