SafeMoney 6-15-24

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Go ahead Saturday morning to ald onthis mid June weekend. Dick Childe here,
and this is Safe Money. Weare here every Saturday to share with
you our listeners those strategies we usewith our clients to manage and protect assets,
and to manage and protect those assetssafely in today's very unsafe world.

(00:25):
First thing up and running this morning, I want to remind you of our
virtual community meetings that are coming uphere next week. On Tuesday, June
eighteenth, we discuss the basics ofMedicare and then discuss the Medicare supplement plans
that are available. As you mayrecall, there are ten standardized Medicare supplement

(00:50):
plans available. We discuss this choicefor Medicare, and then two days later,
on Thursday, June twentieth, weagain discuss the basics of Medicare and
then focus on the alternative original Medicare, and that alternative is the Medicare Advantage

(01:15):
plans. That's Medicare Part C andin particular, what we feel is the
more competitive of the Medicare advantage plansin these Medicare regions, and that plan
is the AAORP Medicare Complete Plan providedby United Healthcare I am sure you'll find
the next week's community meetings worthwhile andhelpful in finding out details on the choices

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we have when we become eligible forMedicare to review. When we become eligible
for Medicare at age sixty five,we can choose original Medicare or Medicare Advantage
Plan and to further review. Ifwe choose original Medicare, then we choose

(02:06):
one of ten standardized Medicare supplements andone of eighteen prescription drug plans. This
is what we discussed that our Juneeighteenth meeting. That's what we call the
three card system. You have yourMedicare card, you have your Medicare Supplement
card, and you have your prescriptiondrug card. That's our topic for Tuesday,

(02:32):
June eighteenth, and two days later, on Thursday, June twentieth,
we again review the basics of Medicareand then discuss the alternative to original Medicare,
and that alternative is actually Medicare PartC the advantage plan. In particular,

(02:53):
what we believe is the more competitiveof the Medicare advantage plans, and
that plan is the AARP Medicare CompletePlan offered by United Healthcare. I remember
AARP is not an insurance company.RP merely sells their logo to United Healthcare,

(03:15):
and the issuing insurance company is UnitedHealthcare. There are countless articles and
opinions on these choices for Medicare.Which choice is best for you? Well?
In doing some resource this week,I find some interesting articles and I
would like to share with you oneof those articles, and that article was

(03:39):
that Medicare Advantage members spend over twofive hundred dollars less than traditional Medicare enrollees
annually. The Medicare Advantage enroly spendmore than twenty five dollars less on healthcare

(04:02):
costs than the average traditional Medicare inrollees. Now, that's according to an
independent analysis by the ATIATI Advisory.The analysis was commissioned by the Better Medicare
Alliance and published June tenth. Itused data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey

(04:28):
and Costs Supplement files from twenty nineteento twenty twenty one. Six takeaways from
this study. The first is thatMedicare Advantage enrollees spend two five hundred and
forty one dollars less on healthcare.Second, from twenty twenty to twenty twenty

(04:53):
one, the average total healthcare spentfor Medicare advantage and fully insured Medicare beneficiaries
rows twenty four percent and fifteen percentaverage total healthcare spent with Medicare and advantage
plans. Third among Black Latino WhiteMedicare Advantage and fully insured in rollees.

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White in rollees had the highest totalspending, while Latinos had the lowest total
spending. Fourth. In twenty twentyone, Medicare Advantage in rollees were fifty
eight percent more likely to report anincome under twenty percent excuse me under two

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hundred percent of the federal poverty level, compared to one third of the fully
insured Medicare in rolleys. Fifth amongMedicare beneficiaries who reported incomes less than two
hundred percent of the federal poverty level, less than one third of the Medicare

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advantage in rollies experienced a cost burdenfrom health care expenses in twenty one,
compared to half of Medicare fully insuredin rolleyes. Six among Medicare beneficiaries were
zero to two chronic conditions. Fullyinsured in rollies spent an average of almost

(06:28):
fourteen hundred dollars more on healthcare expenses. Annually than Medicare advantage in rollees.
Among members with three or more chronicconditions, fully insured Medicare and rollies spent
over thirty one hundred dollars more onhealthcare expenses than the Medicare advantage in rollees

(06:51):
annually. Now, having said that, let me remind you who I am
and what I do. I aman independent insurance agent. As an independent
insurance agent, I am appointed tosell insurance from multiple companies. I have

(07:11):
a brochure on our agency. Ifyou'd like to have a copy of that
brochure, call me. Call mein five sixty three three three two twenty
two hundred, or email me bygoing to our website www. Dickshillig dot
com and when that site when thatsite opens, then scroll over to the

(07:33):
contact icon and drop down the thaticon for my email address. It appears
from this recent study that Medicare personsthat have an advantage plan have more coverage
than Medicare persons with original Medicare,with the Medicare supplem and the prescription drug

(07:58):
plan. Remember this is what Icall a three card system. When you
have original Medicare, you have yourMedicare card issued by the Federal government,
and then you have a Medicare supplementcard issued by a private insurance company,
and then the third card for prescriptionsissued by a private insurance company. So

(08:20):
that's what I call a three cardsystem. Now, the alternative to the
three card system is the one cardsystem. That's the advantage plan, that's
Medicare Part C. You have onecard. That card is issued by the
company that issues the advantage plan,and that one card then covers Medicare Parts

(08:46):
A and Part B in the supplementsas well as a prescription drug card.
And so that's called the one cardsystem. Medicare Part C our Virtual or
virtual Community meetings are scheduled for nextweek on Tuesday, June eighteenth and Thursday,
June twentieth. We cover both ofthese choices for Medicare. On Tuesday

(09:11):
June eighteenth, Greg talks about thebasics of Medicare and then focuses on the
Medicare supplement plans. Remember, thereare ten standardized Medicare supplements. We get
to enroll in one of these supplements. By standardized, we mean that plan
coverage is identical from one insurance companyto another insurance company. The benefits are

(09:39):
the same. What differs is themonthly premium, the price of these supplements,
and the acceptance of these plans fromone insurance company to another. So,
if you have a Medicare Supplement PlanG, and that Plan G is
the most comprehensive on the Medicare speup plan, the benefits of Plan G

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will be the same regardless of yourchoice of companies. So if your Medicare's
upment Plan G from one insurance company, comparing the benefits under that Medicare Supplement
Plan G with other insurance companies,the benefits are in the same. And
that's true with all the other Medicaresupplement plans. If you have a Plan

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C, then Medicare Supplement Plan Cwith one insurance company, the benefits are
sent. The benefits are identical withanother insurance company. What differs is the
cost the premium from that insurance companyto another insurance company. And what differences

(10:48):
to is the acceptance of that insurancecompany by doctors, by labs, and
by hospitals. As you know,the alternative to the three cards system is
the advantage plan that's Medicare Part Cand Medicare Parts C is the one card
system. It incorporates the hospital coveragewith a medical doctor office and lab procedures,

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and prescription drug coverage into one card. That is the three card system.
Now the one card system is theadvantage plan that incorporates the benefits under
Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B, the Medicare supplements, and the prescription

(11:39):
drug plan. And that's all coveredwith one card. That's the one card
system. Our virtual community meetings willemphasize these two alternatives. And remember these
meetings are virtual, so they're doneon the radio. From our office conducts

(12:01):
these meetings and he does a veryvery good job at that. So if
you'd like to participate in one ormore of these meetings. So, if
you are aging into Medicare, Iknow you're receiving tons of solicitation requests from
insurance companies, from prescription drug companies. So how do you make sense of

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all of it? Boy, youmake sense of all that of the choices
that you have by contacting are bycontacting us, or by participating in these
meetings. Next week again, themeetings are Tuesday, June eighteenth and Thursday
June twentieth, ten o'clock in themorning. You can participate in these meetings

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from the privacy of your own home. To get tuned into these meetings,
call Craig from our office at fivesix three three three two twenty two hundred
and you'll receive directions on how toparticipate in these meetings. Remember the three

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card system. You have a Medicarecard with Part A and B issued by
the federal government. Then you havea supplement, a Medicare supplement card issued
by a private insurance company. Andthen you have a third card for prescription
drugs that's Medicare Part D and thatis issued by an insurance company. So

(13:31):
original Medicare consists of the three cardsystem. Now the one card system is
Medicare Part C. That's the MedicareAdvantage plans, and the Medicare Advantage Plan
is is issued by a private insurancecompany. So that's the if you like

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to participate in these meetings, Iam sure that at our prior meetings,
I've all told us the same thing. They all say at the conclusion of
the meetings, they say, nowI understand, I understand the choices I
have for Medicare, and those choicesare either with the original Medicare, so

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we called a three card system orthe one card system, which is the
Medicare Advantage Plan. So again,our meetings are this month. There are
on Tuesday and Thursday June eighteenth,and then Thursday, June twentieth, or
at ten o'clock in the morning.You can only participate in these meetings from

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your radio, So call Craig atfive sixty three three three two twenty two
hundred and they'll give you instructions onhow to participate in these meetings. Boy,
we've had attendees at our virtual communitymeetings that tell us afterwards. They
all say the same thing. Theysay that now I understand, Now I

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understand the choices I have with Medicare. So if you like to participate in
those meetings, call us next weekand we'll be happy to give Craig will
be happy to give you instructions onhow to participate in these meetings. You
know, we used to do thesemeetings in person. We'd have a meeting
room somewhere in the quad seats atsome hotel or some meeting room, and

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the public will come in and wewould have these meetings in person. But
since the COVID, the COVID epidemic, we started doing these meetings virtually and
we found that participation in these meetingsvirtually are actually better than those in person
meetings, so we continue to conductthe virtual community meetings. So if you

(15:56):
need instructions on how to participate inthese meetings virtually, then give Craig a
call, call him at five sixtythree three three two twenty two hundred,
and he'll give you instructions on howto participate in these meetings. And I'm
sure you, like everyone else,will find these meetings to be very very

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successful and very very informative, providingyou with the choice that you have for
Medicare. And my gosh, thechoices are we have. You know,
if you are on original Medicare,you have Original Medicare, you have a
card issued by the federal government.And then if you have a supplement.

(16:42):
There are multiple Medicare supplement companies inthis area. And I think the benefits
under the Medicare supplement plans are identicalfrom one insurance company to another insurance company.
But like I said earlier, thebenefits are identical. What differs is

(17:04):
the premium and what difference is theacceptance of the insurance by the providers.
So you want to be sure you'reup on that I want to make sure
that you're aware of that the MedicarePart D there are, my guess,
there are eighteen different prescription drug plansthat are available in these Medicare regions.

(17:30):
Now, if you use the website, if you want to go to www.
Healthcare dot gov, or a betterwebsite is using the Medicare website.
Go to www. Medicare dot govand then they will give you a series
of articles that you can follow thatwill give you information on the Medicare supplement

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plans and on the prescription drug plans. One place on that website, you
can access that and receive a outlineof the various prescriptions that you're on.
If you're on four or five differentmedications, you can input that medication,

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the dosage, and the frequency forall the medications that you're under, and
then that website will give you arecommendation on which is the most cost effective
plan for you. Very very helpful. When clients come in to see us
and ask us which Medicare plan theyshould participate in, we always go to

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that website to determine which is thebest prescription plan that's available for these for
these people. So keep that inmind if you are becoming eligible for Medicare
sometime yet in twenty twenty four.I know you are just being inundated with

(19:00):
for solicitations, with requests to enrollin this plan and role in in this
plan. How do you make senseof all that? Or you make sense
of all that by participating in thesemeetings that we have next week. I'm
sure you'll find these needs to bevery very helpful and helping you decide which

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plan is best for you. Socall us call us at five sixty three
three three two twenty two hundred ifyou'd like to participate in these meetings next
week, and we'll give you instructionson how to participate. Remember, you
participate in the privacy of your ownhome, and you use your own radio

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or your own computer equipment, andI think you'll find these meetings to be
very very helpful. Then to followup from that, you can come into
our office and we'll sit down withyou and we'll review the basics of Medicare
and the choices you have with thechoice of this three card system or the

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choice of this one card system.So keep that in mind. Recently,
we are approaching rapidly approaching the endof the second quoter. Now with the
end of the of the month ofJune, and as I always remind you
that we prepare these barograph choice bargraph charts on the history of the various

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indexes. We follow the dowd JoesIndustrial Index, We follow the Nasdaq Index,
We followed the Nasdaq one hundred index, and we followed the S and
P five hundred index. And wetake those four indices, we put that
into bargraph chart form, and boy, those bargraph charts are very very helpful

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in tracking the history of the stockmarket. That we go back to the
latter part of the decade of thenineteen nineties. And I used the letter
part of the decade of the nineteennineties because it was it was last three
or four years of the decade ofthe nineteen nineties. The market was doing

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wonderful. The market had tremendous gainsin each of those years from nineteen ninety
seven, nineteen ninety eight, nineteenninety nine. Then in two thousand would
happen at the turn of the century. The year two thousand market took a
nosedive and now lost almost seven points. And the year two thousand, boy,

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the Nasdak lost thirty nine points andthe NASDAQ one hundred very close lost
thirty eight points, and the sand P lost ten points during the decade
of During that calendar year of nineteenof the year year two thousand, now

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the year two thousand and one wasvery close to the year two thousand.
Both the now the Nasdaks and theSMP follow sm P one hundred followed the
nineteen followed the two thousand calendar yearalmost exactly. In two thousand and one,
the S and P five hundred tooka higher drop, almost twenty three

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percent loss in the year two thousandand one. The NASAK one hundred also
took a loss of thirty eight percentin two thousand and one, and the
NASTAK one hundred that same year lostthirty one percent. The Nastak and the

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now Jones Industra Ravage lost close toeighteen percent during that year out and that
was the year two thousand, twothousand and one, two thousand and two.
In two thousand and three we hadsome recovery, but in two thousand
and three there wasn't sufficient recovery toreplace the losses that we had in the

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year two thousand and two thousand andone, two thousand and two. So
it took a number of years aftertwo thousand and one to fully recover those
losses that we had in the market. Then what happened was the year two
thousand and eight, and you allknow what happened in the year two thousand
and eight. Boy, the markettook a huge, huge nosedive. The

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market lost. The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage lost thirty two percent in the year
two thousand and eight. And thenASDAK lost in the year two thousand and
eight almost forty one percent, andASKEDEC one hundred in the year two one
thousand and eight lost forty eight percent, huge losses. The S and P

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five hundred lost also thirty eight percentin those in that year in two thousand
and eight, So it took usa number of years to recover those losses
of two thousand and eight. Nowyou know what happened. You know what
I always say here on Safe Moneythat during those years or during those negative

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years, my clients did not losemoney, and they did not lose money
because of the very favorable index annuitythat we suggest to most of our clients.
The indexinuity shares in the gains ofthe stock market. Indexinuities do not
share in any of the losses ofthe stock markets or any of the indexes.

(25:00):
Oh, there's a very safe moneyplace to be in. So I've
encourage you to obtain more information onthose safe money harbors. Give us the
call alls at five to sixty threethree three two twenty two hundred and asks
for information on the progress of themarket during the last twenty seven years,

(25:22):
the ups and the downs. Byobtaining one of these charts that we have
on the performance of the market,and then you can see for yourself the
benefits of having that tremendous indexinuity.The indexinuity does not share in any of
the losses of the market. Thevalue of the indexenuity stays the same.

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If the market declines, the valuedoes not decline. Now, if the
market gains, there is some gainwith the indexinuity. Last year, we'll
have more homest mid year twenty twentyfour and so for the Dow has gained
a year today a little over fivepercent, the Nasdaq has gained over ten

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or twelve percent, and the Sand P five hundred has gained almost eleven
percent. So I encourage listeners totake a portion of those gains and transfer
those gains into that famous index annuity. Remember, we pay a very significant

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bonus on the money that's transferred.Right now, we're paying a thirty five
percent bonus on money that's transferred.So on money that's transferred, you don't
share in the loss of the market. You gain immediately a thirty five percent
bonus, and then the value ofyour account does not decrease. The value

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will only share in the gains ofthe stock market. Call us call us
at five six three three three twotwenty two hundred. Don't forget to sign
up for these meetings that we're havingnext week on the basics of medicare.
So again, give us a callor send me an email. Go to
my website go to wwwdicshillig dot comand scroll over to the contact icon for

(27:23):
our email address. Good talking withyou this morning, Have a great,
great weekend. Good day.