Health and Wellness Show 02-15-25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:17):
And welcome in. It's now time for the Health and
Wellness Show on one of three point five FM at
five sixty a. M WVOC. Good to have you on
board with this this morning. My name is Gary David.
Coming up, we'll be talking about matters concerning the law
with Jim Snell from the Loss of Jane Snell, your
insurance health needs with Jeff Howe from Health Markets. But
right now it's Matthew Terry and John Farley, the dudes

(00:40):
from Preservations Specialists.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Good morning, Garry, how are you? Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
I'm good, except for you know, it's this is that
time of year. We're all like, yeah, it's it's that
three letter words season. Taxes, is upon it, taxes, taxes, taxes.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
I'm like, I like, go try, hey, you know what,
I'm happy to pay a huge national sales tax if
you abolish the IRS, right, I'm all for that. I
don't have to spend that money if I don't want to.
That works for me anyway.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Well, remember Forbes proposed that several years ago too. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
he went that that was uh, I mean listen, whatever
it takes, you know, I mean, yeah, yeah, I.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Doubt you could find too many people that would would
argue with that concept, right.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Sure, absolutely, yeah, wow, But.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
Here we are anyway, so it's still in the reality
of the now, in which will more likely be the
reality for the rest of our lives anyway. But taxes, now, okay,
are we we're well no, I can't say this, but
planning for taxes that's a big part of what you
guys do at preservation specially, so folks plan for taxes.

(01:53):
It is, you know, to reduce that liability. But okay,
so now for for tax you're twenty twenty four, you know,
I mean, is there anything left we can do to
try to, you know, lighten the load here?

Speaker 3 (02:05):
Well, the first thing you can do is is is, uh,
you know, get with your get with your folks and
and see where you are in terms of your income.
One of the big things you can do. You have
until April fifteenth to contribute to your your personal ira
or your personal wrath. Now, it depends on how much
you're contributing to your if you're working for you know,
how much is going into four one K. There are
certain restrictions, but yeah, between now and April fifteenth, you

(02:29):
can look at that and say okay, can I can
I do this and that would lower Uh, if it's
a ROTH, it would not lower your tax burden, but
if it's a if it's a traditional, then yeah, that
would lower your tax.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Well, you did mention personal IRA, but is that the
four one employee spongsor four one ks?

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, ploy here.

Speaker 4 (02:46):
Too, so employer for one k's.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (02:50):
You know, typically those deductions meaning you are you are
putting money into those accounts typically as you are working,
so that just naturally happens throughout the year. But you
have up until April fifteenth or whenever you file your
taxes to an essence, take money that is an individually
managed retirement account, so that would be things such as

(03:11):
your IRA, traditional IRA ORROTH IRA or also if you're
like a self employed business owner you have maybe a
step IRA, a self employed IRA. You have again up
until that tax felling deadline in order to make contributions,
and that would obviously lower your tax will income in
that case.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
But there are limits absolutely.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, just going to make sure you're in the guardrails,
that's all. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's a really good
thing to do. I mean, I work with a lot
of folks and they say, yeah, I usually get a
bonus around you know, February, So I take that and
a portion of that I make sure that I fill
up my wroth.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah okay, yeah, But the bigger picture again is if
you don't wait to the last second, then maybe you
don't have these issues. Right. You know, how much of
your time do you spend with folks doing just that
planning for taxes?

Speaker 3 (04:02):
Well, for us, we work in five areas. Okay, so
we we do, and we're comprehensive retirement planners. So the
first thing that we do is we start with income
because it's pretty straightforward because without an income, you don't
have a retirement. And beyond that, you know that that
has to be correct.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
So you're you're all good.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
So then we start with income, uh, and then we
do things we do a state because we want to
make sure that everything that your wishes are thought through
and preserved. Right, those are important things, and there are
ways to make sure that you transfer your funds, your
your assets to whomever they want to go to, whether
it be a charity, whether it be uh, you know,
any number of things. You know, your children, your grandchildren, nieces,

(04:46):
never whatever, but make sure that that's in place. The
third thing we'll do is if you need insurance, and
not everybody does, but it is important to point out
that we live, you know, in our in in in
the state, in the U. Medicare will take care of
you for ninety days, but after that you're on your own.
So if you need to go into some sort of
long term care, we need to make sure we have

(05:07):
allocations for that. And that doesn't necessarily mean you need
a traditional long term care policy. I want to be
very clear on that, but there are options you want
to make sure you're covered.

Speaker 1 (05:15):
If what are those alternatives now that you bring it
up here.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
Well, the one of the big things you can do
is there are life slash long term care policies now,
so the knock the long on the traditional long term
care policies. And I can tell you from personal experience.
So when I was in my thirties, and I know
you're surprised that I'm not still there, I am shocked. Yeah,
I shocked. I've worked hard for this gray hair. So
I was in my thirties. I was working for General

(05:39):
Electric at the time. They were a very paternalistic company.
They were very you know, take care, take care, get insurance,
make sure everybody's protected, all the you know, life insurance, health,
all these things.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
Whether you one of the rare individuals actually had a
retirement plan sponsored by your yeah yeah, well in the day. Yeah,
I'm not sure I've ever met one of those people.

Speaker 5 (05:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:56):
Yeah, look at this.

Speaker 3 (05:57):
But the station I worked for was owned by General
General Electrics. So they came in and they said, okay,
we've got these long term care policies, and here's the
way it goes. You're going to pay so much a
quarter and that number will never go up, so you're
going to pay you know, at the time it was
these are crazy numbers. But at the time it was
like forty bucks a quarter and this was going to
cover you for long term care for the rest of

(06:19):
your life. Well, they lied, right, I mean, I'm paying
you know, as as the years went on, those those
rates kept going up because the way it works is
that insurance. You know, if you're in one of those
traditional long term care policies, there is no cap on
what your premium could be as you go out through
your life. So those things can be really slippery because

(06:40):
we're you know, we work with folks who are now
in their you know, seventies even eighties, and they've been
paying on these long term care policies, and then premiums
just keep going up and up and up. So there
are other ways there are there are other ways to
skin this cat. One is you can have a specific
one pay long term care slash life policy such that
it's a one time premium and you get the money

(07:01):
going either way. The other disadvantage of those long term
care policies was you spent the money and it was gone.
If you let's say, you know something that happened to
you unfortunately, but it was sudden, all that money you
spent for long term cares out the window.

Speaker 1 (07:14):
We talked about a couple of weeks ago with annuities.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah, yeah, there are certain ways that you get certain anuities. Yes, right.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
So the idea is is there are ways. One is
one way that has come along is these life slash
long term care policies. So if you need it for
long term care, you get it. If you happen to
pass very quickly and don't need it, you get it
that way too, So your money is not completely gone.
It's your money. There are other ways to set this
up where maybe doesn't involve insurance. Maybe you set aside

(07:40):
a certain a certain amount, and you invested in certain
types of things that have either low risk or no
risk on the downside, right, and those will grow. But
that's your set aside money that you would use for
long term care. So there are things that you do there.
So that's one aspect that you will however you want
to do it. And then there are many people a
percentage that come in that they are perfectly set up

(08:04):
that they do not need insurance because they can just
take care of it on their own and they never
have to deal with an insurance company, which is in
many ways nice. Now, there are other other things to
do with with whenever you get involved in this long
term care situation.

Speaker 2 (08:16):
One of the things you want to talk about too is.

Speaker 3 (08:17):
This if you're if you're aging, one of the things
that you don't want to have to deal with is
sending receipts to an insurance company. Oh yeah, hello, yes, right, right,
So there are there are other there are some of
these policies that I was describing. They happen such that
as soon as you require long term care, and that
can be in the form of somebody comes into your
house and helps you out, or some sort of assisted

(08:39):
living or all the way up to you know, really
advance memory care that sort of thing.

Speaker 2 (08:43):
As soon as you.

Speaker 3 (08:44):
Qualify, the money starts flowing into your bank account on
a monthly basis. That's the kind of policy that you want, right,
not one that's you have to now have to fight
with the insurance company that oh, now I'm here and
I have this receipt, now pay me back. That can
be a real cumbersome thing, especially, you know, that's not
what you want to be dealing with if you're having
all these health issues.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
And I think, Matthew, a lot of us feel like, yeah,
anytime you deal with an insurance company that scenario, they're
going to try their best to you know, to deny,
to deny absolutely or reduce or whatever.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
Absolutely for sure. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (09:16):
So so certainly, just just as John said, you know, insurance,
that is certainly an area that we focus on and
we make sure we make sure all our clients are
buttoned up.

Speaker 1 (09:24):
What about life insurance though, for example? Yeah, I mean,
is it is it when you're in retirement, you reach
that point in life, is there any reason to maintain
or to purchase life insurance.

Speaker 4 (09:37):
You know what, what I would say regarding life insurance
in retirement, it really comes down to what sort of
legacy are you wishing to leave. In many cases, the
point of having life insurance is to cover a potential debt. Right,
if you were to pass away. While you're living, you're
receiving income. But obviously if you were to pass away,

(09:57):
whatever loved ones you leave behind, well they just lost
your income stream.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
Right.

Speaker 4 (10:02):
The point of life insurance is to in essence provide
them a lump sum of money that otherwise you would
have made. So you're really using life insurance to pay
off those debts. But whenever it comes to retirement, you
can leverage life insurance in such a way to where
it does become a tax planning tool. I know we've

(10:22):
I believe, spoken about this on the radio before. It's
a little bit complicated, but it is a form of
permanent life insurance. You can either leverage it and use
it for tax free income and retirement and just live
off of it, or you can also use it for
long term care protection as well, just as John mentioned,
So there's a couple of different ways that we can
structure that. But again it always comes down to whenever

(10:43):
you initially buy it, you want to understand what are
you getting yourself into, what is your goal of that
specific investment, and in what specific case is it going
to cover you? So, because all those things vary the
type that you would use.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
So like term insurance, you got universal, you got whole life,
the long ones I know about.

Speaker 3 (11:03):
Yeah, yeah, you've got variations on on on several of those.
But but I mean, if you're just looking to protect,
you know, like, if you're just looking to protect, Okay,
I'm I'm the breadwinner, and I know that I'm going
to have to take care of mortgage and family expenses
and kids education. A term is not a bad way
to go, right, I Mean, it's cheap, and if you
get it when you're young and you sign up for

(11:24):
a thirty year policy or whatever it's, it's that's a good
way to go. But but if you want to get more,
you know, as as Matthew saying, there are there are
some tax planning advantages that you can do with certain
types of permanent life insurance that would definitely uh play
and play in your favor. And the sooner you start
on that sort of thing, like sometimes people come in

(11:45):
and they'll be maybe it may be to their advantage
to start that in their sixties, but it's it could
be really to your advantage to start it in your thirties.
So we start to say, hey, if you're thinking about
your legacy for your kids, here's an option for you
where yes, this can protect your chill chldren should they
need it, like you know, for their for their loved ones,
for their for their children and their dependence. But there

(12:06):
are real tax advantages that you can get with certain
life insurance policies that you know, they can be really
staggering if if you you know the time value of money,
if you let things grow over years, you know.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
Yeah, okay, yeah, So.

Speaker 1 (12:20):
You mentioned income a state planning insurance.

Speaker 4 (12:26):
And then we obviously deal and we help our clients
with investments. We've talked about diversification before. But then that
leads us to the fifth area, which is taxes.

Speaker 1 (12:35):
So you know, which is where we start, which.

Speaker 2 (12:39):
That's right, Garrett, So.

Speaker 4 (12:41):
Yeah, So, so taxes it's such a important thing because
for many of us it is one of our largest
expenses that we occur in life. Right, So we believe
that based off of the tax code that is in
place today. We believe that you should be taking advantage
of any and all things that you possibly can to

(13:02):
reduce the amount of taxes that you're gonna pay over
your lifetime. So I'll give you an example, and.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
Nobody's gonna argue with you on that.

Speaker 4 (13:10):
I've never met anyone that has, at least so. So anyways,
right now, we are under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Okay,
so that is the current tax codes name, and.

Speaker 1 (13:21):
That expires end of this year.

Speaker 4 (13:23):
Right correct, Yeah, so.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
That unless something is done, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (13:26):
Unless new legislation has passed through Congress. But what does
that mean. Let's just assume, because we don't know what
the future holds, let's assume that it's gonna expire at
the end of this year. And really, what I would
say is the people that it's really going to affect
and the people that you're really gonna feel part of
that change, and and and and I would say biggest

(13:48):
impact is really your ability to perform opportunistic roth conversions.
And what I mean by that is, right now, the
middle class brackets are in essence at twenty two percent
and twenty four percent if we revert back to the
previous in placed tax code, which will happen after the

(14:10):
end of this year. That twenty two percent bracket it
goes to the twenty five percent bracket, and the twenty
four percent bracket it goes to the twenty eight percent bracket.
So in both of those cases, obviously simple math is
they're increasing. And as a result of that, whenever you
perform a WROF conversion, you pay taxes at your highest

(14:32):
possible tax rates. That means that you could be one
dollar in that twenty two percent bracket. But if you
perform a ROTH conversion, that means you're paying twenty two
percent on all of those funds and all of that
conversion that you just occurred. So for us and our clients,
what we've been doing over the last several years since
this tax code has been in effect is we have

(14:53):
been aggressively saying, let's pay taxes.

Speaker 3 (14:55):
Today.

Speaker 4 (14:56):
All tax rates are quote unquote on sale. You're gonna
have to pay ten at some point in the future.
Happen absolutely, whether it's not you, it's going to be
one of your loved ones or your heirs. But regardless
of that, doing tax planning is so so important, and
whenever you do the math you project out the compounding
time value of money of shifting money to a tax

(15:19):
free account, and then it continues to grow after that.
I mean again, you're talking about potentially hundreds of thousands
of dollars that you're saving yourself. I take an action today.

Speaker 2 (15:28):
So it's now.

Speaker 4 (15:30):
Absolutely And there's a few different ways in strategies that
we always discuss. What is the best way to pay
for the taxes on a rock conversion? You know, we
get a lot of questions about that. So you know,
for one, the simplest is, for one, as you perform
a conversion, let's just say it's one hundred thousand dollars
conversion for nice round numbers, Well you could with all

(15:52):
that absolutely, so you could have one hundred thousand you
start with, you shift it over, Well, if you hold
twenty thousand dollars in taxes, you now only have eighty
thousand dollars to invest. But that is the simplest, sure
and probably most common way that it has approached. But
for us, another thing to consider would even be, as
you perform that roth conversion, if you could actually have
money in either a checking or savings account or maybe

(16:14):
like an after tax investment accountable from. By paying money
from over here and just simply taking out of savings
to pay those taxes, you're actually maximizing that roth conversion
and the future turnings potential. Right, you start with one
hundred thousand, you now actually have one hundred thousand in
a tax free account that can continue to grow, can

(16:36):
continue to compound, and that's just super valuable.

Speaker 1 (16:40):
All right, So there you have an income of state planning, insurance, investments, taxes,
Ye preservation specialists. John, how to folks get a hold
of you, guys.

Speaker 3 (16:49):
ATO three to nine retire, ATO three to nine retire.
Our office is if you're driving up twenty six out
of Columbia towards Chapin, run the left chest before the
harvest and exit. So we encourage will take piny Grove.
There's less traffic.

Speaker 1 (17:01):
I'll go say, yeah, you can't miss it because you're
probably stuck in traffic anyway. Yeah, just look to your
left of your head now bound. Yeah, guys, you'll have
a great weekend.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
Thanks Gerry you two.

Speaker 3 (17:10):
Hi, this is John Farling. Now let me ask you,
is your retirement inflation proofed? Here's what I mean in retirement.
Chances are you're on a fixed income with variable expenses.
So how do you not run out of money when
the cost of just about everything continues to go up?

Speaker 1 (17:27):
You inflation proof it.

Speaker 3 (17:28):
Our team at Preservation Specialists can show you strategies to
help combat inflation so it doesn't outpace your retirement income.
Call us today at ATO three nine Retire to learn more.
Inflation could take a huge chunk out of your retirement savings,
but it doesn't have to. With some simple planning, inflation
can go from being a major disruption to just a

(17:49):
minor annoyance. Call the team at aight O three to
nine Retire now to start inflation proofing your retirement today
aight O three to nine Retire that's eight OHO three
nine Retire.

Speaker 5 (18:01):
Securities offer through Okado's Capital member Finner and SFPC Advisory
Services off through okados Wealth Preservation Specialists and Arcadios are
not affiliated through any ownership.

Speaker 6 (18:09):
The hunt for quality insurance is more important than ever,
and with Jeff Howell and the team at Health Markets
in Lexington, finding that perfect plan is easier than ever.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
Whether health or.

Speaker 6 (18:18):
Medicare insurance, let the experts guide you toward ease of
mind at a healthier future and who couldn't use that nowadays,
Jeff Howell in Health Markets do all the grunt work
for you. They make the calls, compare the plans and prices,
and find you the insurance plan that fits your needs.
Best of all, their help is at no cost to you.
They work with nationally recognized insurance companies to give you

(18:41):
the affordable insurance you're looking for. So whether you're self
employed or in a small business, an individual or seeking
a family plan, they have you covered literally from head
to toe. Called Jeff Howell in Health Markets at eight
O three six seven eight eight one two one, or
visit Jeffhowell dot com. That's eight ZHO three six seven

(19:01):
eight eight one two one or Jeff h O W
l E dot com and let them find the right
insurance for you.

Speaker 1 (19:22):
Jeff Howe health Markets is our resident expert on all
things when it comes to health insurance. Jeff, good morning, sir.

Speaker 7 (19:30):
Good morning Gary.

Speaker 1 (19:31):
We uh want to talk about and being somebody who
just by ffay, I got my red and Blue card
and the mail the other day, Jeff. For medicare is
mind goes an effect come June. But for me, I'm
still working in on my employee plan. So I'm just
taking the Part A uh for now. But you know,
when you get to the rest of the parts, when

(19:54):
you don't have that that group coverage through your employer
and you've hit the age of sixty five and you
know the Part A get then oh my goodness. If
you go to the regular route, you got what parts
c's and d's and g's and all sorts of parts,
and then you have, well the other option, which is
to go with Medicare advantage plans. And you know, even
for some folks who are on Medicare right now, I

(20:15):
guess there's still a bit of confusion about what the
differences are and maybe what's right or not what's not
right for them.

Speaker 7 (20:21):
That's true. I mean, even if someone's been on Medicare
for ten, fifteen, twenty years, every year they know that
an open rollment's coming up around the corner between October
fifteenth and December seventh, when they can make changes. You know,
we're thinking they're thinking, well, I can't make a change
now there is a plan I'm currently on right for me,
and looking to the future, you know, what does the

(20:42):
future hold. For example, if they're on a Medicare supplement plan,
they know that every year they get older that Medicare
supplement is going to go up in price. We've been blessed,
you know, really since the inception of the prescription drug
card program in two thousand and six, is at the
premiums of the drug cards have been fairly low, depend

(21:03):
upon which drug card you select. But in twenty twenty five,
with some of the COVID laws going into effect, and
the good news for seniors is that they won't pay
any more in two thousand dollars in co pays at
the pharmacies or example, when they go to you know,
my Pharmacy and Optical or Riley's Drugs or CBS wherever
they go, when they're paying their co pays the counter,

(21:24):
they'll pay no more than two thousand dollars. Which that's
a law that's going to help with the counter That's great.

Speaker 1 (21:29):
That's an annual cap, right.

Speaker 7 (21:31):
Yeah, an annual cap, yes, sir, absolutely, And that's the
first time that we've had something like that. But what
we worry about as insurance agents is that what is
that going to do to drug card premiums, Because if
the insurance companies are taking on a lot of that
overage over the two thousand dollars in costs, then that
will probably be passed down the consumer as far as

(21:55):
monthly premium.

Speaker 1 (21:56):
So this is not a case where the government via
taxpayers is picking up the rest of the tab. This
is a cost that the pharmaceutical company is going to
have to eat, right.

Speaker 7 (22:07):
More specifically, the insurance companies companies. Okay, so interesting enough,
the pharmaceutical companies, we're not giving a very large percentage
of the liability over that two thousand dollars and costs.
The insurance companies were given the bulk of that percentage.
So of course it's the insurance companies that bill you
every month for the monthly premium to have the drug card.

(22:31):
And then of course someone say, why do I need
a drug card? Well, part of that initial law in
two thousand and six for the prescription drugs is that
if you do not have a prescription drug card or
credible coverage through your employer like you would have, but
if you do not have a prescription drug card, you
will be penalized. So everyone had a prescription drug card
now and it's really not that big a deal. I mean,

(22:53):
we have prescription drug cards out there. They are fifty
cents a month, So having a drug card is really
you know, it's not that burdensome premium wise right now
for most people. There are some people who take more
expensive drugs who need a higher price a prescription drug card,
and their drug card might be over one hundred dollars
a month. Now, say, however, in twenty twenty five, that

(23:16):
one hundred dollars a month plus premium could be the norm,
not the exception. So you're saying, okay, So now if
you're say seventy years old, and you've been on a
Medicare supplement since you were sixty five, and you've been
on a drug card, and maybe you're paying one hundred
and ninety dollars for your supplement, now you're paying fifty
cents for your drug card. Now, if your drug card

(23:39):
goes up to throughout an easy number for math, one
hundred dollars a month, now you've got from one to
ninety and fifty cents to two hundred and ninety dollars
a month. That may make a lot of people look
a little more close to Medicare advantage. Come this open
enrollment season in October, so it's good to start preparing

(24:00):
and start realizing, you know, what is Medicare advantage and
is that an option for someone who's currently on a
Medicare supplement and drug.

Speaker 1 (24:08):
Cart right, right, and again you're talking about seventy twenty
five years old. You're more than likely on a fixed income,
and you know he comes to a hundred bucks a
month that you weren't expecting.

Speaker 7 (24:19):
That's correct, that's correct, and so and that's pushed a
lot of people to Medicare advantage. And you know, there's
a lot of fear about Medicare advantage because when it
first came out in two thousand and six, most of
the Medicare advantage plans were HMOs, and no one likes
an HMO because an HMO means you have to go
to this particular doctor, and if you have to go

(24:41):
to a specialist, you need to referral from that doctor
to go to this particular specialist, to go to this
particular hospital. It's very restrictive. However, Medicare advantage plans that
I sell are all PPOs, meaning you can go anywhere
that takes Medicare. It does have a network, and so
you definitely get lower costs when you go in network.
For example, if you've got a Blue Cross Medicare Advantage PPO.

(25:04):
Every hospital in the state the networks. You can go
to Lexington, you can go to Prismo, you can go
to m USC in Charleston. You know, you can go
where you want to, and you can even go out
of state. So if they're in network, you'll get the
same low costs in Colorado that you get at Lexa
Medical Center. If they're out of network, you still go
to that doctor in Colorado who you just might pay

(25:26):
a higher copay. So, you know, a lot of the
fears about HMOs and Medicare advantage. You know, I can
lay or put those fears to rest when I meet
with people and talk to them about Medicare advantage and
see if it's the right thing for them.

Speaker 1 (25:43):
And I guess I think you've told us before, Jeff,
that in the last couple of years, the number of
people on these advantage plans is now more than those
who are on supplements or right at the about the
same the same number, is that right as a percentage?

Speaker 7 (25:59):
That's correct, that's correct. You know, in twenty twenty two
to the last year, we have data from more seniors
purchased Medicare advantage plans than Medicare supplement plans. So Medicare
sepplins had always been on top, you know, until twenty two,
and I'm and I can say with competence that twenty
three will be even more so when that data comes

(26:22):
out that Medicare advantage more Medicare advantage plans were sold
to Medicare supplements. And there are a lot of reasons
for that. Is that Medicare advantage plans have zero premium, right,
And the second reason is they provide extra benefits like
three thousand dollars in dental benefits, some vision benefits, three
pair of glasses, hearing aid discount, some gym memberships, flex

(26:44):
cards that's the card you take to a grocery store
CVS and get food and over the counter like vitamins
or toothpaste, things like that. So they provide a lot
of value. Now, of course, with anything in life there
to give and a take, right, Well, okay, zero premium
you get all this extra stuff.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
Well, part of the snicon me. But you know when
I first and I guess maybe one of the big
reasons for the boom in these is that, I mean,
let's face it, insurance companies have been advertising the heck
out of these for a while now, Uh you know,
I mean you can't spit without hitting one of those ads.
But yeah, I mean the senic in me says, hmm,

(27:28):
I don't pay you anything. I get all this stuff.
What's the catch?

Speaker 7 (27:32):
Yes, And so the catches is that there's higher risk. So,
for example, if you're on a standard or let's say
the most popular Medicare supplement plan, now the plan G
where your only risk health wise is the part be
deductible just two hundred and forty dollars. So if someone
turned sixty five in June and I write them a
Plan G for June, first, the first time they go

(27:54):
to a doctor or urgent care or emergency room, or
the first time they receive medical treatment after June one,
they'll be billed that two hundred and forty dollars. Then
they're done for the year. They're one hundred percent covered.
That person has be in a coma all summer, wake
up on Labor Day, and they owe nothing right because
they already pay that two hundred four dollars deductible, so
their risk is very low. Whereas on the Medicare advantage plans,

(28:17):
you know, the max amount of pockets could be anywhere
from five thousand to eleven thousand dollars, depend upon what
plan you choose. Now, I will say that that's not
a deductible. You just pay small copays along the way,
and if those cops ever added up to that five thousand,
then you would be died at the five thousand if

(28:37):
that's your max out of pocket on that particular plan.
So sometimes people get confuse. They're like, I don't want
to pay the first five thousand. You wouldn't. So like
on most of the Medicare advange plans, you go to
your primary doctor who pay a zero or ten dollars cope.
You got a specialist, you'll pay a fifteen or thirty
five dollars cope, So you have small cope. MRI is
one hundred and fifty night in the hospital, three hundred

(29:00):
a night the first five nights. Things like that. They're
very delineated on the copays that you paid. But if
you had a very bad year, but certainly that risk
is out there. But the Medicare advantage studies showed that
less than one percent of people on Medicare Advantage plans
hit their MAXI amount of pocket. So you have to
have a really bad year to hit your max out
of pocket on this planet.

Speaker 1 (29:21):
Well, the ironic thing about this, Jeff, seems to me
that all right, So folks who could most afford to
take the risk under an advantage plan of having to
come out of pocket you know, five ten thousand dollars
or what have you in a calndar year, are the
same folks who probably are in a financial situation to
best afford to stay on a supplement planned and pay
the money each month and not take the risk.

Speaker 7 (29:44):
That's true, And for a lot of those people that's
the decision, you know, I would you rather just put
money away into a savings account and have that ten
thousand dollars, say, in a savings account every year. So
if you had a bad year, or if you have
twenty thousand in an account, if you have a bad years,
then that money's in your account and it's growing interest.

(30:05):
That's your money, right. Or do you want to mail
off a check to an insurance company for a supplement
and a drug card and once you mail those checks
the insurance company every month they're not coming That money's
not coming back, whether you go to a doctor that
month or not, whether you have a prescription field that
month or not that next month the premiums are due again.
So it's just two completely different ways of doing your

(30:27):
Medicare insurance coverage. No wrong or no right, by the way,
and I do not push one or the other. I
just explain the differences and lay out the packs and
talk to a person about their doctors, their medical treatment,
their prescriptions, and they give them an educated you know,
educate them and they make an educated decision on which ones,

(30:47):
which path is right for them.

Speaker 1 (30:49):
Now you mentioned again with the changes in the the
prescription card playing under the supplements, that you could see
your price really go up here over the course of
the next year or so. Now does that not applicable
if you're on an advantage plans that that doesn't.

Speaker 7 (31:04):
Hit you there, It should not hit as much because
Medicare advantage plans have so much else going on as
far as money that received from the government for people
who are on those Medicare advantage plans, for the healthcare
and for the prescription drugs. Could you could see in
the Medicare advantage plans maybe the benefits not growing as much,

(31:27):
just as a dental or the vision of the hearing,
you know, some of those benefits being pulled back or
maybe capped. You know a lot of time, you know,
over the years, we've seen dental go from five hundred
benefits two one thousand to two thousand to three thousand.
So maybe next year they don't go to four thousand, right,
maybe they're capped or they're lowered, you know, so maybe
we see effects in the Medicare advantage plan that way. Internally,

(31:50):
I do not think we're going to see much effect
on the premium, So I think that's going to stay
you know, zero to you know thirty, you know, somewhere
under thirty dollars or certainly on the Medicare advantage side.

Speaker 1 (32:03):
So do you do you foresee in your crystal ball,
mister Howell, or do you think that that maybe the
government's long term plan is to try to push everybody
off the supplements to the advantage plans? Is that is
that an advantage to the government.

Speaker 7 (32:20):
Well, when the law was passed in two thousand and four,
it was a George Bush was in office, w right
with a Republican Congress, and it was a vote. It
was a law, believe it or not, that Democrats agreed
to back in those days when Congress was when when
they would talk to each other and they would make

(32:42):
compromises and the law would be passed. That's the way
Congress was in two thousand and four. So this is
a law that the government sees as an advantage for
the government's keeping medicare viable.

Speaker 1 (32:55):
If you'd like to sit down with Jeff and discuss
the options, you can do that. How to folks get
a whold you my friend.

Speaker 7 (33:01):
Yes, my office is right beside the flight Deck restaurant
and Lexington at the flight Deck shops Health Markets Insurance,
and you can give me a call or text my
number at eight zero three six seven eight eight one
two one. My website is my name Jeffhowell dot com,
Jeff Hwle dot com.

Speaker 1 (33:19):
All right, thank you, Jeff, appreciate you, buddy.

Speaker 7 (33:21):
Thank you, Gerry.

Speaker 6 (33:22):
The hunt for quality insurance is more important than ever
and with Jeff Howell and the team at Health Markets
and Lexington, finding that perfect plan is easier than ever,
whether health or medicare insurance. Let the experts guide you
toward ease of mind at a healthier future. And who
couldn't use that nowadays? Jeff Howell and Health Markets do
all the grunt work for you. They make the calls,

(33:42):
compare the plans and prices, and find you the insurance
plan that fits your needs. Best of all, their help
is at no cost to you. They work with nationally
recognized insurance companies to give you the affordable insurance you're
looking for. So, whether you're self employed or in a
small business and visual or seeking a family plan, they
have you covered literally from head to tone. Called Jeff

(34:05):
Howell in Health Markets at eight O three six seven
eight eight one two one, or visit Jeffhowel dot com
that's eight O three six seven eight eight one two
one or Jeff Howle dot com and let them find
the right insurance for you.

Speaker 8 (34:23):
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(34:44):
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(35:05):
you have any airborne issues in your home. This is
Larry Harris with Classic Systems eight O three six two
six two seven four eight eight oh three six two
six two seven four eight.

Speaker 1 (35:31):
Welcome back to the Health and Wellness Show on one
of three point five FM and five sixty AM wvs
as were welcome to the microphone. Our guy, our attorney
at large at law. It's Jim Snell from the Loss
of James Nell. Hello, my friend, Good morning Gary. How
are you, Matt autist doing great? Good beautiful? We want
to talk a little personal injury law with you toay

(35:51):
what about car wrecks specifically? I I guess this might good.
I suppose this might apply to any sort of a
personal injury case. We'll focus on car today specifically.

Speaker 2 (36:02):
Are they're they're the most common?

Speaker 1 (36:03):
They're yeah, right, I mean out of every ten cases
you or one hundred cases you may have come across.
How what percentage of car wrecks eighty about eighty percent?

Speaker 5 (36:15):
And then you know, and then obviously you've got the
premise this liability where people you know, slip to the
fall or or get injured in other other ways. But
the most common way people get injured through no fault
of their own and cur medical bills and expenses, this
carrec car wrecks.

Speaker 1 (36:29):
Yeah. Yeah, So I think there's this general feeling out
there that every time you know, there's a case like this,
and you know, you're you've been involved in an accident,
you didn't cause it, you've been hurt, you've suffered loss
of wages, you've got the hospital bills, the medical bills
that have have been piling up, and and the idea

(36:51):
you're thinking that, well, one day I'm going to stand
in front of a judge with my attorney and we're
going to get those guys.

Speaker 5 (36:58):
Yes, well, I mean you know, some people, well, first
time I say this, some people like that idea.

Speaker 2 (37:03):
Right.

Speaker 5 (37:04):
I think a minority, okay, people to watch way too
much TV courtroom drama. I think a small amount of
people want their day in court. I think the majority
of people just want to get the thing resolved, get
it settled, and get it put behind them, right, you know,
So I guess I'll say that much. And and I

(37:24):
think you've told us before that I think the vast
majority of these cases never see the inside of a
court room, correct, Correct, And I mean some people are
worried that if they get a lawyer or you know
that that it's going to end up meaning that it's
going to have to go to a to a court
and you know it's going to take all that time
and delay. And that's really not not not the case

(37:49):
in almost every situation. So yeah, I can talk a
little bit about about the I guess what what what
makes it? You know what what gets a case ready
to settle? We'll start the time, all right, And I
think you've told us two in the past that from
time to time he's oftentimes, I guess you get one
of two things. Will be insurance company either they they delay,

(38:12):
they lay they delay, or they come at you right
away say hey, here's an offer, which is very tempting
for some people. But I know that you've got a
word of caution when it comes to that. Absolutely, No, absolutely,
I was gonna say another thing. We're dealing with my
office right now. And a couple examples are people that
had phone calls with an insurance company shortly after a.

Speaker 1 (38:33):
Wreck, before consulting with an attorney.

Speaker 5 (38:36):
And and you know, while they're still i mean frankly
on medication or you know, I mean I mean right
after wreck, right, and they had a conversation with the
adjuster regarding a possible settlement or they thought it was
a possible settlement, and they ended up confirming, according to

(38:56):
the insurance company, verbally over the phone that the case
was subtle, you know. And and obviously the law in
South Carolina, let me just say this much the insurance
companies take can take the position that you can verbally
settle your case over a phone call without ever signing
a document or signing anything.

Speaker 1 (39:16):
So just talking to the guy seems wrong to me.

Speaker 5 (39:22):
And and so in those situations, you know, the cases
were settled for pennies on the dollar according to the
insurance company. Now again, uh, and that's a situation that
you know, obviously was created before my office was involved.
And and and you know that is the type of
situation that may be more likely to result in court.
Right yeah, But you know, well, what is day law?

Speaker 1 (39:46):
And then is a verbal binding here in a situation
like that? What does South Carolina Las.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
Say so, so let me just let me.

Speaker 1 (39:54):
Just say back to that contract law class.

Speaker 5 (39:56):
Yeah, yeah, going back to contract laws. So let me
just let me just say this, because because these things
are very case specific, what I will tell you is
there is no specific law that says that settlements in
a personal injury case, you know, there's not a law
that says they've got to be reduced to writing and signed. However,

(40:19):
there's still has to be under contract law, a meeting
of the minds. There has to be an actual evidence
of an actual mutual agreement. And so we just say
that much so it's a it's a very case specific, Okay.

Speaker 1 (40:35):
So if it was an instance like where again somebody
who was just involved in an accident, they're heavily medicated,
maybe potentially that's that's an issue, but they have this
phone call. I mean, it seems been an easy, easy
case to say, wait a minute, my client was, you know,
not in the proper frame of mind to make any
agreement at that particular point in time.

Speaker 5 (40:55):
Correct, and that that would be the issue, right that
there was no there was no actual under standing or
actual agreement, And it's just a you know, and like
I said, people you know, you know these you know,
they get these phone calls, they take them, they somehow
can feel like they're almost being pressured into almost get
like getting a call from a telemarketer, you know, or

(41:16):
high pressure, you know, like I don't know if they
still do it, but I remember used to get these
calls from people pushing stocks on the phone, like Wolf
of Wall Street. You know, people call them pushing penny stocks.
But let me talk about Leo DiCaprio's on the phone
for you. But I'll the regular kind of more run
of the mill situation, right, you know, Chris, Chris. We

(41:39):
see TV commercials for lawyers advertising about you know, quick settlements,
fast settlements and again that and that's what I think
a lot of people want. They want to get this
stuff resolved, to get it put behind them.

Speaker 1 (41:49):
Right.

Speaker 5 (41:51):
So obviously the first thing, especially in my office, we
always do we get a personal d your case or
car acan. I mean, you know, you know, obviously we
won't the accent report, but then we also want to
know how much insurance the at fault driver had, right,
and then any other coverage that can apply, And that

(42:14):
actually is real significant in a lot of situations, determining
how quickly a claim will resolve, right. You know, it's
not unusual to have you know, even on a very
minor car accident, ten fifteen thousand dollars worth of medical
expenses and other damages just out of pocket. It's not

(42:37):
cutting pain and suffering, right. And and in cases where
there are minimum limits, say twenty five thousand coverage, right,
I mean, it's still maybe a little bit of wrangling,
but a lot of times it's possible to get the
liability carreer just to tender the limits right, And so
those situations can be resolved typically pretty quick, you know, comparatively,

(43:04):
you know, where people can get the case settled and
get it, get it put behind them. Now, what what causes?
What kind of situations maybe are more likely to go
to court? Are things where maybe there are a lot
more uh, there's a lot more insurance potentially available. You know,
situations where there could be hundreds of thousands or millions

(43:25):
of dollars potentially and you have a situation where maybe
there was beyond medical expenses, you have a substantial change
in somebody's quality of life. You know, where where you
can't really necessarily put a dollar figure on you know,
maybe somebody's permanent loss and ability or a brain injury

(43:47):
where they're like they have personality changes, they're just a
different person after after.

Speaker 1 (43:53):
So so things going beyond even you know, a loss
of future earnings, yes, just loss of your your lifestyle
and in.

Speaker 5 (43:59):
You, I guess absolutely. And again, when you have those
situations and it's maybe a small amount of insurance like
twenty five or fifty thousand, frequently that can get done
pretty quick, are quicker. But you know, if if, if
that case was caused by a I'm just saying, like
a commercial vehicle with a million dollar policy on it
or a multimillion dollar policy, those situations can take a

(44:21):
little bit longer obviously and may end up having to
go to court.

Speaker 1 (44:24):
Right, I hate to keep interrupting here, but I do
have a question what you just mentioned. So, okay, so
somebody person hits you, they've got the minimum coverage, yes, sir,
but you have costs that far exceed yes, the amount
of money that they are insured for.

Speaker 2 (44:43):
Yes, and that that happens. That happens all the time.

Speaker 1 (44:45):
So now we go into the you under and what
is it called under insured? Under insured unsure? So another
it's not like this is all you can get, because
I guess that the question I'm asking.

Speaker 5 (44:55):
Yeah, now, now there are two kinds of insurance you
can buy to protect yourself from may from the lack
or limited insurance by the other driver, and that is
called underinsured and uninsured, and those are be sure you
have those. Yeah, I'm not a good guess. I'm not
the salesman for the insurance company, but people ought to have,

(45:16):
you know, I do recommend people review their policies, make
sure that they feel like they're covered in the event
that they do get in a in a serious accident
with somebody without enough coverage. Again, most people driving around
have either no insurance or minimum limits. So having you know,

(45:37):
one hundred thousand or you know more of underinsured, you
know when people need it, they need it, right, so
say that.

Speaker 1 (45:46):
Yeah, sorry, stop your train of thought. They're on this
this other line. Okay. So, so now we're talking about,
you know, cases where there's more insurance money available, and
so this is something is more likely to wind up
in a courtroom.

Speaker 5 (45:57):
Well, just yeah, where there's where there's right, where there's
more money and there are there there there can be
a real genuine dispute or at least an opportunity for
a dispute over what the value that case should be.
You know, when you have like when when you have
medical bills that are clearly resulted from a wreck, right right,

(46:21):
there's a collision and there's really no other cause for
the expenses other than the wreck. That that that's something
that that that's an issue that can typically be settled.

Speaker 2 (46:31):
Right.

Speaker 5 (46:33):
But if you have medical bills and maybe it's an
art you could argue over was it the wreck or
was it a pre existing condition?

Speaker 2 (46:41):
Are good? Gosh?

Speaker 5 (46:42):
I feel bad for the people to get in one
wreck today and then a week later they get a
second wreck, right and they hurt their you know, they
hurt their back both times. Those situations, you know, especially
if there's significant injuries, can be a little can be
more difficult to settle and can be more likely.

Speaker 2 (47:01):
To result in court. But I'll tell you, prior to.

Speaker 5 (47:07):
Any case getting to the point where it would actually
go into court and actually have a trial, right there,
there's UNPTEAM opportunities to talk to the adjuster. There may
be different adjusters put in. Once a lawsuit is filed,
all the area courts in South Carolina are going to

(47:27):
require mediation, which is an actual settlement conference. Yeah, and
that that involves the the injured person, their lawyer, the
adjuster with settlement authority from the insurance company has to
participate a neutral third third party mediator. South Carolina has

(47:49):
the court to have a process for certifying those mediators
so they have specific training and how to help people
settle these disputes.

Speaker 7 (47:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (47:59):
Yeah, I could actually talk about that. I went I
went through that back in two thousand andnine. I went
through the training and I'm I'm on the list, And
there's there's plenty of opportunities right to try to resolve them,
and most cases do get get resolved, you know, even
in situations where an insurance company just wants to continuously

(48:20):
low ball. Also that the lawyers who represent insurance companies
typically frequently are paid hourly, right, So a lot of
people think that these guys just you know, they got
to get their billing quote in before they'll before they'll
you know, I get it, okay, So just kind of
let them they put you off making much more money. Yeah,
let them do their thing. But and and so sometimes

(48:42):
there's a thought that just as it gets you know,
cases go through the process the ones that for whatever
reason can't settle earlier still are very likely to settle
even up to the last minute. And so really it's
it's I don't know the percentage, but it's a very
small percent of claims. I can also tell you this
on the criminal side, right, I just did a little

(49:05):
bit of you know, I'm gonna call it back of
the envelope calculations in Lexington a couple of years ago,
added up all the all the trials they did in
felony court, right and in a year, right, And then
I looked at how many felony charges were brought in
the county and it turned out the number of felony
cases that went to trial was less than one half

(49:26):
of one percent. Yeah, and that's just you know, that
was just took me, you know, a couple of months
of math.

Speaker 1 (49:33):
So a lot of a lot of plea deals being capped.

Speaker 5 (49:35):
Yeah, cases get dismissed, plead cases, you know whatever. So
I think it's really I don't know what the number
is on the personal unsure case, but it's I think
the vast majority cases get resolved short of a ever
going to court. But court is there for people that
need it, and are unable to get the case reason
leaders off without it?

Speaker 1 (49:53):
Okay, the mediation, Now, what is the timeline here? I mean,
what's the stipulation or how do you get from okay?
You know, you say, all right, we've gone back and
forth and back and forth and back and forth on
this and we can't come to an agreement. Is there
a timeline involved that a case has got to be
out there for six amount of months or whatever before
mediation becomes available, or how do you get to that point?

(50:15):
I guess?

Speaker 5 (50:16):
Okay, So, so once a lawsuit is filed, all right,
there'll be a lawyer for the insurance company, and you know,
and think about lawyers will know each other, right, so
you know obviously it'll be somebody gets on the case
and you know there's probably there's very likely going to
be a prior relationship. If not otherwise, you know, there's
always time to meet them. And then you know, in

(50:39):
either side, if they if they're ready to meet, eat
the case, they could just propose it to Hey, listen,
you know what do you think about getting this sing
in mediation? The court will automatically, like the clerk's office
will automatically send out notifications saying, hey, it's time under
the court rules to get the case mediated. And then
that mediation is required to be completed before the case

(51:00):
actually gets a trial date. Right, and then obviously if
either side, either the plaintiff or the defense refuses to
do mediation or just doesn't cooperate all the process, there
can be courting post sanctions of penalties. We could do
a whole segment on that, like a big, a whole
show out of that, because it's actually an interesting system
and mediation works and it and it really does settle
the majority cases that go through the process.

Speaker 1 (51:21):
How quickly could you get to mediation at both parties agreed?

Speaker 2 (51:25):
Oh, if everybody agrees and everybody wants to do it fast.

Speaker 1 (51:29):
Within weeks months? Uh, well fast in lawyer years.

Speaker 2 (51:33):
Is no, no, no, no no.

Speaker 5 (51:35):
So I mean if look, if everybody agreed and you
can find a mediator that can do it, I mean,
there's no reason you couldn't do it. I mean this afternoon.
Oh but but I mean it's just a meeting, right,
But but typically you look hippodly. Everybody needs you need
the medical bills, you need the medical records. If there's
any witnesses that need to be questioned called depositions there

(51:55):
especially real critical to the analysis of the case that
all needs to be done. So, I mean typically in
a lot of times it's still several months after a
lawsuit begin before the case really in a traditional sense,
we'll be ready to mediate, I would think. But once
everybody's on board with it, it's really just matter getting
a picking a mediator, and getting on the schedule.

Speaker 1 (52:16):
I guess the most important takeaway from what we've talked
about today is this, if you're involved in an accident, Uh,
be very careful about any discussions you may have with
an insurance company adjuster.

Speaker 2 (52:25):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (52:26):
Yeah, just be careful. You remember, you know, unless it's
a lawyer that you've hired to work on, you know,
to represent you. You know, typically anybody that calls you
is not working, you know, it's not looking out for
your best interests.

Speaker 1 (52:41):
And yeah, and by the way, you don't have to
pay up front to hire.

Speaker 2 (52:46):
No right free consultations.

Speaker 5 (52:48):
And then obviously we're hired with we don't take any
money up front, and we only get paid a percent
of the recovery. And if anybody wants to talk to us,
we're at eight zero three three five nine three three
zero one.

Speaker 2 (53:02):
Our visiti's online at snow law dot com. That's three
l's snow Law dot com.

Speaker 1 (53:06):
Jim good to see is always my friend ecks, Sir.
The lawyers and staff at the Law Office of James
Snell are there to help those with injuries and workers'
compensation claims, car accidents on the job, and other accidents
resulting in injuries. They want to help everyone resolve their
claim as quickly as possible, but they'll never recommend you
accept a settlement that's unfairly low. The Law Office of

(53:28):
James Snell recognized by AVA with a ten and an
eight plus rating with a Better Business Bureau. There's no
cost to speak to them. Insurance companies make their money
by denying and minimizing otherwise valid claims. The Law Office
of James Snell can help. They're not looking to try
to take every small mishap, but focus on real injuries
that deserve to be taken seriously. The Law Office of

(53:49):
James Snell.

Speaker 2 (53:50):
I'm Jim Snell. Contact me at Snell Law dot com.
That's three l's spell Law dot com.

Speaker 5 (53:56):
The Law Office of James Snell since two thousand and four,
with the Office is in Lexington and Columbia.