Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
And we are back with the Christian mcgopian show. And
I don't know if it's just me, and it can't
be just me. When you're looking at the TV, when
you're looking at the phone, when you're looking at these
gorgeous magazines going on here, you've got these picture perfect
bodies dominating everything the TV and the movies and social
media and more. And we all know, well I know anyway,
(00:30):
courtesy of a gorgeous, amazing daughter. She says, all this
stuff is photoshopped. Everything else going on, your beautiful mom.
You gotta love the kids. My son says the same thing.
But now this is freaking me out a little bit, guys.
Research shows that children as young as four are starting
to develop concerns about body image. And I might be
showing my age here, but at the age of four,
(00:53):
when I was four, my main focus was like cookie
monster and big Bird and how I can sneak a
cookie the countertops. My mom was fantastic at those. Blippy,
the world's most popular live action children's brand, has teamed
with my personally favorite soap Dove to stage a body
image intervention and honestly, I love this idea and joining
(01:15):
us from La to discuss this important new campaign is
Jess Weener, a spokesperson for Blippy and the Dove Self
Esteem Project. I've been looking so forward to this. How
you doing, Jess, I'm so good, so happy to be
here with you. Well, we're delighted to have you here
because what you're doing is so important and weighing in
on this for me for a very informal survey, when
(01:36):
you were four, was there anything like this going on
in your life? Like, my main concern was, you know,
hanging out with my buddies and you know, maybe playing
go fish. I mean, whatever, what is happening out there?
Paint a picture for us?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:49):
No, listen.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
I mean I'm a kid who grew up in the
eighties and you know I was not focused at four
about my body image. But I will say not too much.
Later on at eleven, I went on my first diet.
So it is become a slippery slope for our young
kids these days. And as you mentioned in the Upfront,
all of the social media and the digital media that
we're just naturally consuming, even our little itty biddies are
(02:11):
consuming it, right, I think the pressure has been mounting
and so you know, for me, as a self esteem
educator and somebody working in this space. For the last
thirty years, twenty of those years have been in partnership
with Dove, and I'm really excited about what Dove and
the Dove Self Esteem Project have been developing with Blippy.
And I think you know, the recent research that we
have shows us that one in four girls between the
(02:35):
ages of four and six are to your point, expressing
body dissatisfaction. So clearly we have to jump into action
and have these conversations at a younger age.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Right now. I know you're right, and I'm taking notes
as you're talking here because you're touching on so many
important points. Something you just said really drilled down with me,
because you know, we were all that age before, and
we all have our first idea of our first time
that we maybe said, you know what, no dessert for
the next week, Let's see what it does. And then
I cannot be alone here. I mean, you look at
pictures of me when I'm twelve. I'd kill a perfect
(03:07):
stranger to get that body back. I mean, our body images.
It's insane. And I grew up in this loving accepting
your perfect exactly as you are. Family, so I kind
of worry about these families where and they've got to
be everywhere where You've got well intentioned parents or friends saying, hey,
you know what, you'd probably benefit from losing some weight.
If somebody said that to me when I was eight,
(03:28):
nine forty five, I'd wanted just to flip out. So you, yeah,
on behalf of the people that want to help the
ones we love, and I'll be half of the people
who are maybe saying, maybe I could lose a couple
of pounds. How do we thread that needle? What are
you finding to be you know with your research the
best way to you know, tap into it, get people
to a healthier spot, but without making everybody around us nuts.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Absolutely, So you know, for the last twenty years, Dove
and the Dove Self the Stained Project have been doing
and really important and academically validated body image education and
self esteem programs. And to your point, we've often focused
on that eight plus demographic, right like, right heading into puberty,
heading into middle school, because that's the time that we
know body image can really plummet. But this research has
(04:12):
really woken us up. And here's what I'll say for
listeners who are parents of young kids who are like,
oh my gosh, I did not know that I have
to have this conversation when they're this little. It is
it is an intervention because it is preventative, and so
I don't want parents to freak out. And if they've
not heard their little kids talk about this, that's okay.
To the power of Blippy and Dove coming together is
(04:33):
that we're going to elevate a conversation in a very
organic and fun way, right Like Blippy is song and
dance and curiosity, and Dove has these beautiful tools that
cultivate conversations intergenerationally. And this just gives us an opportunity
to focus on the right things. For instance, and you
mentioned this when a kid is this little, when they're
four to six, we want them to be focused. They're
(04:54):
just learning how to live in their bodies, right, we
want them to be focused on like playing and understanding
the benefits and the beauty of their body, not comparing
it to an image out there. And so I think
we can't have enough of these conversations now. Clearly the
research bears it out, but I also just think it's
helpful for adults to remind themselves as well that this
(05:15):
is an age to be preserving the innocence but also
cultivating some important conversations around confident.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Oh my god, yes, totally. You are nailing it on
all points. And two things that just jumped to mind
while you were talking is a number one. You know again,
when I was a kid several hundred years ago, you
had the average age of puberty was like that standard
twelve thirteen.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Well, now I'm the proud owner of a twenty year
old daughter and a seventeen year old son, and I
found out firsthand through her friends. You know, she approached
she let's see, Yeah, she was a puberty about the
same age that I was, right, so that's pretty normal.
She had buddies in the third grade, you no age
of eight nine who are coming into puberty well before
(05:56):
their parents did. So that's a new phenomenon. And then
couple with the fact that today's beautiful new generation of
kids can easily live to one hundred. So you want
them to have this nice, long childhood. You want them
to you know, if puberty is coming along, it's a gift.
Embrace it. You're magnificent at every age. How do we
do this? I mean, you're what you guys are doing
(06:17):
is so important, and for you guys to partner these
two fantastic entities to partner, it's a wonderful one two punch.
When you're fronting this out there, when you're sharing these
ideas out there, you've got to be getting a phenomenal
response from it. What's been the response from the public
in general?
Speaker 5 (06:32):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Yeah, so far with the episodes that have been released,
we've heard from parents of four, five and six year
olds who have said, thank you, thank you for reminding
me and reminding my kid that their body is beautiful
just the way it is. There's a music video that's
out right now called Your Body Is Amazing, and I'm
just warning anybody who's going to listen to it, you're
going to be singing it all day long, Which is
exactly the point. We want these repetitive positive affirmations to
(06:57):
be there for our little kids right now. I think
parents are looking for creative ways to have this conversation,
you know. I think you know, look, kids are not
raised by media alone. They grow up in families where
they might hear parents say something about their own body image.
So I think it's just a really great reminder for
all of us that we're in it together. That it
(07:17):
doesn't have to be a one and done conversation. That
we can watch these videos, sing these songs, you know,
and then talk a little bit about it and keep
talking about it. That's really the important point. Like to
build the building blocks of healthy self confidence, the conversations
need to happen very often. And of course you don't
want it to feel, you know, so heavy duty. You
want it to be light and fun. And that's what
(07:37):
I think this partnership between Blippy and Dove gives us.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Oh my god, yeah you crushed it, and a little
insider info on behalf of one of the households that's
going to be watching it. I know that this is
tailored to the kids, but I got to be very
honest with you. You're going to find people in their thirties, forties,
fifties who are going to appreciate this message as well.
Am I wrong? I mean, you've got people out there
who just powered through Codd, who just powers through who
(08:01):
knows what a loss or maybe you know something unexpected,
and you have all these messages just pump you know,
pummeling you. Twenty four to seven, you inadvertently have the
news on every minute of every day. You don't mean too,
but there it is, and it's soaking in right. So
these messages that you're that are so valuable and so
transformative and so powerfully helpful to these young brains. I'm
(08:23):
telling you right now you're going to be hearing from
people who, Oh, you know what, I have a million
channels and I just stumbled upon this. I'm twenty five
years old, and I feel better than I have since
I was a kid. I'm not kidding. I really think
you're going to get that kind of feedback.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Oh, I agree with you because after working with the
UH with Dove for so long, you know, I've seen
the impact on multi generations. Because listen, this is a
timeless issue. It's just that generationally digital technology has impacted
us all differently. Right, Like, I'm a Gen xer through
and through, I didn't have the proliferation of digital media
that our kids have today. So our kids need different
(08:56):
critical thinking skills, and we can't start that soon enough.
But by by the way, as you said so to adults,
it's really important for us to almost unlearn some of
these negative behaviors or affirmations that we've had in our life.
And then relearn a way to look at our bodies
with curiosity and to be excited about building confidence in
what we can do and not what we look like.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Oh amen to that. And you know, in an age
where so many of us try so hard to be
everybody's best friend and be supportive and do everything for others,
and it's a wonderful mentality to have, but sometimes you
got to be your own best friend. You got to
take two minutes for yourself. Listen to these affirming messages.
And I'm telling you, I think you're a little too
modest to put it out there, but I'm telling you
right now, this new initiative it's going to change lives
(09:38):
for the better and the ripple effect is going to
be remarkable. I knew the time would fly. Where do
our listeners coast to coast find out more about this
and tune in?
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Well, there's already some wonderful episodes and soon at a
seventy five minute special that you can find.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
On Blippy's YouTube channel.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
And then for those resources that we've been talking about,
you can go to blippy dot com, forward slash Dove.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
We will put a link on our social media as well,
and I'm just putting this out there. I'm no medical expert,
but I'd like to just suggest that when you're watching
this amazing show, carbs don't count. Just make it a
one two punch. Bring in your favorite carbohydrates, little popcorn,
little spaghetti, whatever it is. That and this wonderful show.
I think it's going to do wonderful stuff. In all seriousness,
you're working very uh, you're doing amazing work here, and
(10:21):
it's very appreciated. On behalf of parents of kids right
here in this important age and on behalf of myself
when I'm living on coffee and putting on way too
much news. You're gonna have a lot of viewers out there.
Thank you so much again, Jess Wiener, you got an
open mic anytime. Thank you so much for taking the time.
And we'll all be tuning in. Okay, thanks, and we'll
be right back gang right after this Tuesday, the all
(10:53):
Circumstance and we are back with the Kristin Agopian Show.
And I've been looking so forward to our next guests,
(11:13):
because if you are one of the millions of Americans
looking to enroll in Medicare for the first time or
renew your plan, if Medicare is coming out in conversation
more than it used to. You may be like me,
overwhelmed with all of the options available to you. I've
got a lot of family members who are involved in Medicare,
and it seems kind of deer in the headlights to
(11:34):
begin but it can actually be quite easily demystified if
you know who to talk to. In fact, when it
comes to Medicare, on average, individuals have more than forty
different Medicare advantage plans from which to choose. This is
actually a good thing, but it can get you in
the deer in the headlights mode for just a bit.
So how do you choose the plan that's right for you.
We'll here to break it down for us human as
(11:56):
Catherine Field and doctor Kahisha Franklin joins this VARE newsmaker
to explain. Ladies, welcome, thank.
Speaker 5 (12:02):
You, nice to be here.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
It's our pleasure. Catherine, I'm going to start with you.
Talk to us first of all, what is Medicare and
talk to us about who is eligible for it?
Speaker 5 (12:12):
Yeah, I think we have to start with the basics, right.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
So Medicare is a federally funded health insurance program for
those who are over the age of sixty five or
those that are disabled. Medicare Advantage plans are plans that
are administered through private health insurance companies, and those plans
offer many of the similar benefits but also lots of differences,
(12:36):
and we can get into that. The most important thing
to know is that the open enrollment period for Medicare
Advantage starts on October fifteenth and runs through December seventh.
So this is the opportunity folks to sort of reevaluate.
Do you want to stay on original Medicare, do you
want to move to Medicare Advantage, do you want to
change a plan.
Speaker 5 (12:51):
That's what's going on right now in this space.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Now, outstanding, Catherine, I'm going to stick with you for
just another second. I'm writing notes as we're talking here.
With so many differs, Medicare can still be confusing. There
are so many different options because it has something for everyone,
and that's the good news, but it can be confusing
for people, especially if they're brand new to the process.
They don't have a lot of role models they can
fall back on. I'm a few years away from that,
(13:14):
but it's going to be there. How do I go
about doing that? Break it down for us what the
steps are.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
Sure, So, first of all, I think you got to
know the difference. Folks need to understand the difference between
original Medicare and Medicare advantage. So, first of all, original
Medicare as I described as a federally funded program. It
covers things like doctors and emergency visits, some labs, all
of your kind of standard medical benefits. That's what Medicare covers.
(13:39):
It does not cover your part D, so you would
purchase a separate drug benefit plan. If you're on original Medicare,
you're going to pay twenty percent out of pocket on
every service all year long. If you choose to move
to a Medicare advantage plan, Medicare advantaged plans will cover
everything that original Medicare does. They will also oftentimes cover
many supplemental benefits. These are benefits that are focused on health,
(14:02):
well being, lifestyle, so some extras that original Medicare doesn't cover. Oftentimes,
Medicare advantage plans will include your part D.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
And then probably one of the.
Speaker 6 (14:10):
Most important differences is that Medicare advantage plans have a
cap or what's called a maximum out of pocket protection.
This says that over the course of the year, you
won't pay any more than x amount of dollars, whereas
with original Medicare you're going to pay twenty percent on
every service, so there is no cap. So those are
kind of the basics between Medicare and Medicare advantage kind
(14:32):
of just to start with. Then there's a lot to
understand in terms of like the nuanced differences between plans
that would be in your local area.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Doctor Franklin, I'm going to switch over to you if
I could. What should people keep in mind when they're
choosing a Medicare plan? Where say, the best place to
start when you're going to find the perfect Medicare plan
for you, Well.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
There's definitely, like you said, a lot of plans to
choose from. It it's good to start with comparing the
plans in your area because they can be different based.
Speaker 7 (14:59):
On the area.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
And then also ultimately you want to choose a plan
that just really meets your unique health, financial, and lifestyle needs.
It's also a good idea to sit with your doctor
and go over any potential health needs. For example, if
you have pre diabetes, you want to consider the future
need for diabetic treatment and make sure those things are covered.
It's a good idea to make a list of your
(15:22):
current medications and compare that across plans. Also, if you
have a favorite doctor that you like to see, make
sure that plan is accepted. That way you don't have
any out of network expenses, and check to see if
your specialist care requires referrals. This inter for Medicaid and Medicare.
They do a review every year of all the Medicare
Advantage plans and they rate it on a star system
(15:44):
one to five. So it's a great resource just to
help make that informed decision.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Outstanding, what do you find to be the biggest bit
of information you need to impart when it comes to
Medicare and inform people about.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
You realize that there's a lot of unique needs for
this population, the population and unique specialists. You need, special
doctors and caregivers. So what we see is, you know,
compared to that traditional Medicare, the Medicare Advantage offers a
lot more support, that offers a helping hand to kind
of make the decisions and navigate this difficult health care space.
(16:18):
But also we see just fewer hospital admissions, fewer emergency
room visits and just fewer readmissions.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
To the hospital.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
So I like to let the patients know that you're
in a unique situation and again just make sure it
meets your health needs.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Where do you see Medicare going saying the next year
to come? What do you see it as evolving, getting
even better, addressing even more needs. You've got a unique
viewpoint on this. I'd love to hear your thoughts on
where you think Medicare is going and this year and beyond.
Speaker 6 (16:46):
Do you think you're going to see more of what
you've seen, which is more choice and choice for all.
Speaker 5 (16:53):
Sorts of different consumers.
Speaker 6 (16:55):
There's plans out there today that are oriented toward spial
have special needs, so plans that are to those who
might have a chronic condition, or tailored to those who
are duly eligible for both Medicare and medicade. So lots
of choice and then lots of choice for special populations.
So I think you're going to just see that increase
as well as those that are choosing Medicare advantage will
(17:15):
continue to increase.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Doctor, where do you see this going?
Speaker 4 (17:18):
Well, I would ego what Catherine said is just having
plans that are robust and really need the need. I
believe that making it easy for people websites to go
to when you have a licensed professional to speak to,
people are going to tend to go toward where they
can easily navigate and get help to make these choices
and have a plan that really supports them.
Speaker 6 (17:40):
I think the other thing that's going to happen to
is you're going to just see more consumer focused on
terms of the experience, making it easy for people to
enroll the plan, to use the plan, to be able
to understand their benefits. As we described as a complicated area,
So plans that can do a better job of making
it easy, I think will also continue to float to
the top. An aging copulation. We still have more folks
(18:02):
moving into these plans. There's competition around benefits, but there's
also a lot of competition around quality, such as it's
showing up in the Stars rating and really just highlighting
the importance of the customer experience, not just.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
The plan benefits.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Brilliant and I knew the time would fly, ladies. Where
do we send our listeners to get more information on this?
It's so important.
Speaker 6 (18:21):
Medicare dot gov is a great resource, as is humanity
dot Com.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Both of them have those sorts of tools.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
You can enter all of your medications, your positions, all
of those things into the tool and it'll help generate
the top three or four plans that would be recommended
for you in your area. Sometimes that isn't enough help,
and people want to talk to somebody live. So if
you go to maana dot com, you can sign up
to chat with a licensed professional who can either come
meet you in your local community or can talk to
(18:49):
you telephonically or virtually. You can loop in your caregiver
or a loved one who's helping you make these decisions.
So lots of support out there. The most important thing
is people do the homework. Do that needs assessment is
doctor frank Franklin described, make sure you're ready to make
a decision by December seventh, because time will fly and
we'll be there.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
Before we know it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Ain't that the truth. We'll have another segment entirely on
how time flies that is flat out subject matter we
could all use as well. Hu Man As Catherine Field,
doctor Giesha Franklin, I knew the time would fly. Thank
you both so much for joining us. This information is
so important and you're helping a lot of people many thanks,
thank you so much, thank you, and we'll be right
back gang right after this notes the best of all circumstances,
(19:58):
and we are back with the Kristin Egopian Show. And
I've been looking so forward to our next guests, because
if you are one of the millions of Americans looking
to enroll in Medicare for the first time or renew
your plan, if Medicare is coming out in conversation more
than it used to, you may be like me, overwhelmed
(20:19):
with all of the options available to you. I've got
a lot of family members who are involved in Medicare,
and it seems kind of deer in the headlights to
begin but it can actually be quite easily demystified if
you know who to talk to. In fact, when it
comes to Medicare, on average, individuals have more than forty
different Medicare advantage plans from which to choose. This is
actually a good thing, but it can get you in
(20:41):
the deer in the headlights mode for just a bit.
So how do you choose the plan that's right for you.
We'll here to break it down for us. Hugh Man is,
Catherine Field, and doctor Kahsha Franklin joins this VR newsmaker
line to explain ladies.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Welcome, thank you, nice to be here, Thank you for
having us.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
It's our pleasure. Catherine, I want to start with you.
Talk to us first of all, what is Medicare and
talk to us about who is eligible for it?
Speaker 5 (21:04):
Yeah, I think we have.
Speaker 6 (21:05):
To start with the basics, right, So, Medicare is a
federally funded health insurance program for those who are over
the age of sixty five or those that are disabled.
Medicare Advantage plans are plans that are administered through private
health insurance companies, and those plans offer many of the
(21:26):
similar benefits, but also lots of differences, and we can
get into that. The most important thing to know is
that the open enrollment period for Medicare Advantage starts on
October fifteenth and runs through December seventh. So this is
the opportunity, folks to sort of reevaluate. Do you want
to stay on original Medicare, Do you want to move
to Medicare Advantage? Do you want to change a plan?
That's what's going on right now in this space.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Now, outstanding, Catherine, I'm going to stick with you for
just another second. I'm writing notes as we're talking here
with so many different options, Medicare can still be confusing.
There are so many different options because it has something
for everyone, and that's the good news, but it can
be fusing for people, especially if they're brand new to
the process. They don't have a lot of role models
they can fall back on. I'm a few years away
(22:06):
from that, but it's going to be there. How do
I go about doing that? Break it down for us?
What the steps are?
Speaker 4 (22:11):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (22:11):
So, first of all, I think you got to know
the difference. Folks need to understand the difference between original
Medicare and Medicare Advantage. So, first of all, original Medicare,
as I described as the federally funded program. It covers
things like doctors and emergency visits, some labs, all of
your kind of standard medical benefits. That's what Medicare covers.
It does not cover your part D so you would
(22:33):
purchase a separate drug benefit plan. If you're on original Medicare,
you're going to pay twenty percent out of pocket on
every service all year long. If you choose to move
to a Medicare advantage plan, Medicare advantaged plans will cover
everything that original Medicare does. They will also oftentimes cover
many supplemental benefits, So these are benefits that are focused
on health, well being, lifestyle, so some extras that original
(22:57):
Medicare doesn't cover. Oftentimes Medicare Advantage plans will include your
part D And then probably one of the most important
differences is that Medicare advantaged plans have a cap or
what's called a maximum out of pocket protection. This says
that over the course of the year, you won't pay
any more than x amount of dollars, whereas with original Medicare,
you're going to pay twenty percent on every service, so
(23:19):
there is no cap. So those are kind of the
basics between Medicare and Medicare Advantage kind of just to
start with. Then there's a lot to understand in terms
of like the nuanced differences between plans that would be
in your local area.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Doctor Franklin, I'm going to switch over to you if
I could. What should people keep in mind when they're
choosing a Medicare plan? Where say, the best place to
start when you're going to find the perfect Medicare plan
for you.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Well, there's definitely, like you said, a lot of plans
to choose from. It it's good to start with comparing
the plans in your area because they can be different
based on the area. And then also ultimately you want
to choose a plan that just really meets your unique health, financial,
and lifestyle needs. Also a good idea to sit with
your doctor and go over any potential health needs. For example,
(24:05):
if you have pre diabetes, you want to consider the
future need for diabetic treatment and make sure those things
are covered. It's a good idea to make a list
of your current medications and compare that across plans. Also,
if you have a favorite doctor that you like to see,
make sure that plan is accepted. That way you don't
have any out of network expenses, and check to see
(24:26):
if your specialist care requires referrals. This inter for Medicaid
and Medicare. They do a review every year of all
of the Medicare advantage plans and they rate it on
a star system one to five. So it's a great
resource just to help make that informed decision.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Outstanding, what do you find to be the biggest bit
of information you need to impart when it comes to
Medicare and inform people about.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
You realize that there's a lot of unique needs for
this population. The older population and unique specialists. You need
special doctors and caregivers. So what we see is, you know,
compared to that traditional Medicare, the Medicare advantage offers a
lot more support and offers a helping hand to kind
of make the decisions and navigate this difficult health care space.
(25:10):
But also we see just fewer hospital admissions, fewer emergency
room visits, and just fewer readmissions.
Speaker 5 (25:17):
To the hospital.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
So I like to let the patients know that you're
in a unique situation and again just make sure it
meets your health needs.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Where do you see medicare going saying the next year
to come? What do you see it as evolving, getting
even better, addressing even more needs. You've got a unique
viewpoint on this. I'd love to hear your thoughts on
where you think Medicare is going and this year and beyond.
Speaker 6 (25:38):
Do you think you're going to see more of what
you've seen, which is more choice and choice for all.
Speaker 5 (25:45):
Sorts of different consumers.
Speaker 6 (25:47):
There's plans out there today that are oriented toward special
have special needs, so plans that are tailored to those
who might have a chronic condition or tailored to those
who are duly eligible for both medicare and medicade, so
lots of choice and then lunch of choice for special populations.
So I think you're going to just see that increase
as well as those that are choosing meticare advantage will
(26:07):
continue to increase.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Doctor where do you see this going well, I.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
Would go what Catherine said is just having plans that
are robust and really need the need. I believe that
making it easy for people websites to go to when
you have a licensed professional to speak to, people are
going to tend to go toward where they can easily
navigate and get help to make these choices and have
a plan that really supports them.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
I think the other thing that's going to happen to
is you're going to just see more consumer focused on
terms of the experience, making it easy for people to
enroll the plan, to use the plan, to be able
to understand their benefits. As we've described as a complicated area,
So plans that can do a better job of making
it easy I think will also continue to float to
the top. It's still got an aging population, we still
(26:54):
have more folks moving into these plans. There's competition around benefits,
but there's also a lot of competition around quality such
as it's showing up in the Stars rating and really
just highlighting the importance of the customer experience not just
the plan benefits.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Brilliant and I knew the time would fly, Ladies, Where
do we send our listeners to get more information on this?
It's so important.
Speaker 6 (27:13):
Medicare dot gov is a great resource, as is Humana
dot com.
Speaker 5 (27:18):
Both of them have those sorts of tools.
Speaker 6 (27:19):
You can enter all of your medications, your positions, all
of those things into the tool and it'll help generate
the top three or four plans that would.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
Be recommended for you in your area.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
Sometimes that isn't enough help, and people want to talk
to somebody live. So if you go to maana dot com,
you can sign up to chat with a licensed professional
who can either come meet you in your local community
or can talk to you telephonically or virtually. You can
loop in your caregiver or a loved one who's helping
you make these decisions. So lots of support out there.
(27:49):
The most important thing is people do the homework. Do
that needs assessment. Is doctor Franklin described make sure you're
ready to make a decision by Deceevemnber seventh, because time
will fly and will be there before.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
We know it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Ain't that the truth. We'll have another segment entirely on
how time flies. That is flat out subject matter we
could all use as well. Human as Catherine Field doctor
Gisha Franklin, I knew the time would fly. Thank you
both so much for joining us. This information is so
important and you're helping a lot of people. Many thanks,
Thank you so much, Thank you, And we'll be right
back gang right after this.
Speaker 7 (28:26):
To the best of all.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Circumstance.
Speaker 8 (28:58):
And we are back with the Christian Agoi Show. And
I've been looking so forward to our next guests because
this is something that I want to say touch us
just about every family tree. And coming up, it's a
beautiful month of October. We caught World Osteoporosis Day coming up,
and I think if you guys do a little digging
in your family tree, if not your immediate family, you'll
(29:19):
find if there's some beautiful human somewhere in there that
what are quietly or not is battling osteoporosis, that there
are so many new tools here to help with that,
and joining us there. Our Newsmaker line are Trailblazers Laura
Ranks and orthopedic surgeon doctor Shannon Carpenter. Here you can
tell us about the latest information and how we too
(29:40):
can battle this back and keep our bones strong and
healthy far longer than we were even thinking in the past.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Welcome, Thank you, thanks for having us.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
Kristen, you got to Laura.
Speaker 8 (29:50):
I'm going to start with you first because I'm the
proud owner of a couple of great aunts, great people
in my family tree, and they are living with osteoporosis,
and they're act they're doing all kinds of stuff. You
would never know they have osteoporosis, except that they let
us know. I mean, they've got everything going for them
and they're battling it back. Tell us a bit about
your experience with osteoporosis and maybe how you felt when
(30:13):
you were diagnosed, when you got that news.
Speaker 7 (30:15):
Sure, so my journey started in twenty twenty two when
my doctor suggested a bone density scan as a part
of my routine physical for a women my.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Age, you know, and I agreed.
Speaker 7 (30:27):
I was very physically active, and I was healthy, and
I had a great diet and all the things that
we do. So I was absolutely shocked when my test
results came back.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
And I was a negative four point zero.
Speaker 7 (30:42):
And that may not mean anything to your listeners, just
like it didn't mean anything to me at the time.
But my doctor said, oh, that's more typical for.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
A woman in her nineties.
Speaker 7 (30:52):
And that's how I got my osteoporosis diagnosis when I
was in my fifties, and so you know, I immediately
thought kind of took it upon myself to make some
lifestyle updates. I thought I could reverse this disease. A
year later, I had a follow up scan and my
bone density had gotten worse. I was at a negative
(31:14):
four point four. And that's when I learned oscar prosis
is a progressive bone disease that weakens your bones and
puts you at risk of fracture. And I knew that
I needed more help than I.
Speaker 5 (31:27):
Could just give myself.
Speaker 7 (31:28):
So I had a talk with my doctor and we
picked a treatment at that was best for me. I
went on that treatment, and I'm really proud to share
that a few weeks ago, I had my follow up
scan and I'm moving in the right direction. I've built
back twenty percent of my bone density. But you're right,
it's a very silent disease.
Speaker 8 (31:49):
That's unbelievable. And I'm taking Noteses we're talking here. First
of all, good for you, that's a fact. I love
the real life stories when they take today's knowledge and
all of the amazing breakthroughs.
Speaker 7 (32:00):
Dot.
Speaker 8 (32:00):
I'm going to switch to you next, because it feels
like in this day and age where you know, there's
a million news stories coming at us. You know, look here,
look here, and we're clicking here, clicking here. I feel
like these breakthroughs and this great information somehow gets buried,
somehow people just aren't clicking on this, and we need
more people aware. Tell us a little bit about ostio
(32:20):
process from your view and the risks associated with the condition.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Yeah, I think the most important thing to understand is
that ostia process is a progressive condition, so it tends
to get worse over time, and it causes you to
lose bone strength and increases your risk of fracture, and
so that's the most important risk. And with that fracture,
like Laura said, can come a loss of independence. And
what surprises many people just how common it is. So
(32:45):
ostia process is responsible for more hospitalizations every year than
heart disease, breast cancer or stroked unbelievable and.
Speaker 8 (32:53):
I knew we only had a little bit of time,
but I'd love to get your take on where you
recommend we steer our listeners for more operation on this.
Knowledge is power and you guys are helping a lot
of people out there. Where do we send our listeners
to learn more?
Speaker 7 (33:05):
Yeah, let's start having the conversation, and we we want
to say thank you to Angin for partnering with us
to get the word at so your listeners can go
to Building your Bones dot com for more information and
let's do this together.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Let's all stay ahead of the disease.
Speaker 8 (33:21):
Absolutely, engine is such a front runner in this and
they are doing such important work. Thank you both for
sharing your stories and your advice. You've got an open
mic anytime, please joint and fig them and you can
thank you.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Thanks.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Listen, you've beten.
Speaker 8 (33:32):
We'll be right back dang right after this.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
Not to
And we are back with the Christian mcgopian show. And
I don't know if it's just me, and it can't
be just me. When you're looking at the TV, when
you're looking at the phone, when you're looking at these
gorgeous magazines going on here, you've got these picture perfect
bodies dominating everything the TV and the movies and social
media and more. And we all know, well I know anyway,
(00:30):
courtesy of a gorgeous, amazing daughter. She says, all this
stuff is photoshopped. Everything else going on, your beautiful mom.
You gotta love the kids. My son says the same thing.
But now this is freaking me out a little bit, guys.
Research shows that children as young as four are starting
to develop concerns about body image. And I might be
showing my age here, but at the age of four,
(00:53):
when I was four, my main focus was like cookie
monster and big Bird and how I can sneak a
cookie the countertops. My mom was fantastic at those. Blippy,
the world's most popular live action children's brand, has teamed
with my personally favorite soap Dove to stage a body
image intervention and honestly, I love this idea and joining
(01:15):
us from La to discuss this important new campaign is
Jess Weener, a spokesperson for Blippy and the Dove Self
Esteem Project. I've been looking so forward to this. How
you doing, Jess, I'm so good, so happy to be
here with you. Well, we're delighted to have you here
because what you're doing is so important and weighing in
on this for me for a very informal survey, when
(01:36):
you were four, was there anything like this going on
in your life? Like, my main concern was, you know,
hanging out with my buddies and you know, maybe playing
go fish. I mean, whatever, what is happening out there?
Paint a picture for us?
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:49):
No, listen.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
I mean I'm a kid who grew up in the
eighties and you know I was not focused at four
about my body image. But I will say not too much.
Later on at eleven, I went on my first diet.
So it is become a slippery slope for our young
kids these days. And as you mentioned in the Upfront,
all of the social media and the digital media that
we're just naturally consuming, even our little itty biddies are
(02:11):
consuming it, right, I think the pressure has been mounting
and so you know, for me, as a self esteem
educator and somebody working in this space. For the last
thirty years, twenty of those years have been in partnership
with Dove, and I'm really excited about what Dove and
the Dove Self Esteem Project have been developing with Blippy.
And I think you know, the recent research that we
have shows us that one in four girls between the
(02:35):
ages of four and six are to your point, expressing
body dissatisfaction. So clearly we have to jump into action
and have these conversations at a younger age.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Right now. I know you're right, and I'm taking notes
as you're talking here because you're touching on so many
important points. Something you just said really drilled down with me,
because you know, we were all that age before, and
we all have our first idea of our first time
that we maybe said, you know what, no dessert for
the next week, Let's see what it does. And then
I cannot be alone here. I mean, you look at
pictures of me when I'm twelve. I'd kill a perfect
(03:07):
stranger to get that body back. I mean, our body images.
It's insane. And I grew up in this loving accepting
your perfect exactly as you are. Family, so I kind
of worry about these families where and they've got to
be everywhere where You've got well intentioned parents or friends saying, hey,
you know what, you'd probably benefit from losing some weight.
If somebody said that to me when I was eight,
(03:28):
nine forty five, I'd wanted just to flip out. So you, yeah,
on behalf of the people that want to help the
ones we love, and I'll be half of the people
who are maybe saying, maybe I could lose a couple
of pounds. How do we thread that needle? What are
you finding to be you know with your research the
best way to you know, tap into it, get people
to a healthier spot, but without making everybody around us nuts.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Absolutely, So you know, for the last twenty years, Dove
and the Dove Self the Stained Project have been doing
and really important and academically validated body image education and
self esteem programs. And to your point, we've often focused
on that eight plus demographic, right like, right heading into puberty,
heading into middle school, because that's the time that we
know body image can really plummet. But this research has
(04:12):
really woken us up. And here's what I'll say for
listeners who are parents of young kids who are like,
oh my gosh, I did not know that I have
to have this conversation when they're this little. It is
it is an intervention because it is preventative, and so
I don't want parents to freak out. And if they've
not heard their little kids talk about this, that's okay.
To the power of Blippy and Dove coming together is
(04:33):
that we're going to elevate a conversation in a very
organic and fun way, right Like Blippy is song and
dance and curiosity, and Dove has these beautiful tools that
cultivate conversations intergenerationally. And this just gives us an opportunity
to focus on the right things. For instance, and you
mentioned this when a kid is this little, when they're
four to six, we want them to be focused. They're
(04:54):
just learning how to live in their bodies, right, we
want them to be focused on like playing and understanding
the benefits and the beauty of their body, not comparing
it to an image out there. And so I think
we can't have enough of these conversations now. Clearly the
research bears it out, but I also just think it's
helpful for adults to remind themselves as well that this
(05:15):
is an age to be preserving the innocence but also
cultivating some important conversations around confident.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Oh my god, yes, totally. You are nailing it on
all points. And two things that just jumped to mind
while you were talking is a number one. You know again,
when I was a kid several hundred years ago, you
had the average age of puberty was like that standard
twelve thirteen.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Right.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Well, now I'm the proud owner of a twenty year
old daughter and a seventeen year old son, and I
found out firsthand through her friends. You know, she approached
she let's see, Yeah, she was a puberty about the
same age that I was, right, so that's pretty normal.
She had buddies in the third grade, you no age
of eight nine who are coming into puberty well before
(05:56):
their parents did. So that's a new phenomenon. And then
couple with the fact that today's beautiful new generation of
kids can easily live to one hundred. So you want
them to have this nice, long childhood. You want them
to you know, if puberty is coming along, it's a gift.
Embrace it. You're magnificent at every age. How do we
do this? I mean, you're what you guys are doing
(06:17):
is so important, and for you guys to partner these
two fantastic entities to partner, it's a wonderful one two punch.
When you're fronting this out there, when you're sharing these
ideas out there, you've got to be getting a phenomenal
response from it. What's been the response from the public
in general?
Speaker 5 (06:32):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Yeah, so far with the episodes that have been released,
we've heard from parents of four, five and six year
olds who have said, thank you, thank you for reminding
me and reminding my kid that their body is beautiful
just the way it is. There's a music video that's
out right now called Your Body Is Amazing, and I'm
just warning anybody who's going to listen to it, you're
going to be singing it all day long, Which is
exactly the point. We want these repetitive positive affirmations to
(06:57):
be there for our little kids right now. I think
parents are looking for creative ways to have this conversation,
you know. I think you know, look, kids are not
raised by media alone. They grow up in families where
they might hear parents say something about their own body image.
So I think it's just a really great reminder for
all of us that we're in it together. That it
(07:17):
doesn't have to be a one and done conversation. That
we can watch these videos, sing these songs, you know,
and then talk a little bit about it and keep
talking about it. That's really the important point. Like to
build the building blocks of healthy self confidence, the conversations
need to happen very often. And of course you don't
want it to feel, you know, so heavy duty. You
want it to be light and fun. And that's what
(07:37):
I think this partnership between Blippy and Dove gives us.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Oh my god, yeah you crushed it, and a little
insider info on behalf of one of the households that's
going to be watching it. I know that this is
tailored to the kids, but I got to be very
honest with you. You're going to find people in their thirties, forties,
fifties who are going to appreciate this message as well.
Am I wrong? I mean, you've got people out there
who just powered through Codd, who just powers through who
(08:01):
knows what a loss or maybe you know something unexpected,
and you have all these messages just pump you know,
pummeling you. Twenty four to seven, you inadvertently have the
news on every minute of every day. You don't mean too,
but there it is, and it's soaking in right. So
these messages that you're that are so valuable and so
transformative and so powerfully helpful to these young brains. I'm
(08:23):
telling you right now you're going to be hearing from
people who, Oh, you know what, I have a million
channels and I just stumbled upon this. I'm twenty five
years old, and I feel better than I have since
I was a kid. I'm not kidding. I really think
you're going to get that kind of feedback.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Oh, I agree with you because after working with the
UH with Dove for so long, you know, I've seen
the impact on multi generations. Because listen, this is a
timeless issue. It's just that generationally digital technology has impacted
us all differently. Right, Like, I'm a Gen xer through
and through, I didn't have the proliferation of digital media
that our kids have today. So our kids need different
(08:56):
critical thinking skills, and we can't start that soon enough.
But by by the way, as you said so to adults,
it's really important for us to almost unlearn some of
these negative behaviors or affirmations that we've had in our life.
And then relearn a way to look at our bodies
with curiosity and to be excited about building confidence in
what we can do and not what we look like.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Oh amen to that. And you know, in an age
where so many of us try so hard to be
everybody's best friend and be supportive and do everything for others,
and it's a wonderful mentality to have, but sometimes you
got to be your own best friend. You got to
take two minutes for yourself. Listen to these affirming messages.
And I'm telling you, I think you're a little too
modest to put it out there, but I'm telling you
right now, this new initiative it's going to change lives
(09:38):
for the better and the ripple effect is going to
be remarkable. I knew the time would fly. Where do
our listeners coast to coast find out more about this
and tune in?
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Well, there's already some wonderful episodes and soon at a
seventy five minute special that you can find.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
On Blippy's YouTube channel.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
And then for those resources that we've been talking about,
you can go to blippy dot com, forward slash Dove.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
We will put a link on our social media as well,
and I'm just putting this out there. I'm no medical expert,
but I'd like to just suggest that when you're watching
this amazing show, carbs don't count. Just make it a
one two punch. Bring in your favorite carbohydrates, little popcorn,
little spaghetti, whatever it is. That and this wonderful show.
I think it's going to do wonderful stuff. In all seriousness,
you're working very uh, you're doing amazing work here, and
(10:21):
it's very appreciated. On behalf of parents of kids right
here in this important age and on behalf of myself
when I'm living on coffee and putting on way too
much news. You're gonna have a lot of viewers out there.
Thank you so much again, Jess Wiener, you got an
open mic anytime. Thank you so much for taking the time.
And we'll all be tuning in. Okay, thanks, and we'll
be right back gang right after this Tuesday, the all
(10:53):
Circumstance and we are back with the Kristin Agopian Show.
And I've been looking so forward to our next guests,
(11:13):
because if you are one of the millions of Americans
looking to enroll in Medicare for the first time or
renew your plan, if Medicare is coming out in conversation
more than it used to. You may be like me,
overwhelmed with all of the options available to you. I've
got a lot of family members who are involved in Medicare,
and it seems kind of deer in the headlights to
(11:34):
begin but it can actually be quite easily demystified if
you know who to talk to. In fact, when it
comes to Medicare, on average, individuals have more than forty
different Medicare advantage plans from which to choose. This is
actually a good thing, but it can get you in
the deer in the headlights mode for just a bit.
So how do you choose the plan that's right for you.
We'll here to break it down for us human as
(11:56):
Catherine Field and doctor Kahisha Franklin joins this VARE newsmaker
to explain. Ladies, welcome, thank.
Speaker 5 (12:02):
You, nice to be here.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
It's our pleasure. Catherine, I'm going to start with you.
Talk to us first of all, what is Medicare and
talk to us about who is eligible for it?
Speaker 5 (12:12):
Yeah, I think we have to start with the basics, right.
Speaker 6 (12:15):
So Medicare is a federally funded health insurance program for
those who are over the age of sixty five or
those that are disabled. Medicare Advantage plans are plans that
are administered through private health insurance companies, and those plans
offer many of the similar benefits but also lots of differences,
(12:36):
and we can get into that. The most important thing
to know is that the open enrollment period for Medicare
Advantage starts on October fifteenth and runs through December seventh.
So this is the opportunity folks to sort of reevaluate.
Do you want to stay on original Medicare, do you
want to move to Medicare Advantage, do you want to
change a plan.
Speaker 5 (12:51):
That's what's going on right now in this space.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Now, outstanding, Catherine, I'm going to stick with you for
just another second. I'm writing notes as we're talking here.
With so many differs, Medicare can still be confusing. There
are so many different options because it has something for everyone,
and that's the good news, but it can be confusing
for people, especially if they're brand new to the process.
They don't have a lot of role models they can
fall back on. I'm a few years away from that,
(13:14):
but it's going to be there. How do I go
about doing that? Break it down for us what the
steps are.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
Sure, So, first of all, I think you got to
know the difference. Folks need to understand the difference between
original Medicare and Medicare advantage. So, first of all, original
Medicare as I described as a federally funded program. It
covers things like doctors and emergency visits, some labs, all
of your kind of standard medical benefits. That's what Medicare covers.
(13:39):
It does not cover your part D, so you would
purchase a separate drug benefit plan. If you're on original Medicare,
you're going to pay twenty percent out of pocket on
every service all year long. If you choose to move
to a Medicare advantage plan, Medicare advantaged plans will cover
everything that original Medicare does. They will also oftentimes cover
many supplemental benefits. These are benefits that are focused on health,
(14:02):
well being, lifestyle, so some extras that original Medicare doesn't cover. Oftentimes,
Medicare advantage plans will include your part D.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
And then probably one of the.
Speaker 6 (14:10):
Most important differences is that Medicare advantage plans have a
cap or what's called a maximum out of pocket protection.
This says that over the course of the year, you
won't pay any more than x amount of dollars, whereas
with original Medicare you're going to pay twenty percent on
every service, so there is no cap. So those are
kind of the basics between Medicare and Medicare advantage kind
(14:32):
of just to start with. Then there's a lot to
understand in terms of like the nuanced differences between plans
that would be in your local area.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Doctor Franklin, I'm going to switch over to you if
I could. What should people keep in mind when they're
choosing a Medicare plan? Where say, the best place to
start when you're going to find the perfect Medicare plan
for you, Well.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
There's definitely, like you said, a lot of plans to
choose from. It it's good to start with comparing the
plans in your area because they can be different based.
Speaker 7 (14:59):
On the area.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
And then also ultimately you want to choose a plan
that just really meets your unique health, financial, and lifestyle needs.
It's also a good idea to sit with your doctor
and go over any potential health needs. For example, if
you have pre diabetes, you want to consider the future
need for diabetic treatment and make sure those things are covered.
It's a good idea to make a list of your
(15:22):
current medications and compare that across plans. Also, if you
have a favorite doctor that you like to see, make
sure that plan is accepted. That way you don't have
any out of network expenses, and check to see if
your specialist care requires referrals. This inter for Medicaid and Medicare.
They do a review every year of all the Medicare
Advantage plans and they rate it on a star system
(15:44):
one to five. So it's a great resource just to
help make that informed decision.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Outstanding, what do you find to be the biggest bit
of information you need to impart when it comes to
Medicare and inform people about.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
You realize that there's a lot of unique needs for
this population, the population and unique specialists. You need, special
doctors and caregivers. So what we see is, you know,
compared to that traditional Medicare, the Medicare Advantage offers a
lot more support, that offers a helping hand to kind
of make the decisions and navigate this difficult health care space.
(16:18):
But also we see just fewer hospital admissions, fewer emergency
room visits and just fewer readmissions.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
To the hospital.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
So I like to let the patients know that you're
in a unique situation and again just make sure it
meets your health needs.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Where do you see Medicare going saying the next year
to come? What do you see it as evolving, getting
even better, addressing even more needs. You've got a unique
viewpoint on this. I'd love to hear your thoughts on
where you think Medicare is going and this year and beyond.
Speaker 6 (16:46):
Do you think you're going to see more of what
you've seen, which is more choice and choice for all.
Speaker 5 (16:53):
Sorts of different consumers.
Speaker 6 (16:55):
There's plans out there today that are oriented toward spial
have special needs, so plans that are to those who
might have a chronic condition, or tailored to those who
are duly eligible for both Medicare and medicade. So lots
of choice and then lots of choice for special populations.
So I think you're going to just see that increase
as well as those that are choosing Medicare advantage will
(17:15):
continue to increase.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Doctor, where do you see this going?
Speaker 4 (17:18):
Well, I would ego what Catherine said is just having
plans that are robust and really need the need. I
believe that making it easy for people websites to go
to when you have a licensed professional to speak to,
people are going to tend to go toward where they
can easily navigate and get help to make these choices
and have a plan that really supports them.
Speaker 6 (17:40):
I think the other thing that's going to happen to
is you're going to just see more consumer focused on
terms of the experience, making it easy for people to
enroll the plan, to use the plan, to be able
to understand their benefits. As we described as a complicated area,
So plans that can do a better job of making
it easy, I think will also continue to float to
the top. An aging copulation. We still have more folks
(18:02):
moving into these plans. There's competition around benefits, but there's
also a lot of competition around quality, such as it's
showing up in the Stars rating and really just highlighting
the importance of the customer experience, not just.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
The plan benefits.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Brilliant and I knew the time would fly, ladies. Where
do we send our listeners to get more information on this?
It's so important.
Speaker 6 (18:21):
Medicare dot gov is a great resource, as is humanity
dot Com.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Both of them have those sorts of tools.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
You can enter all of your medications, your positions, all
of those things into the tool and it'll help generate
the top three or four plans that would be recommended
for you in your area. Sometimes that isn't enough help,
and people want to talk to somebody live. So if
you go to maana dot com, you can sign up
to chat with a licensed professional who can either come
meet you in your local community or can talk to
(18:49):
you telephonically or virtually. You can loop in your caregiver
or a loved one who's helping you make these decisions.
So lots of support out there. The most important thing
is people do the homework. Do that needs assessment is
doctor frank Franklin described, make sure you're ready to make
a decision by December seventh, because time will fly and
we'll be there.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
Before we know it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Ain't that the truth. We'll have another segment entirely on
how time flies that is flat out subject matter we
could all use as well. Hu Man As Catherine Field,
doctor Giesha Franklin, I knew the time would fly. Thank
you both so much for joining us. This information is
so important and you're helping a lot of people many thanks,
thank you so much, thank you, and we'll be right
back gang right after this notes the best of all circumstances,
(19:58):
and we are back with the Kristin Egopian Show. And
I've been looking so forward to our next guests, because
if you are one of the millions of Americans looking
to enroll in Medicare for the first time or renew
your plan, if Medicare is coming out in conversation more
than it used to, you may be like me, overwhelmed
(20:19):
with all of the options available to you. I've got
a lot of family members who are involved in Medicare,
and it seems kind of deer in the headlights to
begin but it can actually be quite easily demystified if
you know who to talk to. In fact, when it
comes to Medicare, on average, individuals have more than forty
different Medicare advantage plans from which to choose. This is
actually a good thing, but it can get you in
(20:41):
the deer in the headlights mode for just a bit.
So how do you choose the plan that's right for you.
We'll here to break it down for us. Hugh Man is,
Catherine Field, and doctor Kahsha Franklin joins this VR newsmaker
line to explain ladies.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
Welcome, thank you, nice to be here, Thank you for
having us.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
It's our pleasure. Catherine, I want to start with you.
Talk to us first of all, what is Medicare and
talk to us about who is eligible for it?
Speaker 5 (21:04):
Yeah, I think we have.
Speaker 6 (21:05):
To start with the basics, right, So, Medicare is a
federally funded health insurance program for those who are over
the age of sixty five or those that are disabled.
Medicare Advantage plans are plans that are administered through private
health insurance companies, and those plans offer many of the
(21:26):
similar benefits, but also lots of differences, and we can
get into that. The most important thing to know is
that the open enrollment period for Medicare Advantage starts on
October fifteenth and runs through December seventh. So this is
the opportunity, folks to sort of reevaluate. Do you want
to stay on original Medicare, Do you want to move
to Medicare Advantage? Do you want to change a plan?
That's what's going on right now in this space.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Now, outstanding, Catherine, I'm going to stick with you for
just another second. I'm writing notes as we're talking here
with so many different options, Medicare can still be confusing.
There are so many different options because it has something
for everyone, and that's the good news, but it can
be fusing for people, especially if they're brand new to
the process. They don't have a lot of role models
they can fall back on. I'm a few years away
(22:06):
from that, but it's going to be there. How do
I go about doing that? Break it down for us?
What the steps are?
Speaker 4 (22:11):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (22:11):
So, first of all, I think you got to know
the difference. Folks need to understand the difference between original
Medicare and Medicare Advantage. So, first of all, original Medicare,
as I described as the federally funded program. It covers
things like doctors and emergency visits, some labs, all of
your kind of standard medical benefits. That's what Medicare covers.
It does not cover your part D so you would
(22:33):
purchase a separate drug benefit plan. If you're on original Medicare,
you're going to pay twenty percent out of pocket on
every service all year long. If you choose to move
to a Medicare advantage plan, Medicare advantaged plans will cover
everything that original Medicare does. They will also oftentimes cover
many supplemental benefits, So these are benefits that are focused
on health, well being, lifestyle, so some extras that original
(22:57):
Medicare doesn't cover. Oftentimes Medicare Advantage plans will include your
part D And then probably one of the most important
differences is that Medicare advantaged plans have a cap or
what's called a maximum out of pocket protection. This says
that over the course of the year, you won't pay
any more than x amount of dollars, whereas with original Medicare,
you're going to pay twenty percent on every service, so
(23:19):
there is no cap. So those are kind of the
basics between Medicare and Medicare Advantage kind of just to
start with. Then there's a lot to understand in terms
of like the nuanced differences between plans that would be
in your local area.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Doctor Franklin, I'm going to switch over to you if
I could. What should people keep in mind when they're
choosing a Medicare plan? Where say, the best place to
start when you're going to find the perfect Medicare plan
for you.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Well, there's definitely, like you said, a lot of plans
to choose from. It it's good to start with comparing
the plans in your area because they can be different
based on the area. And then also ultimately you want
to choose a plan that just really meets your unique health, financial,
and lifestyle needs. Also a good idea to sit with
your doctor and go over any potential health needs. For example,
(24:05):
if you have pre diabetes, you want to consider the
future need for diabetic treatment and make sure those things
are covered. It's a good idea to make a list
of your current medications and compare that across plans. Also,
if you have a favorite doctor that you like to see,
make sure that plan is accepted. That way you don't
have any out of network expenses, and check to see
(24:26):
if your specialist care requires referrals. This inter for Medicaid
and Medicare. They do a review every year of all
of the Medicare advantage plans and they rate it on
a star system one to five. So it's a great
resource just to help make that informed decision.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Outstanding, what do you find to be the biggest bit
of information you need to impart when it comes to
Medicare and inform people about.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
You realize that there's a lot of unique needs for
this population. The older population and unique specialists. You need
special doctors and caregivers. So what we see is, you know,
compared to that traditional Medicare, the Medicare advantage offers a
lot more support and offers a helping hand to kind
of make the decisions and navigate this difficult health care space.
(25:10):
But also we see just fewer hospital admissions, fewer emergency
room visits, and just fewer readmissions.
Speaker 5 (25:17):
To the hospital.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
So I like to let the patients know that you're
in a unique situation and again just make sure it
meets your health needs.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Where do you see medicare going saying the next year
to come? What do you see it as evolving, getting
even better, addressing even more needs. You've got a unique
viewpoint on this. I'd love to hear your thoughts on
where you think Medicare is going and this year and beyond.
Speaker 6 (25:38):
Do you think you're going to see more of what
you've seen, which is more choice and choice for all.
Speaker 5 (25:45):
Sorts of different consumers.
Speaker 6 (25:47):
There's plans out there today that are oriented toward special
have special needs, so plans that are tailored to those
who might have a chronic condition or tailored to those
who are duly eligible for both medicare and medicade, so
lots of choice and then lunch of choice for special populations.
So I think you're going to just see that increase
as well as those that are choosing meticare advantage will
(26:07):
continue to increase.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Doctor where do you see this going well, I.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
Would go what Catherine said is just having plans that
are robust and really need the need. I believe that
making it easy for people websites to go to when
you have a licensed professional to speak to, people are
going to tend to go toward where they can easily
navigate and get help to make these choices and have
a plan that really supports them.
Speaker 6 (26:32):
I think the other thing that's going to happen to
is you're going to just see more consumer focused on
terms of the experience, making it easy for people to
enroll the plan, to use the plan, to be able
to understand their benefits. As we've described as a complicated area,
So plans that can do a better job of making
it easy I think will also continue to float to
the top. It's still got an aging population, we still
(26:54):
have more folks moving into these plans. There's competition around benefits,
but there's also a lot of competition around quality such
as it's showing up in the Stars rating and really
just highlighting the importance of the customer experience not just
the plan benefits.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Brilliant and I knew the time would fly, Ladies, Where
do we send our listeners to get more information on this?
It's so important.
Speaker 6 (27:13):
Medicare dot gov is a great resource, as is Humana
dot com.
Speaker 5 (27:18):
Both of them have those sorts of tools.
Speaker 6 (27:19):
You can enter all of your medications, your positions, all
of those things into the tool and it'll help generate
the top three or four plans that would.
Speaker 5 (27:27):
Be recommended for you in your area.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
Sometimes that isn't enough help, and people want to talk
to somebody live. So if you go to maana dot com,
you can sign up to chat with a licensed professional
who can either come meet you in your local community
or can talk to you telephonically or virtually. You can
loop in your caregiver or a loved one who's helping
you make these decisions. So lots of support out there.
(27:49):
The most important thing is people do the homework. Do
that needs assessment. Is doctor Franklin described make sure you're
ready to make a decision by Deceevemnber seventh, because time
will fly and will be there before.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
We know it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Ain't that the truth. We'll have another segment entirely on
how time flies. That is flat out subject matter we
could all use as well. Human as Catherine Field doctor
Gisha Franklin, I knew the time would fly. Thank you
both so much for joining us. This information is so
important and you're helping a lot of people. Many thanks,
Thank you so much, Thank you, And we'll be right
back gang right after this.
Speaker 7 (28:26):
To the best of all.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Circumstance.
Speaker 8 (28:58):
And we are back with the Christian Agoi Show. And
I've been looking so forward to our next guests because
this is something that I want to say touch us
just about every family tree. And coming up, it's a
beautiful month of October. We caught World Osteoporosis Day coming up,
and I think if you guys do a little digging
in your family tree, if not your immediate family, you'll
(29:19):
find if there's some beautiful human somewhere in there that
what are quietly or not is battling osteoporosis, that there
are so many new tools here to help with that,
and joining us there. Our Newsmaker line are Trailblazers Laura
Ranks and orthopedic surgeon doctor Shannon Carpenter. Here you can
tell us about the latest information and how we too
(29:40):
can battle this back and keep our bones strong and
healthy far longer than we were even thinking in the past.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Welcome, Thank you, thanks for having us.
Speaker 5 (29:47):
Kristen, you got to Laura.
Speaker 8 (29:50):
I'm going to start with you first because I'm the
proud owner of a couple of great aunts, great people
in my family tree, and they are living with osteoporosis,
and they're act they're doing all kinds of stuff. You
would never know they have osteoporosis, except that they let
us know. I mean, they've got everything going for them
and they're battling it back. Tell us a bit about
your experience with osteoporosis and maybe how you felt when
(30:13):
you were diagnosed, when you got that news.
Speaker 7 (30:15):
Sure, so my journey started in twenty twenty two when
my doctor suggested a bone density scan as a part
of my routine physical for a women my.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Age, you know, and I agreed.
Speaker 7 (30:27):
I was very physically active, and I was healthy, and
I had a great diet and all the things that
we do. So I was absolutely shocked when my test
results came back.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
And I was a negative four point zero.
Speaker 7 (30:42):
And that may not mean anything to your listeners, just
like it didn't mean anything to me at the time.
But my doctor said, oh, that's more typical for.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
A woman in her nineties.
Speaker 7 (30:52):
And that's how I got my osteoporosis diagnosis when I
was in my fifties, and so you know, I immediately
thought kind of took it upon myself to make some
lifestyle updates. I thought I could reverse this disease. A
year later, I had a follow up scan and my
bone density had gotten worse. I was at a negative
(31:14):
four point four. And that's when I learned oscar prosis
is a progressive bone disease that weakens your bones and
puts you at risk of fracture. And I knew that
I needed more help than I.
Speaker 5 (31:27):
Could just give myself.
Speaker 7 (31:28):
So I had a talk with my doctor and we
picked a treatment at that was best for me. I
went on that treatment, and I'm really proud to share
that a few weeks ago, I had my follow up
scan and I'm moving in the right direction. I've built
back twenty percent of my bone density. But you're right,
it's a very silent disease.
Speaker 8 (31:49):
That's unbelievable. And I'm taking Noteses we're talking here. First
of all, good for you, that's a fact. I love
the real life stories when they take today's knowledge and
all of the amazing breakthroughs.
Speaker 7 (32:00):
Dot.
Speaker 8 (32:00):
I'm going to switch to you next, because it feels
like in this day and age where you know, there's
a million news stories coming at us. You know, look here,
look here, and we're clicking here, clicking here. I feel
like these breakthroughs and this great information somehow gets buried,
somehow people just aren't clicking on this, and we need
more people aware. Tell us a little bit about ostio
(32:20):
process from your view and the risks associated with the condition.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Yeah, I think the most important thing to understand is
that ostia process is a progressive condition, so it tends
to get worse over time, and it causes you to
lose bone strength and increases your risk of fracture, and
so that's the most important risk. And with that fracture,
like Laura said, can come a loss of independence. And
what surprises many people just how common it is. So
(32:45):
ostia process is responsible for more hospitalizations every year than
heart disease, breast cancer or stroked unbelievable and.
Speaker 8 (32:53):
I knew we only had a little bit of time,
but I'd love to get your take on where you
recommend we steer our listeners for more operation on this.
Knowledge is power and you guys are helping a lot
of people out there. Where do we send our listeners
to learn more?
Speaker 7 (33:05):
Yeah, let's start having the conversation, and we we want
to say thank you to Angin for partnering with us
to get the word at so your listeners can go
to Building your Bones dot com for more information and
let's do this together.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Let's all stay ahead of the disease.
Speaker 8 (33:21):
Absolutely, engine is such a front runner in this and
they are doing such important work. Thank you both for
sharing your stories and your advice. You've got an open
mic anytime, please joint and fig them and you can
thank you.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Thanks.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Listen, you've beten.
Speaker 8 (33:32):
We'll be right back dang right after this.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
Not to
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