BR IDLEWOOD NEWS

August

Birthdays

Donald Anderson

Tom Markel

Georgeanna Yoder

Rosalee Carney

Charles Koludrovic

Hans Noordhoorn

William Greenwall

Dolores Fry

Shirley Duffy

Jane Markel

Delores Fazekas Jaqueline Schloeder

Joanne Peat

Elizabeth Tritschler

Renate Shein

Patricia Wilson

Marilyn Escher

Thomas Deans

Charlene Wilson

Marvin Munster

Thomas Pearcy

Terence Collins

Eileen Mulcahy

Linda Winslow

Dennis Goetz

Jack Whidden

Richard Knudson

William Pansegrau

Ava Mayne

Sharon Munster

Diana Aruffo

John Giffin

Marie Matthys

Roxana Corbett

Joesph Oviatt

Donald Clute

Emma Noriega

Lawrence Fimon

Sandra Pettit

Susan Blitz

Birthdays Cont. 2

By far the number one question at Bridlewood is concerning dental insurance. Now you can choose your dental plan with a simple click of the mouse.

Many times you have had a dentist for years but he’s not available on your HMO plan. Now you can search for the best plan that your dentist accepts. Dental plans available to individuals are becoming more and more popular. Whether it’s a PPO dental or an HMO, the choice has never been easier.

Bridlewood Insurance has made it easy for you by offering a variety of plans to choose from, including plans from Del-ta Dental. All enrollments are done online so you don’t have to waste your valuable time filling out paper applica-tions. To see the plans that are available in your area, go to our web site at Bridle-woodInsurance.com and click on products and then dental insurance.

Brace For Higher Part B Premiums and Deductible The 2015 Medicare Trustees report was released last week. It has already been reported by several sources that Part B premiums are projected to increase by 52%, but what hasn’t yet been reported is that the same section of the report also projects that the Part B de-ductible will also increase by 52%. This could mean a double-whammy for many seniors who will end up paying a higher premium for their Part B coverage, and also end up paying more out-of-pocket costs in order to meet their deductible. The Trustees report shows the 2016 Part B deductible is projected to increase to $223 per year, which is up from $147 per year in 2015. The large projected increase in the Part B deductible is due to the projected increase in the Part B premiums (from $104.90 to $159.30 per month) which is caused by the hold-harmless provision in the law and the ex-pected 0% cost-of-living adjustment to Social Security. You can see in the chart that this large of an increase has not been a common occurrence in recent years: Though the Part B deductible is not officially determined until closer to the start of 2016, many Medicare Supplement carriers are already beginning to file rate in-creases for 2016 effective dates.

DENTAL INSURANCE NOW A CLICK AWAY

August Edition 2015 Kathleen Johnson

BRIDLEWOOD NEWS

August Funnies Final Request

An elderly woman from Brooklyn decided to

prepare her will and make her final requests.

She told her rabbi she had two final requests.

First, she wanted to be cremated, and second,

she wanted her ashes scattered over Bloom-

ingdales. "Bloomingdales!" the rabbi ex-

claimed. "Why Bloomingdales?" "Then I'll be

sure my daughters visit me twice a week."

The Priest Collar

A priest was invited to attend a house party. Naturally, he was properly dressed and wearing his priest's collar.

Little Jackson kept staring at him the entire evening. Finally, the priest asked the little boy what he was staring at. The little boy pointed to the priest's neck.

When the priest finally realized what the boy was pointing at, he asked him, "Do you know why I am wearing that?”

The boy nodded his head yes, and replied, "It kills fleas and ticks for up to three months."

Best Medicine

After a check-up a doctor asked his patient, “Is there anything you’d

like to discuss?”

“Well,” said the patient, “I was thinking about getting a vasectomy.”

“That’s a big decision. Have you talked it over with your family?”

“Yes, we took a vote. They’re in favor of it 15 to 2.”

than the bar-

becue." With

that he pro-

ceeded to

get a meas-

uring tape

and meas-

ured the grill

and then

went over to

where his

wife was

Birthdays continued:

Harold Dewall

Sally Hayden

Yvonne Stuart

Jerry Rutschman

Pamela Appell

Doris Clough

Catherine Nakamura

Theresa Huckins

90 + Club 1. Jens Edvardsen 99

2. Manuel Rezendes 95

3. Gisela Probst 93

4. Donald Vaughan 93

5. Jack Sharpe 92

6. Ruth Williams 90

Happy Birthday to our

90+ club members.

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Traveling Outside the U.S.? Better Get Some Travel Insurance Whatever your reason, international travel should be a pleasant experience. Compli-cations and emergencies such as illness, injury, and natural disasters are a fact of life. While we hope none of these happen, we’re here to help if they do. Atlas Travel helps protect you from potential financial disaster while traveling abroad with benefits includ-ing inpatient and outpatient medical expenses, $500,000 of coverage for emergency medical evacuation, coverage for lost checked baggage, and many other important benefits. Atlas Travel gives you the peace-of-mind you’re looking for! For more information please go to our web site, BridlewoodInsurance.com and click on Products and then Travel Insurance. It is important to point out your Medicare plans generally have limited coverage out-side the USA but you generally need to pay the entire bill and hopefully get reim-bursed by the Insurance company. (It’s a pain in the butt) Separate Travel insurance will act as your primary insurance while your out of the country and give you and me peace of mind.

Coast Care Partners Provides In Home Care What do you do when you need a little extra help and don’t know where to turn or who to trust? I recommend Coast Care Partners www.coastcarepartners.com They provide Caregiv-ing and Care Management for San Diego seniors. CCP is an employee-owned company with a combined 50 years of experi-ence in the elder-care industry. Coast Care Partners is Preferred member for Bridlewood News Members and come with our strongest recommendation. Coast Care Partners can be reached at 619-354-2544.

Will Insurance Company Mergers Stifle Healthcare Reform? The 2010 healthcare law was supposed to promote competition among insurers, and for many policyholders it’s done just the opposite. These days, though, the insurance industry is going through a wave of mergers that threatens to leave the consumer with fewer choices.

Aetna’s $37 billion purchase of Humana, the second-largest provider of Medicare Advantage policies, and Anthem’s pursuit of Cigna seek to consolidate power in the market for employer health plans. The obvious risk posed by the current merger wave is that the Medicare Advantage and Medicaid HMO markets in some states could become dominated by a single insurer, raising prices for consumers and potentially driving doctors out.

As more and more seniors are enrolling in Medicare Advantage plans, and Medicare dollars account for a large share of revenues for many health insurers. With Medicare Advantage enrollment concentrated among a handful of large firms, it is no surprise that in 17 states, more than 90% of people in these plans are covered by one of three firms. If any of these mergers actually materialize, the market will be even more concentrated. Insurers and their investors apparently see a potential upside to these mergers. For seniors, the outcome is less clear. That is the question for the government to assess while considering these mega merger deals.

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Happy Anniversary

On Thursday, July 30th, 2015 Medicare turns a half century old. In 1965 before Medicare was passed, nearly half of the elderly in the United States lacked health insurance coverage. Today, just 2% of those over 65 are uninsured. And while the 15-year increase in life expectancy at age 65 achieved between 1965 and 1984 cannot be wholly attributed to Medicare, without its coverage many elderly Americans would simply not have had access to the medical advances that also have contributed to rising longevity.

Medicare’s Evolution

Today over 54 million Americans are now covered by Medicare and of that 8.8 million are disabled and under the age of 65. There have been

changes over the 50 years and one of the major changes have included adding a prescription drug benefit (Part D) in 2003, as part of the Medicare Modernization Act under President Bush. Medicare has been enormously successful in improving the health of elderly and disabled Americans. With the baby boomer generation now reaching Medicare eligibility age, by the year 2030, 72 millions Americans will be on Medicare.

Veterans and Surviving Spouses Long-Term Care Benefits: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as part of its health care program, may provide long-term care benefits and services for service-related disabilities or to certain eligible veterans. In addition to health care, VA benefits include a Housebound and Aid and Attendance Allowance Program that provides cash benefits to eligible disabled veterans and surviving spouses to get homemaker, per-sonal care, and other services needed for help at home. For more information, visit the VA website,

or call 1-800-827-1000.

Personal Notes:

It’s hard to believe it’s already the middle of summer! I can’t say it’s been a great one though. A dear friend of mine passed away recently, and I am still melancholy. I know she’s okay though, a pure white butterfly comes to my office window every day now. It flies in front of my window until I stop what I’m doing and say Hello! When I was doing yard work this week, she kept me company, staying just a few feet away from me. This made me think about the quality of time we spend with our loved ones when we’re with them. Or, like the couple in this photo, do we have our face stuck in our electronic device and letting life and experi-ences pass us by? I’ve done a few things differently in July and it’s lowered my stress level and improved my ability to get more work done undistracted. It’s also given me more quality time with my busy teen-ager!

♦ Put the phone on vibrate. ♦ Turn off social media notifications. ♦ Answer emails only twice a day. ♦ No phone while eating. ♦ No phone in bed.

Kathleen Johnson, Independent Agent with

Bridlewood Insurance CA Lic#0C64473

Mobile: 619-990-0501 Fax: 619-342-7524

Email: Kathleen@bridlewoodinsurance.com

Website: www.bridlewoodinsurance.com

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