medicare advantage Archives

How will you be remembered?

May this blog post find you in great health with your Medicare coverage working properly.

Question: How will you be remembered?

Are you taking time to enjoy the holidays with family and friends? You better! Yours truly is so happy to be over the busy season but still giving thanks for your staying connected to the Big 65.

Book a time on my calendar if you need help or reach out to my admin Gray at gray@thebig65.com.

FYI, Medicare Part B Premiums increase to $174.90 on 1/1/24. The Part B Deductible will increase to $240. Happy New Year 🎉, kind of.

This ornament has been hanging on Kyler Christmas trees for the past 170 years.

It began life in Breslau Germany, then traveled to Iowa, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Ohio, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, California, Georgia and now Colorado. I wish I could meet all the family members it has seen over the years and hear the stories – can you imagine?

It was on our tree when we were children but only recently did I translate it, thanks to AI. Rest assured our AI Overlords will NOT take over the world before Xmas because they couldn’t even couldn’t spell “Grandparents” and it changed “1853” to “1837” 😠! Nevertheless, look at the message my ancestors sent forward.

I don’t even know the names of these great great great grandparents, but the next time I dig through my late parent’s papers, I’ll try to find out. They wanted to be remembered.

One pleasure of Christmas is remembering where the ornaments came from and piecing together the story of our lives, the origin story we hope to pass on.

Thirty-five years of marriage, kids, animals, careers, adventures, and friends. It all comes flooding back as we hang each ornament and go through the boxes. Hopefully you too are writing some of it down for your children. They’ll be glad to have it when we are gone.

We’ve been having warm days here Colorado and it’s a joy to watch the bees feasting on sugar water, filling their larder before the deep freeze returns. I’m hoping both hives will make it through the winter.

Just for the fun of it, we infused one bottle with pomegranate seeds and cayenne. We’ll pour it over brie on Xmas day. How will you be celebrating the holidays?

Congrats to understated Adrienne for completing a 5K and placing third in her age division (and for winning the funniest costume award 🏆).

Most of all I’m very proud of her for battling through knee injuries that kept her from running for years, but Adrienne “ain’t” a quitter. That’s a lesson for all of us to remember.

The Japanese use the word “gaman,” to endure, like the stone.

Jean has done some traveling this year, but what I admire most are her Christmas Cacti. She has the green thumb I wish we had.

Meanwhile, Claire is leaving town and heading west to see the grandvarmints, life’s great joy (at least till they get to high school, right?) You can tell from her smile that she is feeling excited.

My wife Q has been enjoying her volunteer work for the Sheriff’s Department. This week she got to help out with the toy drive, helping the officers bring joy back to the community they serve with honor. During the event, shopper’s at the local Walmart saw what they were doing and, unbidden, donated another FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS to helping those in need.

Of course we are in the middle of culture war with idiots on all sides calling each other names, but NEVER doubt the generosity and the love that ALL Americans have for each other. Despite the noise, when push comes to shove, “there is no them, there is only us.” Treat everyone with kindness and you’ll be amazed.

Lynne and Paul travel everywhere with Henri, the Bichon Frise. This picture was sent from Harry’s Bar in Venice. Our dog Plato is totally jealous 🐶🐩 😒!

Every time I ride my bike past this rock cairn in the hills behind our home, I add a stone, sometimes big, sometimes little, but I’m sure to do it every time. Our lives are sum of our actions and sometimes it takes decades to see the results. Do your best to place the stones in good places.

And of course, just as I finish the newsletter, I’m blessed with a Facetime call from my big brother Robert, sharing his beautiful grandchild, life’s great joy! Who knows, perhaps one day that two hundred year old ornament will adorn her Christmas tree, her grandparents asking to be remembered.

Keep squeezing the juice out of life and look for ways to help others!

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin

The Big 65 Medicare Insurance Services does not offer every plan available in your area. Currently, we represent 10 organizations that offer 50 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.

You need to wake up your doctor!

May this note find you in great health with your Medicare coverage working properly.

Are you getting ready for the holidays?

The Annual Election Period is over 🎉🙏🎉! It was so much fun catching up with so many of you from all over the country. Most people kept their plans but some made changes.

If we didn’t speak and you aren’t happy with your Advantage coverage, don’t worry.

You have until the end of March to make one change if you need to. Most people don’t need to do anything, but if you’re unsure, book a time in January to make sure.

If Plato looks warn out above, that’s because he played hard all day. Say hello to “Suki,” our newest house guest and Plato’s new pal.

Suki and his boss Max arrived this morning to live with us for a while and we immediately drafted them to help us cut down a Christmas tree up in the Rockies.

After ten weeks of ten hour days (including most weekends), it was a pleasure to get out of the house and up into the snow in the Arapahoe National Forest.

Plato was even gladder than me to be out of the house and doing something new with Suki.

I was so tempted to spend the day vegging, but I followed James Clear’s advice and we had a great afternoon hunting the perfect tree (plus the permit to cut a tree was only $20).

Every time we do something new, our brains make new connections and it strengthens our bodies, our minds, and our souls.

Listen to this three minute Ted Talk on how a group of nuns avoided the pitfalls of dementia just by doing new things.

We cut down this 18 footer and carried her out of the forest through deep snow, strapped her on top of the car, and drove down the mountain. It was exhilarating to do something new.

On the way down I caught up with our daughter Sus and she sent pics from the Ugly Sweater Party at work. I guess that’s way computer coders like to have fun.

Before heading up the mountain, I spent an hour on the phone with Nathan Jenkins, a Physician’s Assistant and a retired Navy Veteran. He now works for a company that does in-home health assessments and I learned so many interesting things about the state of medical care in America.

His best piece of advice: every time you go to the doctor, throw ALL OF YOUR MEDICATIONS in a large plastic bag and put them on the table in front of the doctor and have them confirm that you still need to be taking each medicine.

Nathan said most doctors are great at beginning the healing process but they are not always great at formulating an end game to treatment. Many patients continue to take a medicine to treat a specific condition (like situational depression) long after the condition has subsided. Be sure to review your prescriptions with EVERY DOCTOR you see.

By the way, if you take a statin, watch this video a cardiologist posted on the pros and the cons of taking this medication.

Q had a birthday in early December – 29, again 😶🤫. We celebrated with great friends that I plan to see more often because life is incredibly short and we never know when it will end.

Two weeks ago, Frank and Brigitte were driving to Costco, a regular Saturday morning. As Frank looked ahead, he suddenly saw a car out of control heading straight at them at break neck speed. “Gina, hold on, we’re gonna roll.” To avoid the head on collision, he swerved and the car flipped down the embankment.

When the paramedics came with jaws of life, they expected to find two lifeless bodies. No one could survive such a devastating crash.

Miraculously, Frank and Brigette were standing beside their 1950 Oldsmobile Ricket 88 completely unharmed.

The officer said if it hadn’t been made of solid steel (and if the both hadn’t been in such excellent physical shape), they would have gone through the windshield and been nothing more than a statistic.

What’s even more impressive? One year ago, I visited Frank in his home and he was bedridden, slowly recovering from an extremely difficult surgery. This is one of the most amazing couples I’ve ever met. Their love for each other, their work ethic, and their faith make them a living miracle, and a treasure.

Never give up, never surrender. As Winnie the Pooh said famously:

“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

Keep squeezing the juice out of life and look for ways to help others!

Medicare questions or problems?

Book a time on my calendar or email Gray, Gray@theBig65.com.

If family or friends need help… referrals are the lifeblood of my business.

Let us know what’s going on and please send pictures :).

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here
Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in thirty states around the country, including:

Do we have you in the right coverage?

May this blog post/newsletter find you in good health with your Medicare Insurance working properly. Today’s question: “Do we have you in the right coverage?“

In working with clients all over the country this week, it’s been a great opportunity to sharpen the saw and drill into the differences between plan types: Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement.

From a distance, it’s not always easy to understand the differences between the two types of plans and I often get the question: which type of plan is better?

The simple answer is… it truly depends on how each consumer uses healthcare.

Medicare Supplements charge a monthly premium and allow consumers to go to any doctor who takes Medicare (and is willing to see them) and folks don’t have to deal with prior authorization for Medicare approved services. They also don’t receive extra benefits and the premiums typically go up every year.

Medicare Advantage Plans typically have no premiums, offer additional bells and whistles but require you to jump through additional hoops for certain services.

As your independent Medicare Insurance Broker, I try to spend most of my time understanding your healthcare preferences and how you prefer to receive healthcare services.

After that, it’s all about education and understanding the pros and the cons of each type of plan and letting YOU make your own choice.

That’s the reason for this newsletter, so that we can stay connected to make sure your coverage is working the way it should.

Of course, nothing works perfectly. Sometimes there are billing errors, other times it’s hard to reach customer service. Life is imperfect at best, but the important thing is you have an additional resource: The Big 65!

If you are having issues, always call the carrier first.

However, if you speak with the carrier and you are stilling having problems, please reach out to us by email or just book a time on my calendar.

That why I’m here. Medicare call centers (and all those enticing commercials you see on TV) only want you to switch plans. If it’s necessary, we can do that, but usually there’s an easier fix.

It sure has been fun to finally have an extended vacation with our Air Force son Nicholas.

We worked on his bucket list one night and I didn’t even try to keep up with him. I guess we were all young once, right?

I keep hearing from clients like Claire in South Carolina that spring is on the way so don’t give up hope!

That’s it for this week. Keep squeezing the juice out of life.

And, if you are having Medicare questions or problems, email Gray, Gray@thebig65.com, or just book a time on my calendar.

We are here if you need us.

Let me know what’s going on your life, please send pictures for the newsletter, and remember…

Referrals are the lifeblood of my business!

Karl Bruns-Kyler
(877) 850-0211
Book a time on my calendar here

As a novice to navigating the Medicare system, I cannot recommend the services of Karl enough. His knowledge has saved my wife and I a lot of money, both on the Medicare supplement insurance and the drug coverage. Costs you nothing to listen and has saved up thousands of dollars over time.
–Robert B

Happy with my Service? Click Here to Leave a Review.

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a Medicare insurance broker and independent Medicare agent licensed to help Medicare recipients in twenty-two states around the country, including:

Alabama
Arizona
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Missouri
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Wisconsin

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all your options.

What is a Medicare Supplement?

Clients tell me all the time how frustrated they get when people try to sell them plans before they even understand all the Medicare options.

Don’t worry 😊. Our mission is to educate! Once you understand the big picture, then you can call us.

In the previous video, we looked at Advantage Plans, today you’ll get a quick primer on Medicare Supplements.

Medicare Supplements are easy to use: For the privilege of paying a premium, you can go to any doctor who takes Medicare and is willing to see you.

Many people love the simplicity of the plans. Here is the Medicare Supplement Shoppers Guide.

Only you can decide which type of plan will best suit your needs, Medicare Supplements vs Medicare Advantage Plans.

However, once you have a basic understanding of the plan types, the next step is to speak with an independent Medicare Insurance Broker.

You are also welcome to email your questions to Karl@TheBig65.com or just book a time on my calendar and we’ll get your questions answered.

Let me know how we can help!

Karl Bruns-Kyler is a licensed sales agent with no affiliation to Medicare, CMS or any governmental organization.

The Big 65 Medicare Insurance Services does not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all your options.