Hello Medicare Shopper, I hope this note finds you well.
Just like they said in the Paul Newman movie Blaze…
“Never trust a man who says ‘trust me!'”
The same goes for healthcare.
You already know that most healthcare practitioners are decent, honest, well meaning professionals, committed to maintaining and improving your health.
But that doesn’t mean they are free of cognitive bias. We are all guilty of being trapped in our in silos of beliefs and practices.
So if you receive health advice and they recommend invasive/expensive services or procedures…
GET A SECOND OPINION!
More often than not, the second opinion will confirm the advice of the first practitioner…
But sometimes it won’t.
I had a dentist who recommended a crown. Like any normal patient, I had the crown done and thought nothing of it (Other than it was a lot of money).
Six months later, they recommended another crown for a different tooth. That gave me pause!
Instead of saying yes immediately, I had their office email the x-rays and the paperwork to me and then sent them to a different dentist.
The new dentist told me that I could have the crown done if I wanted but that it truly wasn’t necessary, not yet anyway!
My wallet said thank you!
Look, getting a second opinion is NOT an indictment of your doctor!
My brother is a Radiation Oncologist. He routinely provides second opinions and encourages his patients to seek out second opinions as well.
A competent Medicare Insurance Broker will do the same thing: they will work with multiple carriers and types of coverage so that you can explore all of your options, and NOT pigeon hole you into a single plan or company.
Sunscreen vs Screentime – As a Medicare Insurance Broker, I speak with clients all over the country.
Some are living well and others are struggling.
Of course that’s normal.
We can’t control everything, but…
Little changes can pay huge dividends.
One of the simplest ways to improve our health and our happiness is…
Get outside!
Sunscreen vs Screentime – Even a few minutes of time in the sun, pulling weeds, walking about or jumping in the rec center pool can improve our mood and make us feel better.
Hearing Loss Ruins Everything – As a Medicare As a Medicare Insurance Broker, I speak with clients every week about Medicare Insurance options, the topic of self-care, and how retirees best manage the aging process.
Want to know the biggest mistake I see?
How hard it is for some people to deal with hearing loss.
That used to be me!
Hearing Loss Ruins Everything – Hearing loss causes social isolation, cognitive decline and it can lead to depression.
The average person procrastinates more than six years AFTER hearing loss has occurred!
Wanna be happier? Wanna live longer? Want have more meaningful connections?
Swallow your damn pride and get your hearing tested!
It changed my life for the better.
Some Medicare Insurance plans include hearing benefits, so check your plan.
If they don’t, go to Costco or Sam’s Club and schedule a free hearing test.
Just remember to be patient with the hearing aid learning process…
Hearing loss occurs over time and it usually takes a while to find the right equipment and for the brain to adjust.
Of course not everyone succeeds with hearing aids.
But, if you persevere, the payoff is HUGE…
More joy, better relationships, and you might be able to hear the birds again!
As your Medicare Insurance Broker, I see too many people lose sight of this fact.
If you clicked on the video, you learned how thinking about death can improve your life!
I spoke with a young friend whose mother had been diagnosed with and died of pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer kills quickly.
Can you imagine how distraught this must have made him and his family?
Nicholas’ response to his mother’s diagnoses changed everything.
“When they told me she had this cancer, in my mind, I decided she was already dead. That made every second I had with her thereafter a gift from heaven.”
Miraculously, his mother lived another 24 months.
Did his mother die well?
Nicholas did not sugarcoat anything.
“It was hard, she died in the hospital, but she died surrounded by the people she loved most, my father, my sister and I, and those last two years gave her more love than she ever could have imagined. Those last two years were a gift.”
We are all going to die.
But using this knowledge to reframe every waking moment can bring deep joy and new energy to all pleasure and the challenges in our lives.
Life is all about perspective. The onus is upon to remember and reframe, to get our minds off ourselves and to find ways to help others.
That’s it for this week.
Remember when you and your friends have questions about Medicare, I’m here if you need me.
May this note find you well despite the madness of the times.
Spring has sprung and it feels great and hopeful to be out in the sun 😊.
So as we were cleaning flower beds, putting down some mulch and deciding if we need to repaint, my wife Q blindsided me with a question.
Is it time move?
It so felt strange to even think of leaving this home, this place we love and where we raised our kids but…
She was right.
In my practice is a Medicare Insurance Broker, I often speak with long time clients who have ignored this question for far too long and then SUDDENLY find themselves overwhelmed and forced to move when their health goes south.
Check out the video and find out what you need to think about.
The good news is that, with planning, many homes can be modified in advance so we can age in place and live where and how we wish.
Setting up a support system using trusted relatives, a geriatric care manager, legal planning and the right insurance and financial counselors may mean that you can stay in control of your life and your home but…
You need to do the planning BEFORE you need it, otherwise it’ll be ugly for you and your family. This article is a great start.
