Approximately 3 months before your 65th birthday you will receive a letter from Banyan Administrators, LLC outlining your options. ProtectPlus is not a Medicare supplement and in most cases we do not recommend maintaining your ProtectPlus coverage once you are eligible for Medicare. However, factors that may affect your decision include: the size of your firm, whether or not you have a younger spouse and/or dependent children and when you plan to retire. You may contact Banyan Administrators, LLC  at 877-480-7923 to discuss your options.

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It is hard to keep up with all of the immunizations that your child(ren) should have. This is a great tool provided by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.gov). All you need to do is simply put your child’s birth date  in and it automatically shows you the types of vaccines and the dosage, what that vaccine protects against, the recommended vaccination date, and then the spot where you can put in the date the vaccination was given. [Check it out!]

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 What is COBRA?

COBRA gives workers and their families who lose their health benefits the right to purchase group health coverage provided by the plan under certain circumstances.

If the employer continues to offer a group health plan, the employee and his/her family can retain their group health coverage for up to 18 months by paying group rates. The COBRA premium may be higher than what the individual was paying while employed but generally the cost is lower than that for private, individual health insurance coverage.

The plan administrator must notify affected employees of their right to elect COBRA. The employee and his/her family each have 60 days to elect the COBRA coverage; otherwise, they lose all rights to COBRA benefits.

COBRA generally does not apply to plans sponsored by employers with fewer than 20 employees. Many States have similar requirements for insurance companies that provide coverage to small employers. The premium reduction is available for insurers covered by these State laws.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), as amended on December 19, 2009 by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 (2010 DOD Act) provides for premium reductions for health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, commonly called COBRA. Eligible individuals pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through a tax credit. To qualify, individuals must experience a COBRA qualifying event that is the involuntary termination of a covered employee’s employment. The involuntary termination must occur during the period that began September 1, 2008 and ends on February 28, 2010. The premium reduction applies to periods of health coverage that began on or after February 17, 2009 and lasts for up to 15 months.

To read more about this click here.

Update on COBRA Extension

President Obama signed a bill [Temporary Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 4691)] extending federal funding for the COBRA subsidy and unemployment benefit on March 2nd, shortly after the Senate passed it with a 78–19 vote. The main purpose of the bill is to extend unemployment benefits and health care subsidies for the unemployed. The federal tax credit that allows the federal government to subsidize 65% of the cost of COBRA premiums is now extended from February 28, 2010 through March 31, 2010. 

In order to be eligible, individuals must have been involuntarily terminated from their employment after August 31, 2008 and before April 1, 2010.  The law also cleared up some misunderstandings about the treatment of COBRA continuation that results from reductions in hours followed by termination of employment. Under this bill, if an eligible individual pays 35% of the premium for COBRA continuation coverage, the group health plan must treat the individual as having paid the full premium. Eligible individuals can then receive this subsidy for up to 15 months. Employers are reimbursed for the 65% subsidy by taking a credit on their payroll tax returns. 

The bill also added special rules for individuals who lost their health coverage because of a reduction in working hours. If an individual did not make a COBRA continuation coverage election when his or her hours were reduced (or made an election but then discontinued COBRA coverage), if the individual is then involuntarily terminated from employment, that will be considered as a qualifying event for COBRA continuation coverage purposes.

The bill now allows thousands of workers whose unemployment benefits expired on February 28, 2010 to receive them for another 30 days – this is very important to those individuals who have lost their jobs. Obama said in a statement, shortly after the Senate’s approval of the bill, “During these difficult economic times, supporting American workers, their families and our small businesses must be everyone’s focus.”

Congress is now considering a much larger bill that would extend the COBRA subsidy and unemployment benefits eligibility period to December 31, 2010.

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Many of us often have concerns about whether or not it is safe to take certain medications while taking other prescription or over-the-counter drugs. The effects of drug interactions may cause unexpected side effects such as allergies, heart palpitations or dizziness. It can make your other medication(s) less effective or it can also increase the effects of your medication(s) which can be harmful to your health – even life threatening.

You should make it a habit to read the label of prescription and over-the-counter medications – often times there are warnings of other medications that should not be taken at the same time. It is important that you learn about drug interactions which may be critical to your health and by having this knowledge you can reduce the risk of potentially harmful interactions and its side effects.

Anthem Blue Cross offers a great tool that allows you to search  for information on thousands of prescription and over-the-counter medications. [Click here to check it out.] Of course, this is an online tool that can help you get some general information - but you should always check with your doctor and pharmacist for detailed information and instructions. Make sure to them all of the medications you are taking – even vitamins and herbal supplements since those can interact with medications as well. Some people have more than one doctor, so remember to always inform them of what medications you are taking, or better yet, bring the bottle to the appointment. That way they can see the exact information including the dosage you are taking. These are very simple precautions that we can take to insure ourselves a healthier life!

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An expiration date is assigned by the manufacturer of a drug to represent its shelf life. Medication breaks down over time – liquids separate into layers and solids may become powders. The expiration date is the time in which the medication is safe to take and will have the desired result. Expired medicine includes both over-the-counter medicine (i.e. cold medicine, vitamins, aspirin) and medicine that has been prescribed by a doctor.

Medications can expire before the expiration date if they are not stored properly. When air, humidity, heat, or sunlight makes contact with medications their potency and consistency regardless of expiration date can change. When storing your medications you want to store them in cool, dry, and dark places –somewhere in the neighborhood of 59 and 80 degrees. Storing medication in the bathroom or kitchen cupboards is very common, but those places are the last areas to store your medication. Those locations can have heat, humidity, and sunlight and medications will break down and lose potency under such conditions. In fact, when medication expires and it loses potency, it could be very dangerous, especially to those with health conditions where they are dependent on the medications such as high blood pressure medication.

Medicine storage areas should be cleaned out every six months to a year. Always keep your medicine in its original container – this keeps it safe and it will be easier to know if medicine has expired.

Remember, if a medication has expired, be aware of how to properly dispose of it. Flushing it down the toilet or pouring it down the drain might lead to contamination of your area’s water supply. Throwing it in the trash may eventually contaminate the soil. Ask your pharmacist if there is a recycling program in your neighborhood or call your local hazardous waste disposal department.

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If you are under age 65 and disabled, and have been entitled to disability benefits under Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board for 24 months, you will be automatically entitled to Medicare Part A and Part B beginning the 25th month of disability benefit entitlement. You do not need to do anything to enroll in Medicare. Your Medicare card will be mailed to you about 3 months before your Medicare entitlement date.

You may refuse Part B coverage. However, if you decide to pick up Part B coverage at a later date, but before you turn 65, you may have to pay a 10% surcharge in addition to the Part B premium. Also, please be aware that you will automatically be re-enrolled in Part B when you turn 65, even if you previously refused Part B coverage. You may again refuse coverage, but if you keep it you will not have to pay a surcharge.

Note: A Special Enrollment Period is available if you waited to enroll in Medicare Part B because you or your spouse was working AND had group health coverage through a current employer or union. If this applies, you can sign up for Medicare Part B:

• While you are still covered by an employer or union group health plan, through your or your spouse’s employment, or
• During the 8 months following the month when the employer or union group health plan coverage ends or when the employment ends (whichever comes first).

The Social Security Office can answer questions about applying or appealing Social Security Disability benefits. They can also answer questions about when you will be eligible to receive Medicare.

Your 24-month waiting period will be waived if you have been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). This disease is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.