00;00;00;14 - 00;00;21;17 Cary Hall And now America's Healthcare Advocate, Cary Hall. Hello, America. Welcome to America's Healthcare Advocate Show broadcasting coast to coast across the U.S., from Alaska to Florida, all the way to Hawaii. My producer, Mr. Shawn Floyd. I'm your host, Cary Hall this is your show, America. Thank you for joining us. Making us one of the most listened to talk shows throughout the United States. 00;00;21;27 - 00;01;03;24 Cary Hall You can follow me on Facebook, also on Instagram and on YouTube at AHA Radio show that's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. AHA Radio show, podcast platforms. iTunes. Tune In, SoundCloud, Spreaker. Spotify, Audacy; and you can do that. That's America's Healthcare Advocate. Those are the podcast platforms. We're doing the show today with Moe Jackson from Blue KC Blue Cross and Blue Shield of of Kansas City. I just told her that when we looked at our numbers on the podcast platform last month, we found out that the show you and I did had 3100 people on the last Medicare show we did go up and listen to that Medicare show. So I guess a lot of people are interested, Medicare, Moe. 00;01;03;24 - 00;01;12;13 Moe Jackson And as they should be, this is the time of year when you better become interested in Medicare if you're eligible for Medicare, because decision time is now, it's upon us. 00;01;12;18 - 00;01;44;22 Cary Hall And we're going to get into all of that today. If you are one of those chronologically challenged people and you want help with Medicare, the lovely Joyce Thompson at RPS Benefits by Design is happy to help you. 877-385-2224, 877-385-2224 is the phone number. She is happy to help you if you need help with Medicare or individual health insurance, either one. So, Moe Jackson, I said in studio with me, she is the Medicare expert at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. We're happy to have her in studio. How many do you think we've done over the years? 00;01;45;00 - 00;01;54;11 Moe Jackson I don't know. We've done a ton of them. And it gets it gets really, really good now because you and I are so seasoned. Yeah, well, but it will. We're more well-seasoned. 00;01;54;12 - 00;02;03;21 Cary Hall Yeah, we are. We've definitely had a few of these, there's no doubt about. Well, let's just start off with you mentioned it in your remarks there a minute ago. Open enrollment, when is it start? When's it end? 00;02;03;28 - 00;02;21;03 Moe Jackson So it opens on October 15th. Now we can start talking about plans October 1st, but you can start buying a plan October 15th and it goes till December 7th. And that's the time for you to make a decision on which Medicare product you're interested in and need to go with for 2023. 00;02;21;11 - 00;02;24;04 Cary Hall Yeah, at the time to make a decision is not December 7th. 00;02;24;05 - 00;02;29;10 Moe Jackson No, please don't wait till December seven. Get it done now. Don't become that procrastinator. 00;02;29;19 - 00;02;30;00 Cary Hall Yeah. 00;02;30;21 - 00;02;42;01 Moe Jackson Go ahead and get your decision. Make do your shopping. Give us a call. We can help you walk down that confusing path of Medicare and help you determine what's going to be the best option for, you know. 00;02;42;03 - 00;02;50;19 Cary Hall As is our producer, Shaun Floyd just said before the show, procrastination is the dish best served eventually, you. Yeah. We don't want this to be eventually. 00;02;50;19 - 00;02;51;09 Moe Jackson No. 00;02;51;10 - 00;03;22;29 Cary Hall Yeah. So so let's kind of get into some of the so, you know, October 1st when we start talking about October 15th, people can start to enroll. Let's talk let's start off with Medicare Advantage plans and then we'll we'll talk about Medicare supplement as little later on. But let's get into the Medicare advertisements. Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s got one, two, three, four, five, six plans this year. And I'm looking at the top of the of the spreadsheet here. And the premium is 00000 and zero. 00;03;23;07 - 00;03;47;24 Moe Jackson It is 00000 is a lot of zeros. Yeah. And if you look on down there, you'll see that also on our PCP is 000000. Yep. So no copay for your primary care physician on our plans, no premium on our plans. And we also give you some additional benefits that you will not get on a supplement or you would not get on original Medicare. 00;03;47;25 - 00;04;06;06 Cary Hall And we're going to get into those later on in the show. But let's go back and talk about some of the zeros. So X-rays, I'm looking at the plan again. It's zero for X-ray, zero for procedure, diagnostic procedures, lab tests under the HMO plan, under the spire care plan the same way. And then go into some of the other plans there and talk a little bit about those. 00;04;06;15 - 00;04;28;26 Moe Jackson So on the blue KC essential PPO plan for the X-rays, it's going to cost a $10 co-pay this year in diagnostic procedures and test is going to be $10. But for the most part, if you have looked at our plans in the past for 2022 or before, you'll notice that we haven't changed very much on our plan. They're pretty much the same across the board. 00;04;29;07 - 00;04;43;07 Cary Hall Yeah, they are. And you can also look at the blue, simply blue KC Blue Plan, talk about that. Yeah, those have zero co-pay on the X-rays diagnostic and on those issues. Talk about those. 00;04;43;07 - 00;05;20;00 Moe Jackson Yeah. So one thing that I want to highlight on the blue KC simply blue PPO plan is the fact that on that plan it's a zero premium, zero PCP, no deductible, 4800 costs for the maximum out of pocket, which never, nobody ever reaches that. But I can tell you that that cost share is the same in or out of network. When you look down at the benefit structure. So for the primary care physician in or out of network, it's going to be zero for a specialist visit. It's $35 in or out of network. Doesn't matter. It's the same cost you're in as it is out of network. 00;05;20;29 - 00;05;28;22 Cary Hall So I want to go back to something that Mo just said there. So we call it the mope, which is the maximum out-of-pocket. 00;05;28;22 - 00;05;29;14 Moe Jackson Maximum out of pocket. 00;05;29;21 - 00;06;20;16 Cary Hall And that's 4800 dollars. And people look at that and they jump a hole. My God, I've got a 4800 dollar deductible. No, you don't. You don't. Okay, let me explain this a little bit so you understand it. The way that works is the co-pays add up toward that 4800 dollars when most said nobody ever reaches it. I can tell you in the 26 years I was doing this, I had one lady, she was 97 years old and she had been in and out of the hospital. There was a much lower deductible, then, but at much lower Moe, I didn't know the hospital. I don't know how many times a year. And she finally hit it. But that was the only person in all the years that I had been doing this. Because the way it works is it's co-pays. So again, you know, if it's outpatient surgery, it's $250 or $300. It's an observation stay. It's $300. You know, air ground ambulance is $300. You add up the co-pays, you know how many co-pays you'd have to make to get to $4800? 00;06;20;16 - 00;06;43;08 Moe Jackson You have a bunch of them. And to your point, I shouldn't have said that nobody ever does, because occasionally they do. Right? It happens. But all those small co-pays are co-insurance go toward that $4800 on that Simply Blue plan. But the difference between that and a deductible, a deductible is a large amount that you have to reach before you ever get first dollar coverage. Right. You have to pay out of the pocket. And that's not the way these plans work. Yeah. 00;06;43;08 - 00;07;40;25 Cary Hall So the biggest exposure you have here is if it's like an inpatient stay. So it's $300 a day for days one through five. Okay, I did the math. Right, that's 1500 dollars. Well, why don't you take a look at what your group health insurance plan is or your individual health insurance plan or original Medicare? Yeah. Thank you. Or original Medicare and compare all of that to that. So how many times you had to be in and out of the hospital to hit $4800? Okay. That's my point in explaining that to you. So don't look at that number and go, oh, my goodness, it's it it's no, it's not okay. It's a series of co-pays is in, as most said, and I'll say it again, I never see I had one person in all the years I was doing this actually hit it. Yes. Okay. And she had a really bad year. But that was pretty, pretty unusual that that even happened. So let's go. Let's go on. Here's another plan. We've got about 2 minutes left here. I know we got time to get into this, the Blue KC Valor plan. Now, I got a funny feeling. I know why that was named a Valor plan. 00;07;40;25 - 00;07;41;17 Cary Hall Yeah, as you. 00;07;41;17 - 00;07;42;12 Moe Jackson Probably know. 00;07;42;12 - 00;07;43;24 Cary Hall For those of us that are military veterans. 00;07;43;24 - 00;08;09;28 Moe Jackson Yes. And thank you for your service. So the Valor plan, we renamed it, it was the Flex PPO plan. But we wanted to resonate. We want it to resonate with those people out there that understand why this plan is built. And it is built for those people that are veterans that don't have a drug plan or a need for a drug plan, because this plan does not include a drug plan. If you continue to get your point, your drugs from the the VA, you can be on this plan to get some of the extra stuff we're going to talk. 00;08;09;28 - 00;08;54;10 Cary Hall About, see, and that this was not available a couple of years ago. This is something new that Blue Cross brought into the equation. I think it's really cool. I love the fact that they rename this so you understand what it is. So, you know, if it's your dad or your grandfather and they, you know, they're going to be eight and they're getting their medications at VA and they want to have private care. This Blue KC Valor plan might make a lot of sense for them because it still lets them get their meds from the VA, but they could access all these other benefits and had zero premium. Same thing. Okay. And all these other benefits that are on here at zero co-pay for primary care, the X-rays, diagnostic procedures, etc., all of that is available and it's private health care. You're not going through the VA to get it. 00;08;54;15 - 00;09;04;18 Moe Jackson But let's be clear. Cary on that Valor plan. You don't have to be a veteran to have that plan if you've never had a drug plan, don't need drugs, you can still have that plan. So you aren't penalized. 00;09;04;19 - 00;09;52;07 Cary Hall We'll see. I didn't know that. Now, that's pretty interesting. Yeah, there you go. So it's available for anybody. But again, it's called a valid plan because it really was designed to give veterans the option to stay on with the VA. We come back from the break. We're going to talk more about tests with Mo Jackson joining us in studio from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. If you want information on this, call, 833-261-1596, that's 833-261-1596. One of the representatives is happy to sit there and talk to you. Explain this to the right here on Main Street. Okay. It's not some call center out of state. Okay. And you'll be able to chat with him and get help if you want to do that. Stay tuned. We'll be right back with more. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate Show broadcasting here on the HIA Radio Network. Coast to coast across the U.S., we've got more. Don't go anywhere. 00;09;53;00 - 00;10;16;28 Music ♪♪ I'm with you. Hey, Mom. That won't be long before I too love will be too Tell me. darlin’ at my right. ♪♪ 00;10;19;27 - 00;12;12;18 Cary Hall Welcome back. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate Show broadcasting coast to coast across the fruited plains here on the HIA Radio Network. You can learn more about more about us at the website HealthRadio.us. HealthRadio.us. My producer, Mr. Sean Floyd. I'm your host Cary Hall in studio with Moe Jackson from Blue KC. She is the in-house expert at Blue Cross and Blue Shield on Medicare. And every year we do this show to talk about what they're doing, what's different this year, what's new? There's quite a bit we're going to get into a lot of that in the next segment in terms of things that are out there that you may want to know about. You know, if you want to just talk to somebody, they're right here on Main Street. This isn't a call center in New Jersey or something else. Okay. You want to talk to these people? They really do know where north of the river is and what gets, say, North Hospital is or where liberty is. Okay. So if you want to call them and have a conversation with them. 833-261-1596 look, there's six of these plans. There's a lot of information here. They can walk you through all of it. You can also go down there if you want to walk into the lobby on Main Street and sit down and talk to one of these people. They are happy to do that. Once again, the phone number 833-261-1596, 833-261-1596. Let them help you make a good decision. All right. So I got to do this because I reference this. Okay. And we're going to talk about this plane. It's called the Blue KC Giveback Plan. You know, one of the things that I get just drives me nuts this time of year is the ad nauseum ads with Jimmy Walker and Joe Namath talking about, we're going to give you money back like this is some secret deal that only they and their group of people know about. Right. It's not. Okay. So first of all, talk about the give back plan because that's exactly what these guys are talking about. Okay. But of course, they're making it sound like it's something that only they have access to. And it's special. It's not that. 00;12;12;26 - 00;13;01;17 Moe Jackson Yeah. Yeah. So I'm take your point. This is a it's an opportunity for a carrier such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City to give back for the Part B premium that consumers are paying for. So this is a plan that's built around people that are wondering, why am I paying for all these health care costs when I'm relatively healthy? I might see my PCP once or twice a year. And on our plans, that's a zero cost. So why am I paying all this money, including a Part B premium? What we're doing, we're taking this plan which is called the Blue KC, Give Back PPO plan. And anyone that's in our service area in the PPO service area can be on this plan and you can get $75 back on your Social Security check for the Part B premium that you've already paid for. 00;13;01;20 - 00;13;58;19 Cary Hall So does that take all the mystery out of this? People out there see, you understand that that's exactly what you're hearing. Joe Namath and and Jimmy Walker. That's what they're talking about. It's no it's no great mystery. It's not something that they're the only people have access to. That's what this is a curse. And I'm going to make reference. This guy said this, you know, coming in off the break, remember? Well, you're talking to the people at Blue Cross of Kansas City. You're talking to the people right down there on Main Street. Okay. These are the same people that are in your PTA. They belong to your church. They're your next door neighbor. They understand Kansas City. It's not a call center sitting out in New Jersey someplace or or Florida or someplace else. You know, this is a different deal and I think it's important. Yeah, I think you understand that, you know, Blue Cross has won multiple awards for their customer service because they do such a good job of that. That's the difference between a hometown carrier and some of these other carriers that are out there. 00;13;58;19 - 00;14;11;12 Moe Jackson Yeah, I can tell you that we're local. I mean, we are a local. I live locally. Everybody in my office that come in every day, they live locally. We're all right here to take care of and help you with your health care needs. 00;14;11;12 - 00;14;28;08 Cary Hall And they understand the provider networks. Like I just said. Yeah, they know where North Kansas City Hospital is, you know, they know, you know, where St Luke's South is. You know, they know that, you know, they know Olathe Medical Center. They know they can you know, that's where your doctor is and that's what you need to know. They're going to be able to help you with that. 00;14;28;08 - 00;15;16;11 Moe Jackson We can pronounce it. We know where it's at. And we also know what's important to Kansas City as far as having that valued network available to everyone. But let's get back to this blue KC, give back PPO plan again. It's $75 back as long as you are paying your part B premium. So Cary there are some people that wouldn't qualify, but simply because they may get extra help or someone else may be paying their part B premium. But for those of you that are paying your own Part B premium, you can get $75 back on this plan. And it still has pretty robust type benefits. It gives you that zero cost of your PCP. And then we have another plan. Cory, I'd really like to spend some time talking about, which is our Spira Care HMO. Now, you mentioned earlier that all our plans for 2023, everyone has access to a Spira Care Clinic. 00;15;16;11 - 00;15;17;26 Cary Hall And that's the first time this has happened. 00;15;17;26 - 00;15;19;01 Moe Jackson First time is ever happened... 00;15;19;09 - 00;15;25;17 Cary Hall This is another reason why we do this every year, because Spira Care wasn't available across the board until this year. 00;15;25;17 - 00;15;55;09 Moe Jackson That is correct. And this is very, very manicured for lack of a better term, PCP driven clinic business. And I can tell you from my own experience, I've gone in there and I'm not sitting in a waiting room with 100 people right. And it is very precise as to what my needs are. I get taken right back. I get taken care of. They do the follow ups. They set my appointments. Everything's taken care of for me. It's a phenomenal experience. You can have that on the Spira Care HMO or you can experience it through any of our plans. 00;15;55;09 - 00;17;22;20 Cary Hall You know, I go back to a story that happened here a couple of years ago. A fellow who another broker by the name of David Hickman signed up for Spira Care, put his whole company on it, and his son went in on a Saturday to go to the Spire Care Center and he needed to get an X-ray or something that they couldn't do there that day. They gave him a gas card and told him to go get to the other spire care. He called me up to tell me I don't believe this. They gave me a gas card to pay it. The point is that the care level at the Spira Care centers. Have you ever been in one of these things? They're beautiful. They are. They don't look like a like a hospital E.R. or like an urgent care, anything. These places are absolutely beautiful. You've got somebody in there that there's a care team member that, you know, what's your problem? What can we help you with? They're going to take you back. You're going to see a nurse practitioner, see a primary care physician, whatever you need, prescription drugs, X-rays, lab work. It's all right there. You just said it. Now I need to go see a specialist. Well, here's the specialist. Yeah, we'll make the appointment for you. So rather than you sitting on hold, right. Gone through 14 voice from that particular doctor's office, and you're not going to talk to anybody. You can go to the nurse line and leave a message. Right. You've actually got somebody picking up the phone and doing it for you. And they don't have to go to the nurse line because they're the provider and they're going to be able to get you right in and get it taken care of. So all of that nonsense you would have to typically go through is gone. It is okay. And it's one stop shop. 00;17;22;22 - 00;17;43;23 Moe Jackson It is. And it's a phenomenal experience. And they can do same day or next day, appointments for the sick care. They don't want you to treat it like an urgent care nurse or an emergency room, but it is for sick care and for your chronic conditions, your PCP care and give them a call and they'll be able to help you set up the appointment and get you started on that journey. It's a wonderful journey. 00;17;43;23 - 00;19;05;01 Cary Hall Yeah, it is. It's really good. There's also and this is unusual and none of the other these kinds of clinics that are popping up around town, there's also behavioral health here, which is if there is, it's right there in the facility. If you have a need for that, it's certainly there. If you want information, you want anything from Blue Cross Blue Shield, call them at 833-261-1596, 833-261-1596. Those folks that on Main Street are happy to talk to you if you just want them to walk you through this. You know, this is not a high pressure sales deal. You know, back to the Jimmy Walker Joe Navy model. This is these folks are here to help you make a decision. If they can help you, they will 833-261-1596 or MedicareBlueKC.com That's the website. We'll be right back. After the break, we're going to get into what I call the bag of goodies after this. It's pretty extensive this year, so stay tuned. We'll be right back after the break. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate Show broadcasting here on the HIA radio network. Coast to coast across the USA. Don't go anywhere. We got more. ♪ ♪ ♪ 00;19;05;01 - 00;21;38;29 Cary Hall Welcome back. You're listening to America's health care advocates broadcasting coast to coast across the USA here on the HIV radio network. You can find out more about us by going to our website. HealthRadio.us. HealthRadio.us, That is the website. We did change it from America's Healthcare Advocate because somebody was plagiarizing the name out in California, to healthradio.us. Okay, so there's a lot of information you hear. It's like drinking out of a firehose listening to all this, right? The podcast platforms are there for that reason and so is YouTube. Okay, so go to the podcast platforms, SoundCloud, Tune In, iTunes, Apple Podcast, Spreaker, Google, Audacy. We're on all of those platforms. And in addition to that, we're on YouTube now and the YouTube is aha radio show. AHARadioShow. And there are a lot of people using that, which I was skeptical whether that was going to work or not. But it's up there. So you want to tell somebody about this or listen to it again or talk to your husband or your wife. That's a great way to do this. So my producer, Mr. Sean Floyd, in studio with me, Moe Jackson from Blue KC. She is the in-house Medicare expert. Now we are talking about all things Medicare. It's open enrollment. So, you know, October 1st we start talking about this October 15th when you could start rolling. You have until December 7th. Don't be the procrastinator with the dish eventually served, okay? Yeah. Yeah. You know, be the person that gets it done in a timely manner and get it in place because you wait until the last minute and then their phones are ringing off the hook, the websites are jammed up and they're trying to get this stuff done and it doesn't make any sense. The time to do it is now. Talk to somebody. If you need some time to think about it, that's fine, but at least get started with the process. If you want to do that, call them at 833-261-1596, 833-261-1596. The website, MedicareBlueKC.com. All right. So every time this happens, every year I look at this stuff and I'm good. How are they going to get any more stuff in here? So so I'm doing show prep before I come in here, do the show, and I see that there's housekeeping on here and I'm like, this is the substance, not there's a mistake substance wrong. There's not. Okay. Just I mean, just talk about some of this because and the reason for this, people that they do all of these extras that come with these Medicare advertisement, it's really simple. They're competing they're competing with all the other carriers out there to get your business and they're adding in all of these extra things to give you extra opportunity. So let's just start with housekeeping. 00;21;39;12 - 00;21;51;29 Moe Jackson So housekeeping, I mean, it is it's a great segway into this this conversation because everybody wants somebody come out, clean their house. Right. I would like somebody come clean my house. I'm not of age quite yet. Get in there. 00;21;52;00 - 00;21;53;08 Cary Hall Yeah, but to go there. 00;21;53;08 - 00;22;27;14 Moe Jackson But this we'll Cary is referring to is actually called Papa Pals and papa pals is actually a, a vendor that we engaged to go out and do daily activity support. So it's caregiver and companionship support called papa pals and all of our members that are on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. Medicare Advantage plans get 40 hours a year of this type of support. They come out to the home and they'll do things like light housekeeping. They'll come out and they'll set up your new iPhone. They'll come out and. 00;22;28;10 - 00;22;29;25 Cary Hall They'll come out. Set up the new iPhone. 00;22;29;29 - 00;22;30;15 Moe Jackson Set up the new. 00;22;30;15 - 00;22;34;01 Cary Hall And you're going to do that if you had a 12 year old grandson. But all right. So that's good to know. 00;22;34;01 - 00;22;34;23 Moe Jackson Yeah. These are. 00;22;34;23 - 00;22;35;08 Cary Hall College. 00;22;35;23 - 00;22;36;05 Moe Jackson College. 00;22;36;06 - 00;22;40;16 Cary Hall Those things are ridic. Yeah. I'm looking at my no way. Yeah, yeah. 00;22;40;16 - 00;22;58;09 Moe Jackson So they'll come on the iPhone, they'll come out and they'll walk, help walk their dogs. They'll take you up to the airport. If you need a ride to the airport, they'll take you to Walmart if you need to go pick up your over-the-counter meds, various different things. And it's 40 hours a year and is at no cost to you and everyone gets it. 00;22;58;12 - 00;22;59;19 Moe Jackson That's wonderful. Yeah. 00;22;59;26 - 00;23;10;22 Cary Hall I mean, you know, you know, maybe you've got guests coming in from out of town and, you know, you don't you got to get the house clean tried do all these things. You pick up the phone and call them. They come out and take care of you. 00;23;11;05 - 00;23;27;20 Moe Jackson Yes, they do. Now, they're not going to do the deep cleaning, but they will do the the light housekeeping, right? Yeah. That's just one of the many different things that we're offering for 2023. As far as the benefit extra highlights, we also have something called the Personal Emergency Response System Care. Do you know what that is? 00;23;27;20 - 00;23;28;17 Cary Hall I have no idea. 00;23;28;17 - 00;23;53;07 Moe Jackson That is, I've fallen in. I can't get up button. Right. So you remember the commercials? Yeah. It's that button that they can wear around their neck or on their wrist or they can hang it on their bed. But it's a button that gets them emergency care right away. So if you actually do fall in the tub, you can push that button and alert someone and they talk to you via this device and they'll get somebody out there to help you as opposed to something else happening to you. 00;23;53;07 - 00;24;13;03 Cary Hall Now, you know, we talk about the sandwich generation sometimes on this broadcast. We do these shows. And that's the folks that, you know, that have got parents that are in their eighties, nineties, etc., and they're trying to take care of them. Maybe you're out of state. Okay. Or maybe you're you know, you're on your one side of town and they're on the other side of town. This is the kind of thing that makes a lot of sense. 00;24;13;03 - 00;24;43;11 Moe Jackson It does. And you know why else that makes sense is because there's also an app that goes with that device that myself I could try to help manage my mom's care because I can't be physically with her. I can actually see if she's gotten up in the last 8 hours. I can see if she's stranded or far away from somewhere where she's at on this on this device. So it's a great opportunity for people to get this. And again, this is for everyone. It is not one of those situations where it's only for these set of things. Everyone can get one of these. 00;24;43;11 - 00;24;47;13 Cary Hall Okay. So let's talk about some of the other ones that are really great. Let's start with the over the counter benefit. 00;24;47;16 - 00;25;24;08 Moe Jackson So yeah, the OTC, everyone loves what they can get with the OTC benefits. And on our plans, most plans include either a 500 or $400 benefit. Now, the $400 benefit is $100 per quarter, and that's on the essential plan to name one and it rolls. So if you don't use all the $100 in the first quarter, it's going to go to the second quarter. And then you have the simply blue plan. It's going to have a $500 over the counter benefit. So you can buy your things like your vitamins, your pain relievers, your cough drops, all those type of things. With the OTC benefit. 00;25;24;08 - 00;25;26;28 Cary Hall And the flex benefit allowance, this is another one. That's a big. 00;25;26;28 - 00;25;27;17 Moe Jackson Deal. Yeah. 00;25;27;17 - 00;25;30;20 Cary Hall So we think about all these people keep adding this stuff up. Yeah. 00;25;31;05 - 00;26;01;00 Moe Jackson And that is called the Blue Benefit Bucks. So that is the flex benefit and that's includes either a 500 or $1,000 benefit for those things like hearing transportation, vision or dental. So all four of those things are included in the flex benefit. And all it is is they can use anybody, whether they're in or out of network. It doesn't make a difference. That is a vendor for such things. So for instance, Lyft or Uber, they could use that with the transportation benefit and use the 500 or $1,000. 00;26;01;10 - 00;26;20;20 Cary Hall Wow, that's pretty nice that you could use Lyft or Uber. And so if you needed to go to the grocery store, you need to go to a doctor's appointment. You didn't feel like driving or you didn't you weren't capable of doing it that day. You could use that. Before we get out of the segment, though, I want to talk a little bit about the fitness program because it's expanded this year and it's a lot different than what a lot of other carriers are offering. 00;26;20;22 - 00;26;22;00 Cary Hall You mean. The Silversneakers. 00;26;22;09 - 00;26;24;00 Cary Hall Silversneakers plus a few others? 00;26;24;14 - 00;26;46;26 Moe Jackson Well, you're going to have to fill me on the others, but I can tell you the SILVERSNEAKERS program is still available to them. And with the SILVERSNEAKERS, we did expand part of that with the healthy benefits or help the rewards. So if they use a Silver Sneakers fitness benefit ten times a month, they're going to get $10 for doing that on their healthy rewards benefit. 00;26;47;01 - 00;26;48;03 Cary Hall That's a pretty good benefit. 00;26;48;03 - 00;26;49;20 Moe Jackson It is a real good benefit. 00;26;50;03 - 00;26;52;27 Cary Hall So they have access under Silversneakers to kind of clubs. 00;26;53;09 - 00;26;58;28 Moe Jackson So they have access to things, clubs like Genesis, clubs like 24 hour fitness. 00;26;58;28 - 00;26;59;28 Cary Hall That's what I was talking. 00;26;59;29 - 00;27;01;05 Moe Jackson Oh, the Genesis. Yes. 00;27;01;26 - 00;27;08;15 Cary Hall So 24 hour fitness YMCA. Yes. You've got it's expanded to there are an awful lot of health club facilities. 00;27;08;15 - 00;27;16;12 Moe Jackson and they can find out by going to silversneakers.com and looking at the places that are close to them and finding out what the amenities are. 00;27;16;23 - 00;27;23;09 Cary Hall And that's really kind of cool because, you know, that's some of the other wonderful benefits that are available here. 00;27;23;10 - 00;27;25;14 Moe Jackson Something else I want to talk about when we go to break. 00;27;25;14 - 00;27;25;17 Cary Hall Go. 00;27;25;20 - 00;28;01;23 Moe Jackson Yeah, real quick. So we also offer in this for people with chronic conditions. So I don't want to expand this too far, but we have something called Bell Cares and this is in-home pedicures for people that qualify for in-home pedicure. So people that may have a chronic disease, diabetes, these vascular issues, neuropathy, wound care, things like that. They can have someone come in to their home and do a dry pedicure and massage their legs and even paint their nails. If they produce the color, they have to give them the color, but they can have it. 00;28;01;23 - 00;28;03;12 Cary Hall Then you can get your nails painted. 00;28;03;12 - 00;28;03;24 Moe Jackson Once a. 00;28;03;24 - 00;28;04;27 Cary Hall Month. That's for. 00;28;04;27 - 00;28;05;22 Moe Jackson 12 months. 00;28;06;27 - 00;29;22;19 Cary Hall Yeah, I mean, it is. It sounds good. True. But it's not okay. You know, all of these things are available on these plans. And, you know, again, the reason for this is simple people they're competing with the other carriers to get your business okay. And they're putting in these kind of programs to give you opportunities to do things that aren't available on all the other plans. And that's really important to understand that. And that's why it's important to talk to somebody, you know, that's why you pick up that phone and you give them a call and go back through this, you know, listen to what they have to say and see if this is what you want to do. You can do that by calling 833-261-1596, 833-261-1596. When we come back from the break, I'm going to talk about all the counties that this is offered in. So you're going to be a little surprised that's also grown this year and another opportunity for folks all around the Metro. You know, this show airs on 13 stations here around the Kansas City Metro. So when you're listening to this, you'll know that it's available in your area once again, if you want to call them 833-261-1596. The website, MedicareBlueKC.com. We'll be right back after the break. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate. Broadcasting here on the HIA radio network. Coast to coast across USA. 00;29;22;20 - 00;29;35;26 Music ♪♪ Won't be long before our true love will be too, wow tell me darlin’ at my right I'm on.♪♪ 00;29;37;09 - 00;30;16;18 Cary Hall Welcome back. You're listening to America's Healthcare Advocate Show Broadcasting coast to coast across the fruited plain here on the HIA Radio Network, you can find out more about us by going to the website. HealthRadio.us. HealthRadio.us. also podcast platforms. The show is up there. It'll be Blue KC Medicare Advantage plans. You can listen to the show. All of this information is on on that podcast, just like we did it here in the show. So you could hear it up there. Go back and listen to it again. Tell somebody about it if you want to do that. Also on YouTube, at age a radio show, we post them up there as well. A lot of people seem to like that YouTube thing, so you could do it there. 00;30;16;18 - 00;31;05;13 Cary Hall Either way, if you want to talk to somebody and I urge you, if you're thinking about this, to pick up the phone and give them a call, 833-261-1596. Look, this is not a high pressure sales deal. We're looking to try to close the deal. You want to just call ‘em and say: “I don't understand this” or “I'm on this plan.” Why is this one better? Why is it different? I heard it on the radio show. Whatever the case may be. Pick up the phone and call them. They're happy to talk to you. That's why they're there. Okay. And they are, like I said, right down here on Main Street. So they're happy to chat with you and help you. 833-261-1596. That is the phone number. Right. So let's talk about that because it's again, another one of the reasons why we do the show. It's expanded this year. Let's go through all of the counties because we got a lot of counties to talk about. 00;31;05;13 - 00;31;35;02 Moe Jackson Okay, great. So the first thing we want to cover once again, I just want to reiterate to everyone, Spira Care Clinic Access is available in all our plans. So that is one big takeaway. The second takeaway I have for you is that on the Spira Care HMO plan, we did expand that into Jackson County, Missouri, so you can live in Johnson or Wyandotte, Johnson or Wyandotte in Kansas or Jackson County, Missouri, be on Spira Care HMO and have access to all those clinics and those wonderful benefits that are on that plan. 00;31;35;20 - 00;31;38;20 Cary Hall And Lafayette Platt, Ray and Wyandotte. 00;31;38;20 - 00;31;49;13 Moe Jackson Right so we have Cass, Clinton, Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Kansas, Lafayette. Platt, Ray, and Wyandotte Kansas all in the secure HMO plan. 00;31;49;16 - 00;31;53;12 Cary Hall Okay, that's pretty good. And Jackson's new in Missouri. That was not on. 00;31;53;12 - 00;32;27;23 Moe Jackson Here for Spira Care. It is new. That is correct. Yep. And then if we move to the PPO plans, we did expand into three counties, but I'm going to give you the whole county listing. So we're in Andrew, Bates, Buchanan, Cass, Clinton, Clay, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Missouri, Lafayette Platt, Ray, Sinclair and Vernon in Missouri. And then we're also in Johnson and Wyandotte in Kansas. So we have expanded into Vernon, St Clair and Henry in Missouri for 2023. 00;32;27;23 - 00;33;04;12 Cary Hall Yeah, I think that just about covers the whole broadcaster of this show. So it's important to understand that these are these these plans are county by county. And that's why we want you understand, you know, they're available now in your particular county if you're at one of these counties. So that's important. All right. So let's cover prescription drugs because this is a really big deal to people, you know. You know, they need to know that they've got coverage for the drugs. Let's talk about how the coverage this year from Blue KC is working. And that means the Part D drug plan is included inside of these plans with everyone except the Valor plan. 00;33;04;12 - 00;33;47;13 Moe Jackson That is correct. Good. Good job. So, yeah, we have prescription drug medicine available on, you know, that comes with a formulary for the drugs that we cover. And on these drugs that we cover for tier one and two coverage, we have 100 day fills at no cost either retail or mail order on our plans that have the drug coverage. 100 day fills at no cost. You're wanting to retail or mail order, and that's important to know. You don't have to use a mail order if you don't want to. You can use a retail stores and we do not have a preferred pharmacy network. So pretty much wherever you want to go. 00;33;47;13 - 00;34;00;08 Cary Hall Oh, so unlike some of the other plans the carriers had where they do have prefer from, you guys do not have that. And so that's another thing. Some people don't like mail order, they don't. So now they can go get 100 days at the pharmacy. 00;34;00;08 - 00;34;05;00 Moe Jackson They can they can get there one day, feel at the pharmacy for tier one and two at no cost. 00;34;05;08 - 00;34;06;00 Cary Hall That's pretty good. 00;34;06;01 - 00;34;13;15 Moe Jackson It is real good. And then we have gap coverage on the HMO plans for Tier one and two. So through the coverage gap, they're there. 00;34;13;15 - 00;34;16;20 Cary Hall So you want to explain coverage gaps so people know what you're talking about here. 00;34;16;22 - 00;34;31;10 Moe Jackson Well, I can tell you that there is an amount that you have to meet. Right, that the plan and you pay for and then you get them what they call the coverage you get for the donut hole. And when you get in the donut hole, normally your costs are your own. But in this we cover it. 00;34;31;11 - 00;35;06;25 Cary Hall Yeah. So that's important again, you know, like I said, there's a lot of information here, right. And that's why it's important if you want to understand this better, a can go listen to one on the podcast and that certainly helps. Or you can simply call them at 833-261-1596 before we go to the end of the show here, let's talk about the insulin program or what's available there, because that's been a problem for a long time. You have a lot of seniors. Is they either didn't have the money. They ration that stuff and not take it when they're supposed to as often as they should because somebody have to pay for it. 00;35;06;25 - 00;35;07;09 Moe Jackson Right now. 00;35;07;09 - 00;35;09;21 Cary Hall They get all change. Yeah. So now talk about that. 00;35;09;21 - 00;35;30;17 Moe Jackson So yeah, we last year we started with the $35 insulin program. So all the insulins that are on our formularies that are, have, have drug plans. They can get those at $35 through the through the coverage gap. So they're going to pay at the most for their insulin $35 if they're a diabetic and they need it. 00;35;31;11 - 00;35;33;22 Cary Hall Yeah, and that's that that's pretty amazing. 00;35;33;26 - 00;35;45;26 Moe Jackson It's really amazing because to your point, a lot of people that they split it, they try to ration it or they just don't use it at all because it costs too much. Now it's affordable, now they can use it and now they don't have to ration. 00;35;45;26 - 00;35;56;02 Cary Hall Yeah. And then, then they get sick. Yeah. Because they aren't taking what they need and then they wind up with, you know, losing a toe or a foot or something else. 00;35;56;05 - 00;36;01;09 Moe Jackson In the emergency room in-patient hospital, skilled nursing, it just goes on and on and on. 00;36;01;09 - 00;36;09;07 Cary Hall It snowballs and it's not good. So we're wrapping it up. What do you want to say to the folks? We wrap it up here about Blue Cross this year and what you all are doing. 00;36;09;08 - 00;36;33;14 Moe Jackson Very excited to tell you about the benefit structures that we have for 2023. I want to really make it clear, don't be one of those people that wait till the last minute. Go ahead and make that decision. Get it off your plate. Right, just get it off your plate. So you're not serving that down the road. Go ahead and don't be a procrastinator. Make your decision. Call us at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. We're more than happy to help you. 00;36;33;14 - 00;37;13;11 Cary Hall You know, and again, you can call, you know, make the decision. We call them that day. Call them and talk to them. Yeah, I can talk to my wife. Need to talk to my husband. That's fine. But you've got to start the process. If you're going to get to a point where you're going to make a good decision in a timely manner. And the way to do that is call them at 833 261 1596, 833-261-1596. They're right here in town. You know, there aren't any other carriers can say that. Okay. They're right here. Their folks are right down there on Main Street. They have a award winning customer service people. And it's a great way to get help if you need help. 833-261-1596. 00;37;13;11 - 00;37;39;22 Cary Hall And now I'll leave you with this thought from Albert Einstein, the one who follows the crowd. They usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been a member. Friends is the funny thing about life. If you refuse to accept anything but the very best, you most often get it. Thank you for listening to America's Healthcare Advocate Show broadcasting coast to coast across the U.S.. Goodbye, America. ♪ ♪ ♪