A free “Long Term Care Seminar” at Jannsen + Company is going to study the undistorted costs of extended medical care and medicare supplements the options of paying for it is to be held on May 22 and the venue for the seminar is at the Jannsen Center Pewaukee, Wis.

There is a need to create a plan for the health and financial realities of older age as the average lifespan of Americans has grown 30 years in the past century, Many people may need long term care if they become sick or injured, or physically or mentally debilitated. Medicare Plan and other health plans hardly ever pay for extended care in a nursing home or assisted living facility, or for in-home care by a health aide.

The seminar will be co-presented by Jane Shevey, CLTC, of R&R Insurance plans. Long term care insurance is one alternative to pay for medical costs that can speedily accrue with extended care.

The average cost for a private nursing home room in Milwaukee exceeds $100,000 annually. Even in situations when a person does not require a nursing facility, many extended care situations need expert attention which is not covered by private insurance or Medicare Advantage Plan. The seminar will address many of the gaps common to public and private insurance plans, and how long term care insurance plans should be appraised.

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.

The Medicare-covered intensive cardiac rehabilitation program called the Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease has lessened patients’ risk of recurring heart attacks and other symptoms of heart disease through complete lifestyle modifications. A recent study of 2,974 Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield patients who went through the one-year program at 24 hospital sites in four states between 1998 and 2009 showed promising results

These type of results convinced officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2010 to support coverage of the Ornish program under the new benefit category of intensive cardiac rehabilitation. It is supposed to be the first time Medicare Plan has covered such a so-called integrative medicine program. In a similar move, Medicare Plan in 2011 accepted it’s first-ever coverage of obesity screening and “intensive behavioral therapy,” also known as weight-loss counseling, in a primary care setting.

Regardless of some reservations, the health care community has greatly endorsed the developments as long overdue appreciation of the medical and behavioral factors underlying expensive chronic diseases, and the need for less conventional defensive measures. Supporters also hope Medicare Supplement Plans decisions supports more private insurers to follow suit, giving physicians and patients the moral and financial boost up.

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.

The US Medicare Plans and Medicaid federal health insurance programs will cover the non-invasive Sapien heart valve replacement system from Edwards Lifesciences Corp, as per US regulators.

The Sapien system, which is threaded to the diseased heart through a slit in the groin or ribs via the femoral artery, is useful for patients supposed to be too sick to have heart valve replacement using more traditional open-heart surgery.

The US Food and Drug Administration accepted the Sapien valve, which is expected to cost about $30,000, in November.

The US Centers for Medicare Advantage Plans & Medicaid Services (CMS) posted its compensation decision for the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) system on Tuesday.

The Sapien is widely considered to be one of the most significant future growth drivers for Edwards

In clinical trials, the Sapien valve system led to a slightly lower death rate and noticeably shorter recuperation times and hospital stays than an open heart surgery. But the TAVR also led to considerably higher incidence of stroke, making surgery preferable for some, especially younger, stronger patients.

Among the conditions that must be met to receive reimbursement, CMS said two heart surgeons must independently examine the patient to assess their appropriateness for open surgery versus a TAVR procedure.

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.

A Recent Nationwide Financial survey has found that almost half of soon-to- be-retired, high-net-worth Americans are scared of what health care costs may do to their retirement plans, and near three in four hold that health care costs behaving erratically is among their top retirement fears, as per a release from Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

But, according to the survey performed by Harris Interactive of 1,250 Americans with at least $250,000 in household assets, 38 percent of those approaching retirement hold that they have not conversed about their retirement at all with a financial advisor. Among those who have, only one in five discussed health care costs in retirement not covered by Medicare Plan.

It seems that soon-to-be-retirees do not have confidence in the capability of financial advisors to assist with this challenge; with 59 percent saying most financial advisors are not prepared to discuss retirement health care costs with their clients. However, this lack of confidence may be groundless. Those who have discussed it with a financial advisor for Medicare Supplement Guide pointed out that it was useful, with two- thirds saying advisors were helpful or very helpful in discussing information about their health and approximating their health care costs in retirement.

One in five surveyed hold that they are convinced in their knowledge of Medicare coverage, and more than half say it is very crucial to educate them on Medicare Advantage coverage when planning for retirement.

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.

As per the latest retiree health care costs estimate calculated by Fidelity Investments^®, a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is projected to need $240,000¹ to cover medical expenses all through retirement. This shows a 4 percent increase from last year, when the estimate was $230,000.

Fidelity has calculated an annual estimate of medical expenses for retirees for more than a decade. For most Americans, health care is expected to be among their largest expenses in retirement. The estimate, which is calculated by Fidelity’s Benefits Consulting business, does not comprise any costs related to nursing-home care and is applicable to retirees with traditional Medicare insurance coverage.

The estimate has augmented an average of 6 percent annually since Fidelity’s initial calculation of $160,000 in 2002, with the exemption of 2011 when the estimate decreased to $20,000. That one and only decrease in the history of the estimate was owing to a one-time adjustment driven by Medicare Plan modifications that cut down out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs for many seniors.

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.

Government investigators have found that almost 2,600 U.S. drug stores, or 4 percent of all retail pharmacies, may be having suspicious billing to Medicare Plan. Some pharmacies distributed curiously high percentages of painkillers and other controlled substances or costly brand- name drugs, as per a report released from the inspector general for the Health and Human Services Department that examined claims data from 2009.

The 2,637 alleged pharmacies billed Medicare advantage Plans, the U.S. health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, about $5.6 billion in 2009. Most of them which had dubious billing were independent stores rather than chains such as those owned by CVS Caremark Corp. or Walgreen Co., according to the report. About 1 percent of chain drug stores and almost 11 percent of independent shops were considered suspect, according to investigators.

Daniel Levinson, the inspector general for the Health Plans and Human Services Department, suggested that Medicare supplement Plans inform the insurers who administer the program’s drug plans to report possible fraud to the government. Medicare paid about $57 billion in 2009 for prescriptions distributed by about 59,000 drug stores, according to the report.

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.

Health Net, Inc. declared that its subsidiary, Health Net Life Insurance Company, completed the sale of its Medicare stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan (Medicare PDP) business to a subsidiary of CVS Caremark. According to Health Net it announced the sale on January 9.

Health Net anticipates realization of approximately $145 million in net cash proceeds from the transaction, after the effect of freed-up capital, taxes and transaction- and transition-related costs. Health plans Net is expected to update its 2012 earnings guidance to show the impact of the sale when it reports its first quarter 2012 financial results on May 3.

Health Net had approximately 425,000 Medicare Plans PDP members in 49 states and the District of Columbia as of April 1. Health Net’s 2011 revenue for the Medicare PDP business was approximately $490 million.

Health Net will continue to offer prescription drug plans as part of its Medicare Advantage plan offerings. Health Net is a publicly traded managed care organization that brings managed health care services through health plans and government-sponsored managed care plans. Its main job is to help people be healthy, secure and comfortable.

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.

Medicare PLAN’S payment system, the crucial network that manages 100 million monthly claims, could freeze up if President Barack Obama’s health care law is abruptly upturned, as per the administration’s information to the courts.

Though Obama’s overhaul made major cuts to providers and enhanced prescription and preventive benefits, Medicare insurance was overlooked in Supreme Court arguments that focused on the law’s divisive requirement that individuals carry health insurance.

Yet chaos for Medicare Supplement Plan could have consequences as both parties ardently court seniors in this election year and as hospitals and doctors increasingly complain the program doesn’t pay enough. In papers filed with the Supreme Court, administration lawyers have cautioned of “extraordinary disruption” if Medicare Advantage Plans is forced to unwind countless transactions that are based on payment changes required by more than 20 separate sections of the Affordable Care Act.

Opponents hold that the whole law must go. The administration contradicts that even if it strikes down the insurance mandate, the court should preserve most of the rest of the legislation. That would leave in place its transformation to Medicare Health Plan as well as a major expansion of Medicaid coverage.

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that a nationwide takedown by Medicare plans Fraud Strike Force operations in seven cities has led to charges against 107 individuals, including doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their suspected participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $452 million in false billing.

This coordinated takedown involved the highest amount of false Medicare Advantage Plans billings in a single takedown in Strike Force history. HHS also suspended administrative action against 52 providers following a data-driven analysis and plausible accusation of fraud. The new health care law, the Affordable Care Act, considerably increased HHS’ ability to suspend payments until an investigation is complete.

The joint Department of Justice and HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a multi-agency team of federal, state and local investigators planned to tackle Medicare fraud with the help of Medicare Supplement Plan data analysis techniques. More than 500 law enforcement agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG, multiple Medicaid Fraud Control Units, and other state and local law enforcement agencies took part in the takedown. In addition to making arrests, agents also executed 20 search warrants in connection with ongoing Strike Force investigations.

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.

A. M. Best, the world’s oldest and most dependable insurance rating and information source, has modified its position to positive from stable and confirmed the financial strength rating of B++ (Very Good) of its subsidiary Oxford Life Insurance Company (Oxford Life). This rating is also applicable to Oxford Life’s three life insurance subsidiaries; Christian Fidelity Life Insurance Company, North American Insurance Company and Dallas General Life Insurance Company.

Oxford Life mainly provides products and services that endorse the financial security of the swiftly growing, middle-segment of the senior market. The confusion in financial and regulatory environments has augmented seniors’ needs for value-enhanced life insurance, Medicare supplement and retirement savings products. Their keen understanding of this market and strategy of providing value by saving time and money for the policyholders and producers through processing and underwriting efficiencies, has further added to their success according to Mike Quaranta, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Oxford Life.

Founded in 1965, Oxford Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries concentrate on providing value-enhanced wealth transfer, final expense, retirement savings, and Medicare plans solutions to the fast growing senior market through independent marketing organizations and general agents

For more information please visit us @ www.medigap4seniors.com, , or call us at 888-502-5553 to speak with one of our Medicare experts.