Your Medicare Moves

10/07/2026

Are you financially conservative
with a 5- to 7-year time
horizon who are looking for
more growth potential
for their “safe money”?

Do you have assets such as:
• MYGAs coming out of
surrender (Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuities)
• CDs maturing
• Bond allocations being
rebalanced
• Cash sitting idle in low interest accounts.

Do you crave the following for your money...
Safety, Liquidity, tax advantages, competitive returns, Avoid Probate, Longevity protection, Income you can't outlive.

If yes, Call me to discuss options if you live in California.
831-423-8542

Send a message to learn more

09/30/2026

In your mailboxes (physical or email as you elected) there are Annual Notices of Change for your Medicare Advantage plans. Open it, read it, keep it!!!! There is important information you need to know. It may also be your pass to be accepted into a Medicare Supplement guaranteed. Here are things that would give you that right. Number 1 is often overlooked. In looking at the plans for 2027, a number of plans have premium or copay increases over 15%.

Qualifying Plan Changes & Triggers
Under California Insurance Code 10192.12, specific adverse changes to your Medicare Advantage plan grant you guaranteed acceptance:
1. Cost Increases: Your plan premium increases by 15% or more, or your copayments/coinsurance for doctor, hospital, or prescriptions go up by 15% or more.
2. Benefit Reductions: The plan reduces any of your covered health benefits.
3. Provider Termination: The plan terminates its contract with a doctor or provider currently treating you (unless it is for quality-of-care reasons).
4. Plan Termination or Relocation: Your MAPD plan ends its contract, leaves California, stops offering coverage in your area, or you move outside the plan’s service area.
5. Trial Periods: You joined an MA plan when first eligible for Medicare and are switching back within your first 12 months, or you switched from a Medigap to an MA plan for the first time and are disenrolling within 12 months.

If you have a one of these situations and want to look at Medicare options in the state of California, call or use this link to book your free appointment. https://mytime.com/lowcostcahealth or 831-423-8542

Our goal is the unravel the mysteries of individual, group, and Medicare health insurance for our clients. We aim to not just sell you a policy, but help to guide you to the plan(s) that meet your needs.

09/29/2026

For my Medicare clients, here are the times, dates and zoom links to our Annual Open Enrollment trainings. Hop on at the time and date specified. October 1st is the first training on the prescription drug plans. October 2nd is the review of the Alignment HMO/PPO plans for clients on those plans.
https://www.lowcostcahealth.com/2027-aep-events/

Agents are no longer compensated for working with the prescription drug plans. Rather than leave you all to fend for yourself, here is what I am offering.
1. Join one of the Medicare.gov zoom events and learn how to shop and enroll in the best plan for yourself. https://www.lowcostcahealth.com/2027-aep-events/

And or
2. Click on this link to send in an intake form. I will do a quick online review and email you what I see as the best plan for your medication list. If it is the plan you already have, great, let it auto renew. If it's not, you can enroll on Medicare.gov knowing that you had assistance in making the best choice.
https://app.retireflo.com/dcd

Remember Open enrollment is October 15th through Dec 7th for Prescription Drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans. For those on a Medicare Supplement (plans F, G, N, High Deductible G) the best time to review those plans is up to 60 days from your birthday. Changing plans outside of that window requires you to answer health questions and you could be told no. I am happy to do those reviews year round.
, Open Enrollment,

09/02/2026

These are two separtate paths to Medicare coverage. If you are in California and have questions on these two options, set up a free consultation. Each can be a viable option but which is best for you? The one that covers your doctors, hospitals, drugs, and risks. The office number is 831-423-8542

09/01/2026

Today I launched the annual letter to clients to start preparing for the Medicare Annual Open Enrollment. If you are a client, check your email, click on the link to complete the Medicare intake form which gets you in the Cue for assistance. If you don't have an agent to help you shop your Medicare plans, click here to get started. https://app.retireflo.com/dcd

08/31/2026

**Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement are NOT the same thing. Do you know the difference?**

According to eHealth’s 2026 Medicare Knowledge Gaps study, only **45% of current Medicare beneficiaries could correctly identify the basic definitions of Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement (Medigap).**

They work very differently.

With **Medicare Advantage**, you receive your Medicare Part A and Part B benefits through a Medicare-approved private insurance plan. Many plans also include Part D prescription drug coverage and may include additional benefits.

A **Medicare Supplement (Medigap)** works alongside Original Medicare to help pay some of the costs Original Medicare leaves behind. If you want prescription drug coverage, you generally add a separate Part D plan.

There are other important differences too, including provider access, out-of-pocket costs, plan availability, enrollment rules and how your coverage may work when you travel.

This is why choosing Medicare coverage based on a commercial, a friend's plan, or one benefit that sounds good can be a mistake. **The two paths work differently, and the right choice depends on you.**

A knowledgeable local Medicare insurance agent is trained and certified annually to understand these options and can help you compare them based on your doctors, prescriptions, healthcare needs and budget.

This is #4 in Trusted Healthcare Alliance’s 10-part series, **What Medicare Beneficiaries Don’t Know.** We want you to understand your choices before you make them.

trustedhealthcarealliance.org

*Source: eHealth, Medicare Knowledge Gaps Report, 2026*

08/27/2026

In November, the new Social Security increase and Medicare rates will be sent to you. This is a great little flyer on what and how to look at that. Remember that Medicare rates differ by income. If you had higher income 2 years ago and now you dont, you may need to update that information with Social Security to avoid or reduce an IRMAA (Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount).

📊 The current projection for the 2027 Social Security COLA is 3.6%, which would be the largest increase since 2023.

On a $2,000 monthly benefit, 3.6% works out to about $72 more a month.

That number is still an estimate, and it can move: the official COLA is built from July, August, and September inflation, and two of those three months are not in yet.

August inflation data arrives September 11, when the Senior Citizens League is expected to update its projection, and Social Security announces the real number on October 14.

One catch to plan around: Medicare Part B premiums come out of most Social Security payments, and the Trustees project the 2027 premium at $209.50, up $6.60 from this year.

If both projections hold and you pay the standard Part B premium, roughly $65 of that $72 increase actually reaches your check.

Your personal 2027 amount arrives in December, by mail and in your my Social Security account, and shows up in your January payment.

Which date are you circling on the calendar, October 14 or the December notice?

P.S. Once a week, I email the best money article I read, with my take on this week's top Facebook posts and what's new on the Ways to Wealth blog. It's free, and you can sign up on the Ways to Wealth home page.

R.J. Weiss, CFP®



The content shared here is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not personalized investment, tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a licensed professional before making decisions based on your specific situation.

08/18/2026

Are you getting priced out of your Medicare Supplement F, G, or N? There is a little discussed plan that is a small fraction of the premium. Many of my older Medicare clients will save more in premiums than the maximum they could have to pay in the deductible even in a worst case scenario. If you live in California, and you want to know the cost for you in comparison to the plan you currently have, set up a free appointment to chat by phone. 831-423-8542 of book online at https://mytime.com/lowcostcahealth

06/25/2026

The largest certification I need to do to offer Medicare Advantage and Drug plans is done for another year.

06/17/2026

Medicare Fraud has run rampant and unchecked for decades. Here are some recent settlements. These alone total $953.05 MILLION. Medicare Fraud hurts all of us. What can you do? If you see claims that don't seem right, maybe for services you didn't get, let Medicare know.

In addition to these there were 800 Hospice's in Los Angeles that were found to be fraudulent. LA is big but it didn't need 800 Hospice groups.

Six recent Medicare Advantage fraud settlements:

1. Matrix Medical Network, HealthFair, and founder James Ekbatani agreed June 3 to pay a combined $56.5 million to resolve allegations they submitted false diagnosis codes to inflate Medicare Advantage payments. The government said Matrix caused MA plans to submit unsupported diagnoses including atrial fibrillation, rheumatoid arthritis, and COPD between 2014 and 2019, while HealthFair’s alleged conduct from 2015 to 2017 involved diagnoses such as HIV/AIDS, metastatic cancer, and congestive heart failure. HealthFair was acquired by Matrix in 2018 and shut down by 2020.

2. Aetna agreed March 10 to pay $117.7 million to resolve allegations it submitted or failed to withdraw inaccurate diagnosis codes to inflate its MA payments. The largest portion, $106.2 million, stems from a 2015 chart review program, while $11.5 million resolves allegations tied to morbid obesity codes submitted between 2018 and 2023. A whistleblower who worked as a risk-adjustment coding auditor at the company will receive about $2 million.

3. Kaiser Permanente agreed Jan. 14 to pay $556 million, the largest Medicare Advantage fraud settlement to date, to resolve allegations it submitted unsupported diagnosis codes to boost risk-adjusted payments. The government alleged that from 2009 to 2018 in California and Colorado, Kaiser pressured physicians to add diagnoses to patient records after visits had already occurred. The five Kaiser affiliates did not admit wrongdoing, and the whistleblowers will receive roughly $95 million.

4. Seoul Medical Group and Renaissance Imaging Medical Associates agreed March 26, 2025 to pay a combined $62.85 million to resolve allegations they submitted false spinal diagnosis codes to inflate Medicare Advantage payments. Prosecutors said that from 2015 to 2021, Seoul submitted diagnoses for spinal enthesopathy and sacroiliitis that patients did not have, and that Renaissance created false radiology reports to support them.

5. Independent Health and DxID agreed Dec. 20, 2024 to pay up to $100 million to resolve allegations that the now-defunct DxID retroactively mined medical records to add diagnoses that inflated MA risk scores. The case closed a roughly 12-year whistleblower lawsuit, and Independent Health did not admit wrongdoing.

6. Oak Street Health agreed Sept. 18, 2024 to pay $60 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to third-party insurance agents to recruit seniors to its primary care clinics. Through a program called the Client Awareness Program, the company paid agents roughly $200 per MA beneficiary referred between September 2020 and December 2022. CVS Health purchased Oak Street in 2023.

Send a message to learn more