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Schedule an ApptThank you for joining us today on the Medicare EZ as Pie show. I’m your host, Stephanie Garcia-Hagan. The Medicare EZ as Pie show is hosted by Mesa Benefits. We are an insurance agency that specializes in Medicare insurance. I own the agency with my business partner and partner in life, Bruce Hagan, who joins me in the studio today.
Welcome to the show, Bruce.
Bruce Hagen:
I’m glad to be here.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen
I’m glad to have you. I think we’re going to talk about a few things and then you and I can have a chat in between. Does that work?
Bruce Hagen:
Sure.
Our agency operates on three distinct principles. The first and guiding principle is that we are here to guide and advise beneficiaries through the Medicare insurance process. We educate on all of the options available to you so that you can make the best decision based on your health, your lifestyle, and your budget.
The second principle is that we teach, train, and mentor other agents to do the same. We feel so strongly about that first principle that we will only partner with agents that believe in the principle themselves.
The third principle is that we follow the rules set forth by our regulatory bodies. There are a lot of them for sure. We follow them and we can tell you how to avoid agents and agencies that skirt the rules or simply just don’t follow them at all.
We have encountered a few of those, haven’t we?
Bruce Hagen:
Yes, we have.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen
And we certainly don’t work with any of them.
Bruce Hagen
No, not really.
Because we want to make sure that the folks that are delivering the information to the beneficiaries that we all serve are giving them every option available.
Bruce Hagen:
I like to think of it as we treat the beneficiaries like they’re our parents.
What would you do with your parents? If you had the control of this? And that’s how I approach everyone.
Let’s shift gears to the show. I absolutely love that we host this show every week. We deliver information to Medicare beneficiaries in a really fun way, I think. I love to tell the story of how the name of the show came to be. First of all, I love the saying, EZ as Pie. It’s almost like a quip when you do something difficult and you’re like, oh yeah, EZ as Pie, I got this. But its irony is certainly not lost on the Medicare insurance process.
When I was a kid, I was probably eight years old. I was helping my mom make the pies for Thanksgiving. She mixed the simple dough ingredients. She fluted the pie crust edges with her fingers, which I absolutely thought was amazing. She filled the pie crust with the pumpkin filling and then put them into the oven. When she came back to check on them, the edges of the pie had fallen, and the pies were ruined. She tried it one more time to no avail and she hastily drove to the store to buy the ones found in the refrigerator section. Making pie is not easy. Neither is the process to add insurance to your Medicare.
Bruce and I have honed our skills. We know the process is complicated and we aim to make it EZ as Pie for you. EZ as Pie. Don’t you love that saying?
Bruce Hagen:
I get it now.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
You got it before.
Bruce Hagen:
Yeah, I did.
But that saying really is kind of a tongue in cheek. Anytime you say it, it’s because something that you just did or about to do is really not easy.
Bruce Hagen:
Right.
So, the process to enroll in Medicare itself is complicated. The number of choices available for your Medicare insurance is complicated as well. We provide that information here and also on our website.
If you know you need help, give us a call, and set up an appointment. Our number is 549, I guess I should give you the area code first, 970-549-0410 and our website is MesaBenefits.com.
There are past shows and information available there as well as a form that you can request to be contacted by our office. So, Bruce, you’re in charge of contacting people if they go to the website.
Bruce Hagen:
I will do that. Perfect.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
And I think it’s important that when somebody does fill out that form, we get a notification. We were talking about technology earlier. Yeah, we get a notification when somebody fills out that form on the website and then you know that there’s something to actually call somebody about.
Bruce Hagen:
Absolutely. And I will call you back. Absolutely. Oh, and that is so true.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
You absolutely will.
So, we take the Medicare system and the insurance that complements it and break it down into four easy to digest slices of pie every week. Today’s show is going to focus on a kind of a complicated discussion, I guess, on overall health. Some would say that that subject doesn’t really have anything to do with Medicare or its’ insurance. So, I’m going to let you the listener be the judge of that at the end of the show.
So, let’s dig into today’s slices of pie, shall we?
Slice of the pie number one. “Did you know that there are some vitamins and supplements that are prescribed by a doctor and filled at the pharmacy?”
That’s correct. Not all vitamins have to be purchased over the counter. I have a personal example. I’ve shared in the past, but for those of you who don’t know, I’m a melanoma survivor. I was diagnosed in 2018 with stage two nodular malignant melanoma on my scalp. Long story short, I’m a skin checking warrior and do my best to stay out of the sun. And when I am in the sun, I protect my skin with a hat, UV protectant clothing, and as a secondary defense sunscreen. Because I’m out of the sun and covered, my vitamin D levels sometimes drop below what is considered healthy. My doctor increases those levels with supplementation that comes in the form of a prescription medication. I take it until my levels have increased to the healthy range. Then I supplement with over-the-counter options. The prescription medication that I take is filled using my insurance. If I had Medicare, it would be covered under my Part D prescription drug plan. There are other situations where supplements become prescriptions as well. When someone is undergoing a treatment for a large ailment, there may be a supplement that are required.
Let’s move on to slice of the pie number two for today. “Why does my supplement list matter to my doctor?
Your annual visit to your doctor is a good time to review your full list of medications. Did you know that some supplements can negatively interact with your prescription medications? I cannot express the need to disclose all of the supplements that you take to your doctor more fully. Does the melatonin that you take for sleep interact with something in your prescription list? Does the herbal remedy that you take for your digestive issues mask a condition that the doctor needs to potentially know about? Being transparent with your doctor is the only way for them to make recommendations based on the entire picture of your health. Vitamins and supplements are necessary in a lot of cases because of the diet that we as Americans enjoy. Getting those nutrients can come at the expense of your medications that are correcting overarching medical conditions. Telling the doctor about supplements that you’re taking can allow for discussions about the overall effects of your health. For example, if you’re taking supplements for sleep, this might cause a deeper discussion about other conditions that affect your overall health and may need additional medical interventions.
And that could be in addition to your supplementation.
So, what is slice of the pie number three for today? “Can foods negatively interact with my prescription medications?”
This topic reminds me of my grandmother. She absolutely loved fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. I went on a lot of road trips with my grandparents as a child and one of her favorite things to do was stop at roadside fruit stands. If there was fresh grapefruit, you can bet dollars to donuts that she bought at least two. Grapefruit interacted with her blood pressure medication. My mother used to get so upset with her that she would continue to eat grapefruit. The interesting thing is that there is timing, there’s a timing component to eating of grapefruit and the taking of the medication. I learned this when Bruce came into my life, and he had to take blood pressure medication. Her doctor gave her recommendations based on her love of grapefruit. Another example of this is the use of green leafy vegetables relative to blood thinners. Interesting how the examples are mimicking your life here, Bruce.
Bruce Hagen:
Yeah, why is that?
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
I think it’s because those are my examples.
Bruce Hagen:
Okay.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
So, it’s important that you tell the doctor about foods that you enjoy so that they can make recommendations relative to those food preferences. So, you will have to correct me, Bruce, the situation about your grapefruit intake or your grapefruit, you can eat them still.
Bruce Hagen:
I can eat grapefruit as long as I don’t eat it within a certain little window when I took the medication.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
Right. So, if you had grapefruit for breakfast and then you ate or and then you took your pills at night, you’d be totally fine.
Bruce Hagen:
Totally fine.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
I find that interesting because I bet you my grandma knew that.
Bruce Hagen:
She probably did know that.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen
And so, my mom was getting all upset for no reason.
Bruce Hagen:
Well, that’s probably not the first time.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
Probably not. And I think she probably didn’t tell her because of that. She just let her be upset.
Bruce Hagen:
Yeah, we’ll just go with that.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
That’s my grandma’s personality. That’s what I’m saying.
Bruce Hagen
It is absolutely her grandma’s personality.
Stephanie Garcia-Hagen:
I wish she was still around. I do miss her all the time, but she was, she was a kick, man.
Okay, thank you for that clarification. I’d like to venture off onto a side note for a second.
If you’re on Medicare and don’t have a primary care physician, please get one. The relationship with your primary doctor is essential to your overall health. They’re your first line of defense to both keep you healthy and get you back onto the road to health. They can recommend strategies and also have a network of other doctors and specialists that they can refer you to keep you going strong.
If you know that you need help with your Medicare insurance, please get in touch with Bruce or me. Whether you are interested in or have either Medicare supplement or Medicare Advantage plans, we can help guide you through the Medicare insurance process. We truly do not have a preference as to which type of plan you have or prefer. We can help you with anything.
We can be reached at 970-549-0410 or on the web at MesaBenefits.com.
Our final slice of the pie for today is of course slice number four, and it answers the question, “Is there a way for Medicare insurance to help cover the cost of my vitamins and supplements when they are not prescription medications?”
There are two ways actually. One way is inside your insurance and the other is outside of your insurance. Medicare Advantage plans are well known for their extra benefits. Usually when we talk about these benefits, we’re referring to dental, vision, and hearing coverage. There is a component to most Medicare Advantage plans that includes an over-the-counter benefit. This benefit comes in the form of an allowance that can be used either online or in store depending on the rules set forth by the plan. It allows for purchases of vitamins, supplements, first aid supplies, daily living support products, and wellness products alike. If you use these products, having the insurance plan help you pay for them is a really nice bonus.
The existence of the benefit brings up the question as to why the coverage is available in the first place.
Medicare is very interested in a beneficiary’s overall health. If you’re doing things to prevent disease like going to the gym and taking vitamins and supplements, you’re staving off bigger problems in the future and bigger expenses for both you and the insurance company.
If you have a Medicare supplement plan, you’re likely paying a monthly premium and can budget for the cost of that every month. While there’s no coverage for the over-the-counter items in a Medicare supplement plan, you likely budget for them and other household expenses.
I asked the question at the beginning of this segment about whether the topic of vitamins and supplements cover the subject of overall health.
Vitamins and supplements go hand in hand with your diet and food choices, which affect your overall health. I think the answer to the question is yes.
Thank you so much for listening to the Medicare EZ as Pie Show today. I so appreciate you tuning in. You can reach Mesa Benefits by calling 970-549-0410 or you can search us on the web at MesaBenefits.com.
This is the Medicare EZ as Pie Show. I’m your host, Stephanie Garcia-Hagan.
Thanks for listening. This has been Medicare EZ as Pie with your guide through the Medicare process from Mesa Benefits here on 1100 KNZZ.
Please tune-in to the full show every Saturday morning at 8am at KNZZ AM 1100 or 92.7 on the FM dial. If you don’t live in the Grand Junction, CO area, you can listen to the full show on 1100KNZZ.com.
You can also find the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Medicare EZ as Pie.
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