Health & Wellness
Medicare Coverage for Non-Working Spouses
Dear Savvy Senior,
Does Medicare cover spouses who have not worked? I have worked all my life, but my spouse worked only for a few years when we first got married but then quit to take care of our children full time. Will she be eligible for Medicare?
Inquiring Husband
Dear Inquiring,
There are plenty of couples in your situation when it comes to applying for Medicare. The answer generally is yes, your spouse can qualify for Medicare on your work record. Here’s how it works.
Eligibility Rules
Medicare, the government health insurance program for older adults, covers more than 55 million Americans age 65 and older, as well as those younger that have a qualifying disability or have End-Stage Renal Disease.
To be eligible, you must have worked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years to qualify for premium-free Medicare Part A hospital coverage when you turn 65. If you qualify, then your non-working spouse will qualify too, based on your work record when she turns 65.
Divorced spouses are also eligible if they were married at least 10 years and are single, as are surviving spouses who are single and who were married for at least nine months before their spouse died.
In addition to Part A, both you and your spouse would also qualify for Medicare Part B, which covers doctor’s visits and other outpatient services, but requires a monthly premium, not a work history. The premium for most Part B beneficiaries in 2016 is $104.90 per month, while new beneficiaries pay $121.80/month and higher earning couples – those with incomes over $170,000 per year – pay even more.
There are also a number of other caveats you should know about depending on your wife’s age.
Older Spouse
If your wife is older than you, she can qualify for Medicare on your work record at age 65, even if you’re not getting Medicare yourself, but you must be at least 62 years old. You also must have been married for at least one year for your wife to apply for Medicare on your work record.
If you are still working and your wife is covered by your employer’s health insurance, she may want to enroll only in the premium-free Medicare Part A until you retire or your employer coverage ends. Part B – along with its premium – can be added later without penalty as long as your employer’s group health plan is your “primary coverage.” Check with your employers’ human resources department to find out about this.
If your wife is more than three years older than you and has no health coverage, you can buy her Medicare Part A until you turn 62 and the premium-free benefit kicks in. The Part A monthly premium is $411 in 2016.
Younger Spouse
If your wife is younger than you, she will need health insurance until she turns 65 and becomes eligible for Medicare. This may be through your employer if you are still working, through COBRA (see dol.gov/ebsa/publications/cobraemployee.html), or through the Health Insurance Marketplace (see healthcare.gov) or outside the marketplace through a private insurance company.
Other Medicare Options
In addition to Medicare Part A and B, when you and your wife become Medicare eligible, each of you will also need to enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan if you don’t have credible drug coverage from your employer or union. And, you may want to purchase a Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policy too, to help pay for things that aren’t covered by Medicare like co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles. Or, you may want to consider an all-in-one Medicare Advantage plan.
For more information on Medicare choices and enrollment rules visit Medicare.gov or call 800-633-4227. You can also get help through your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (see shiptacenter.org), which provides free Medicare counseling.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
By HearCare & Associates
You make choices every day. What if, among those many choices, you prioritized your hearing?
Imagine hearing well again. Communicating without having to work at it – with friends and family. In the workplace. On the golf course. Out and about in the community.
According to Kenneth Sheppard, Jr., Licensed Fitter and Dispenser of Hearing Instruments (LFDHI), and co-owner of HearCare & Associates in Sherman and Gainesville, it’s not uncommon to delay making the decision to have a hearing evaluation until the difficulty is significant.
“Some people are proactive, but for others, it might take having something happen in their life, or with someone they love – or they miss something very important,” Sheppard said.
You’ve heard many of the excuses: Hearing aids are too expensive, the sound is tinny, it’s hard to focus on conversations in groups, or, perhaps the most often stated, “I don’t want to look old.”
To read more, pick up a copy of the May/June issue of LiveIt Magazine. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By HearCare & Associates
You’d love to be able to hear without effort, like you did years ago. You’d relish having gentle conversations with your grandchildren. You’d like to hear the sermon in church, or the enthusiastic exchanges around the family dinner table. You’d enjoy simply talking on the phone again.
Maybe you’ve heard about the new technology in custom hearing aids; the extraordinary ability to tailor sound to your particular situation. The unique features sound wonderful — streaming high-quality calls, video, and music directly to your hearing aids. Having full control, so you get exactly the sound you prefer in the moments that are most important to you, seems remarkable. Imagine yourself hearing well again!
What’s stopping you? For some, the very technology that provides these incredible benefits seems daunting. If wrestling with a complicated spreadsheet, programming the bells and whistles on your new watch, or juggling the syncing of multiple electronics gives you pause, then maybe the thought of such technologically advanced hearing aids feels beyond your expertise.
To read more, pick up a copy of the March/April issue of LiveIt Magazine. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By Metro Creative
The human body is a marvel. How the body transforms over the course of an individual’s life is one of its more remarkable qualities, and those changes never cease, even as individuals near retirement age. The changes associated with aging include physical transformations but also more subtle shifts the naked eye cannot see. For example, metabolism slows as individuals grow older, and aging also can lead to a decrease in bone density and muscle mass. These changes affect how men and women at or nearing retirement age should approach their diets in recognition of the various ways their nutritional needs change at this point in their lives. Any modifications to a diet should first be discussed with a physician, but the following are some ways aging adults can use diet to combat age-related changes to their bodies.
Prioritize protein. The authors of a 2010 study published in the journal Current Opinion in Nutrition and Metabolic Care recommended that older adults consume between 25 and 30 grams of protein with each meal. The researchers behind the study concluded that such consumption could limit inactivity-mediated losses of muscle mass and function.
Overcome reduced production of vitamin D. WebMD notes that people over 65 typically experience a decrease in natural production of vitamin D. Vitamin D is not naturally found in many foods, so aging men and women may need to rely on supplementation to ensure their bodies get enough of it. Vitamin D helps with anti-inflammation, immune system support and muscle function, among other benefits. So, it’s vital that aging men and women find ways to get sufficient vitamin D.
To read more, pick up a copy of the March/April issue of LiveIt Magazine. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
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