VA Benefits Officer Bill Stypick - Veterans and Medicare

Alpena County VA Benefits Officer, Bill Stypick, discusses what veterans need to know when starting Medicare and answers the question, "Do I need Medicare Part A Hospital and Part B Medical?" 

Transcript

Kitty Glomski 0:08

Good morning. This is Kitty Glomski along with

Brooke 0:10

my cohost Brooke Mainville

Kitty Glomski 0:12

from Region 9 Area Agency and Aging and another episode of Let's Talk About Aging. This is Kitty Glomski and I have my special guest Bill Stypick from the Alpena County Veterans Affairs Administration. Good morning, Bill.

Bill Stypick 0:32

Good morning, Kitty. Glad to be with you.

Kitty Glomski 0:35

You know, this is our busy time of the year. It's called open enrollment, and I know veterans always have questions. You mentioned to me that you had a wonderful big conference that you talked about Medicare and all kinds of things. And I thought this would be a good time to recap your conference and talk about what veterans want to know about Medicare. So do you have any highlights for us from your conference?

Bill Stypick 1:02

Mostly the conference reiterated what we had talked about in the past. Many veterans want to know about whether they should opt to take the Medicare Part B, and of course, the answer to that is absolutely. Yes! you should take Medicare Part B. Retired veterans that are also supplement with their TRICARE medical benefits when they turn 65, that changes to TRICARE for Life is the program. And that program requires the veteran to have Medicare Part A and B to maintain your eligibility.

Kitty Glomski 1:45

Veterans need to know that they need their Medicare in order to have veterans benefits. Isn't that true?

Bill Stypick 1:51

That's absolutely correct.

Kitty Glomski 1:54

But, they don't necessarily have to get a drug plan. And I do want to clarify one thing, because you used the term supplement. A supplement is a Medigap in the Medicare world, and you're saying in addition to. In other words, they need to have Part A and Part B in addition to their veterans benefits. Is that correct?

Bill Stypick 2:16

That is absolutely correct. And again, if you're a veteran, but you're not a retiree and you're not eligible for the TRICARE benefit, you may still be utilizing VHA, which is the Veterans Healthcare Administration, meaning you're involved with the healthcare system through VA, and they may already be supplying all of your required prescriptions and providing you with annual physicals and things of that nature. However, that does not mean that the VA is going to pay if you wind up in the hospital or something like that, it doesn't mean that you can send the VA all of your hospital bills so that's where you definitely need to have the Medicare A and B in order to help with those bills, because it's not a guarantee the VA will cover them.

Kitty Glomski 3:13

So the 1st step, if you are contemplating retirement is to get together with their local county office and talk about how their benefits are going to work with Medicare. Is that correct?

Bill Stypick 3:29

That is absolutely correct. Just making the assumption that the VA will cover things is nowhere near the truth. I highly recommend that veterans see their veteran service officer for their particular county and also whatever VA medical clinic or medical center that you utilize and you talk to them there to ask what you're covered for, and if you need to utilize private medical facilities.

Kitty Glomski 4:02

So, veterans are really evaluating and contemplating what their needs are for healthcare, just like any other Medicare beneficiary, correct?

Bill Stypick 4:14

That's absolutely correct because a lot goes into it. Some veterans are qualified to utilize the VA healthcare system utilizing income eligibility requirements. Other veterans are in the program because of a disability percentage. So a lot of medical benefits kick in the higher your disability percentage, the more benefits you receive. If you're 10 or 20 percent disabled due to say tinnitus or hearing loss or something of that nature, they don't cover a broken back if you're disabled due to your hearing. So there's a lot that goes into your particular individual benefits versus the veterans sitting right next to you in the waiting room.

Kitty Glomski 5:06

Right. We have annual open enrollment and I get a lot of phone calls from veterans that I redirect to you. Medicare Open Enrollment is for prescription drugs and that's where Medicare beneficiaries look at next year's drug plans and see if there's a better plan that will cost the least. Now, veterans have some options here, don't they?

Bill Stypick 5:34

Yes, they do. Again the VA, depending on how you qualify and what your eligibility level is for utilizing the VA healthcare system, they will provide your prescriptions if you're in the system. However, at a certain percentage of disability, there may or may not be co pays that go along with that. So you need to weigh which benefit would be best for you, whether you can get a better deal utilizing a Medicare supplemental or whether, you know, it's better for you to have the VA provide those medications.

Kitty Glomski 6:14

Veterans really have many more factors to consider then when they start their Medicare or become Medicare eligible due to disability. So I always recommend highly that this is a twofold consideration. Number one, it's age 65. Yes, you need to enroll in Medicare, but step number two is going to be talk to your local VA services officer, isn't it?

Bill Stypick 6:43

That's correct. Veterans that are they're turning 65 and considering retirement and applying for the Medicare, the general question is always, should I get the part B? And no matter what your situation, The answer to that question is yes, yes, yes. Part B. So the only variable really is whether you wanna pay for the Part D or C or anything else in regard to Medigap plans or supplementals, that's where you need to weigh your options. As to whether you're better off utilizing the VA medical system or utilizing a supplemental through Medicare.

Kitty Glomski 7:30

So now you're saying, or is it possible for it to be an and? In other words, if a veteran decides to have both just as backup is that possible?

Bill Stypick 7:42

Absolutely. There is no penalty phase. There is no, if you have this, you can't have this. It's for veterans. It is an an additional option for you depending on your level of health and what you require. And the other consideration is your spouse. Because the VA benefits do not cover your spouse. So if you're married and your spouse was going to be on your plan, obviously they're not going to get any of their prescription requirements through the VA. So then you sort of have to consider a supplemental.

Kitty Glomski 8:22

Yes. And with Medicare, there's no family Medicare. It's individual, so the spouse would be required to enroll in Medicare and consider their own needs anyway. This is a lot of good information, Bill, and I'm always happy to work with you on it. I think that, in a nutshell, what do veterans need to know about benefits when signing up?

Bill Stypick 8:47

I would recommend that you start investigating all of this stuff and figure out what is best for you and your family at least 6 months prior to you turning 65 because there is so much to consider. You know, waiting for the last moment is not a good idea.

Kitty Glomski 9:07

Amen to that. I agree.

Bill Stypick 9:09

The earlier you begin your process, because everybody's different, Kitty. Every veteran sitting in the waiting room is different from the person sitting next to you. That's not blanket policies. And there are so many variables that you really need to do the leg work prior to 65.

Kitty Glomski 9:32

And with Medicare, Medicare will allow you to sign up for Part A hospital and Part B medical three months ahead of when you're actually eligible. So, if you do want to do research ahead of that veterans are always welcome to Contact their local senior center and we hold monthly webinars new to Medicare webinars that explain how Medicare works. Very, very, very, welcome to join us and especially their spouse, who's going to need to know.

Bill Stypick 10:06

Right, and with veterans also, because a lot of times spouses aren't included in the conversation when it comes to veteran benefits. And there creates another problem if the veteran passes and then the spouse is just so far out in the dark in regard to the benefit package and what the VA offers. So, start your research, include your spouse in that research and make a plan for your family moving forward into your retirement years. Cause it gets very complicated.

Kitty Glomski 10:43

I agree totally. So Bill, how do they contact you for more information?

Bill Stypick 10:50

Alpena County Veterans. My phone number is 989 354 9671. And my email address is stypikw, that's s t y p i c k w alpenacounty. org. Our office handles Alpena County veterans. However, if you're not sure of your county and how to contact your veteran service officer, please give us a call and we'll be more than happy to give you the correct contact information for your particular county.

Kitty Glomski 11:27

Thank you, Bill. Anything else you want to add before we let you go?

Bill Stypick 11:31

I just would like to say thanks for calling me and trying to get the veterans squared away. And just so you know, you and your organization, the MMAP program was highly talked about at our conference. And we'll continue to work together and try to smooth out this process for for everybody. Yeah.

Kitty Glomski 11:52

Our very important veterans group. This is why we do what we do. So thank you, Bill. We look forward to the next time on Let's talk about Aging.

Bill Stypick 12:02

You're welcome, Kitty. Take care.

Kitty Glomski 12:07

So this is Kitty Glomski and Brooke Mainville asking you to join us again next time on Let's Talk About Aging.

Carla 12:22

Let's Talk About Aging is a production of the Region 9 Area Agency on Aging, 2569 US 23 South, Alpena, Michigan 4 9 7 0 7. This Podcast was supported, in part, by grant number 90MPPG0039 from the US Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC. Podcast music provided by Groove Music, selection titled"Modern Logo," created by Vadym Kuznietsov and can be found at https://elements.envato.com/modern-logo-ZVHFBJ6