A new year is always a good opportunity to reset, refocus and make sure you are set up properly for what is ahead.

Rather than focusing on New Year’s resolutions, I want to share a more practical way to think about goals, along with a few important Medicare reminders to save you time, money and unnecessary stress.

A Practical Approach to Setting Goals

I do not believe in New Year’s resolutions. In my experience, a more productive way to achieve goals is to set realistic goals and commit them to writing. Once this is done, I would read them over and over again during the year. 

I also recommend purchasing a notebook to track your achievements toward your goals as the year progresses. Writing down achievements, even small ones, helps reinforce accountability and momentum.

At the end of the day, your goals are personal to you and only you can hold yourself accountable. I have found that keeping goals in front of you and reviewing them often is a tremendous motivating factor in actually achieving them.

The goals should be broken down into clear time frames:

• Short Term: Roughly the next 30 days
• Medium Term: The next three months
• Long Term: What you strive to accomplish by this time next year

One final piece of advice is to make your goals attainable. If during the course of the year, you attain one of the goals, you can always adjust them and create new goals. Make them totally realistic.

Medicare Enrollment Reminders

The beginning of the year is the time to enroll in Medicare if you missed the opportunity when you first became eligible. 

Perhaps you (or a loved one) enrolled in Medicare Part A but never enrolled in Medicare Part B. Or you didn’t qualify for the traditional enrollment opportunities like turning 65 or losing group coverage.

Medicare open enrollment period works as follows:

• Applications submitted in January become effective February 1
• Applications submitted in February become effective March 1
• Applications submitted in March become effective April 1

If you aren’t on Medicare and should be, now is the time to correct it.

Tips for Medicare Participants

Our office regularly receives calls from clients who have misplaced their Medicare card, prescription drug card or Medicare supplement card.

We strongly recommend taking clear photos of all of your cards and saving them on your phone. Having the card numbers readily available eliminates urgency if a replacement is needed.

In order to obtain replacement cards, here are the procedures: 

Medicare Card

You can request a duplicate Medicare card, by logging in to SSA.gov and requesting one. You can also request a duplicate Social Security card on the same site. However, expect a long wait time to receive either document. 

Prescription Part D Card 

Contact your insurer. They will mail you one. 

Medicare Supplement Card

The easiest way to request a supplement replacement card is by emailing our office and letting us know. We will file the request for you. Please know that it takes about 2-3 weeks to receive a replacement supplement card in the mail.

In practice, the card numbers are all you need. Showing your prescription drug card, Medicare card and supplement card on your phone at the pharmacy or doctor’s office is usually sufficient.

If you have questions about your coverage, your goals for the year or anything else we can help with, our office is always here. We put maximum effort into what we do because our clients deserve nothing less.

Here is to a strong start and a successful year to you and your family!