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Club MED
December 2022
I Was on TV!
WOWT contacted me for an interview to air on the show “Everywhere Omaha” hosted by David Webber. The Medicare Annual Election Period is upon us, so they wanted to offer some helpful information to the public. I was invited to be the helpful and friendly face for Medicare.
continuous public speaking, my nausea from stage fright significantly diminished. I felt, however, the old anxiety coming back, mostly because I had such limited time with
no room for error; even an additional sentence would put me over my time restriction. So, I spent the morning of the taping rehearsing. I had written a script and memorized it word for word. I wanted to appear casually spontaneous without being rehearsed. I drove to the WOWT station early. As I went down Dodge St, I passed under the sign: 50 Shades of Green. I thought some cannabidiol (CBD) would be perfect right now for my nerves. I called Angie, my assistant, because I needed the name of the news segment, so I could tell the receptionist at the station which studio I needed to go to. She went through my emails while I was on the phone driving. She read out loud the various emails. One from the studio read I needed to present my COVID-19 vaccination card to enter the WOWT building. I panicked. I called Bev, my wife. Of course, she had my COVID-19 vaccine card on her phone. A quick text, and I had the card. My heart rate dropped 30 beats. When I arrived at WOWT, there was a colossal crane in the parking lot. A construction worker came to my car and told me I couldn’t park there because they were doing work. He asked where I was going. I pointed to the station. He said
WOWT had moved a couple of months ago. “They aren’t there anymore.”
What an adventure!
Ryan, one of the station reps, prepped me the day before the interview. The interview slot was two minutes. He wanted me up to speed, so I utilized the time well. It’s a TV show, so you need to be exciting and entertaining, but concise. There were only 120 seconds.
I flipped out internally. I was going to yell at Angie, Bev, or Max, my dog, for putting the wrong address on my calendar. Then I remembered I had done it. I looked at my watch to see if I had time to go back to 50 Shades of Green. I had an extra 10 minutes. I could make it. The construction guy must have thought I would stroke out in front of him because he quickly blurted out, “WOWT moved next door into the Blackrock Building.” I felt better, but my shirt was soaked. I walked to the station. I was ready to show them my COVID-19 vaccination card, polio scar, whopping cough vaccine, birthmarks, whatever it took to get in the door, but the receptionist said the COVID-19 regulation was old news. “Have a seat.” Another station rep came out to greet me and talk me up. I was fascinated by how the whole system operated. Stan was there to warm me up for the interview. He asked questions about me, the business, and how Medicare worked. As it turned out, his son was disabled and on Medicare. I explained how Medicare worked for disabled persons like his son.
The media biz is fascinating. I was attentively watching how they did everything.
During my prep, Ryan said my segment was two minutes, which meant precisely two minutes. He had developed some questions for my spot, so our Zoom call was practicing those questions. It turned out I’m verbose — at least in terms of TV. The first question was, “Why did I found Omaha Insurance Solutions? Why am I so passionate about Medicare?” I told the story of my mother’s ovarian cancer and how we got misinformation about her Medicare benefits. The story is on our website. I produced my own video a few years ago. Ryan loved the story, but it was too long. We worked on it and got it down to 45 seconds. There were other questions, but most got scrapped because the first part was so long. When I used to speak as a priest, my nerves always made me ill before going to the pulpit. After about five years of
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ...
Medicare Insurance Made Easy
402-614-3389 • 1
PREPARE FOR THAT COLD WINTER WEATHER WINTERIZE YOUR HOME!
The weather outside can be frightful, especially for older adults! Depending on where you live, winter can be a brutal season with its harsh chill and icy conditions. But the proper preparations and maintenance can make things much safer. If you can’t do it alone, enlist a friend or a loved one to winterize your home to ensure the safest environment possible, starting with these three things. SHOVEL AND SALT YOUR WALKWAYS. A slip-and-fall accident is one of the most common ways a senior can suffer serious or deadly injury. If you fall, you risk breaking a bone or being left unattended for hours — or even days — at a time. A fall outside during extreme temperatures can be life-threatening.
your walkways to the car or mailbox are salted or shoveled to create a clear, safe path. You could even consider hiring a neighborhood teen to do it for you! The last thing you want to do is put yourself at risk if you cannot salt or shovel the walkways yourself. PREPARE FOR POWER OUTAGES. The possibility of losing power increases with heavy snowfall and icy conditions. Whether the power lines are heavy with ice or snow, or the roads are slippery and dangerous, these can lead to serious accidents. So, it’s best to prepare for the inevitable.
• • •
Hats, scarves, and sweaters
Nonperishable foods
Take stock of your medications.
Some illnesses like thyroid problems or diabetes make it hard to stay warm. Doctor-prescribed medications and over-the-counter remedies may also affect your body heat. Speak with your doctor about your medications and how they may affect you during cold, chilly nights. If you’re in an area with guaranteed snowfall, have enough of your medications to last at least a week. Ready or not, winter is coming! There’s no time like the present to prepare for the cold season, so use these tips to create a warm, cozy environment and enjoy this winter season in the safest way possible.
Be sure to stock up and keep the following items on hand at home and in your car:
To reduce the risk of slips and falls, you — or a loved one or friend — can make sure
• •
Flashlights and batteries
Blankets in an accessible location
... CONTINUED FROM COVER
His son was missing out on a lot of rich benefits. Stan was dumbfounded. He said, “I never heard of this stuff before. Why didn’t he know this?”
made suggestions. I rephrased my answers. He rephrased the words for me. They were better.
Dave decided not to go with the “why” question because it took too much time, even with my summarized version of the story. He wanted to focus on the common Medicare mistakes people make and that our services are free.
I told him, “Well, you never met a guy like me to find out. Or have me on a news show.” I gave him my business card.
By this point, I was feeling pretty good. I had my spiel down. The advertising sales guy liked my tie and jacket. The female producer said, “You look handsome in that outfit.” I wanted to correct her that men don’t wear “outfits.” I was pumped! Then, they said it was time to go. I panicked. My heart went through the roof. My shirt was soaking through again. When I entered the studio, Dave Webber greeted me. He could not have been more gracious. His incredibly velvety announcer voice made me relax right away.
When they turned the cameras on, I had one hard swallow, and it flowed smoothly. We were done. Two minutes felt like two seconds. We only did one taping. I was amazed at how easily it all went. Afterward, Dave and I chatted about some common people we knew. He walked me to the station’s door and told me to call him if I needed anything. He could not have been more of a gentleman.
I wanted to go to 50 Shades of Green to celebrate it being over. I went back to work instead.
I can’t believe how wound up I got about something so simple as talking about Medicare. That may be how some of you feel when you first discuss Medicare. I can better sympathize now.
I was fascinated by how Dave put the interview together. He worked through the questions the producer handed him. Thinking out loud, he tried to determine which questions were important and which were not. He practiced asking me questions. I practiced answering. He
–Christopher J. Grimmond
2 • OmahaInsuranceSolutions.com
A client called because he had a billing problem. He claimed the insurance company with his Medicare Supplement policy would not pay his medical bills. Your Medicare Online Account
Testimonial
“Chris Grimmond is awesome! His expertise in the field of Medicare for a variety of states is unprecedented. He gave me all the facts and options that I had with respect to my situation,
I tend not to react anymore until I have the whole story from all the sources. I said, “Okay, let’s call the insurance company.”
We got a customer service representative on a three-way phone call. The rep said they had received bills from the hospital, but the bills didn’t have Medicare approval and coding. The insurance company requested the hospital send the proper codes, but the hospital didn’t reply. The customer service rep said the insurance company was not refusing to pay; instead, they couldn’t pay until Medicare sent the approval with the proper codes. Then the insurance company would happily pay its portion.
and I am happy to have the right choices for me due to Chris. Thank you so much; you and your staff are wonderful!” —Kim S.
policy because your bills are sent directly to Medicare, and you can view them on your MyMedicare.gov online account.
After we got off the phone with the insurance rep, I translated what happened to my client.
For those on Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans, you can see your bills on your online account with your specific insurance company. On MyMedicare.gov , you can see the claims sent to Medicare, print out your Medicare card, and pay your Medicare Part B premium online if you are NOT getting a Social Security check. It is an excellent tool for everyone on Medicare. Everyone should be on their MyMedicare.gov account. For the client who thought his Medicare Supplement company was not paying, if he had viewed his MyMedicare.gov online account, he could have quickly seen the bills were never sent to Medicare. Please call us to speak with a licensed agent if you need help setting up your MyMedicare.gov online account. We are here to make sure you have the best Medicare insurance experience.
The hospital is supposed to send the claims to Medicare first, not the insurance company. Medicare determines everything. Medicare already has a schedule of payments for specific procedures. Medicare determines whether the procedure is “medically necessary.” If it is medically necessary, Medicare pays the predetermined fee, which also has a procedural code. Then Medicare forwards the claims to the insurance company with the necessary coding. The insurance company receives the claim and knows precisely what to pay based on the code. The insurance company sends the money to the provider within 48 hours of receiving the claim from Medicare.
The system is beautifully flawless — usually.
Instead, it sounded like someone at the hospital must have been new, been poorly trained, or mistakenly sent the bill to the wrong place.
When the hospital did not receive payment, they did the easy thing and blamed the insurance company and sent the bill to the patient rather than looking at what they did wrong.
Unfortunately, I had to send my client back to the hospital to have them forward the seven-month-old bills to Medicare.
BILL PROBLEM SOLUTION Something I am doing now when I meet with clients for the last time is enrolling them in their MyMedicare.gov online account. You have an online account with Medicare.
MyMedicare.gov is especially important for clients on Original Medicare (Part A & B only) and a Medicare Supplement/Medigap
402-614-3389 • 3
11414 W. Center Rd., Suite 250 Omaha, NE 68144 402-614-3389 OmahaInsuranceSolutions.com
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
Code 70452_112822_MK
INSIDE This Issue
I Was on TV
1
2
Home Tips to Prepare for Winter
3
Using Your Online Medicare Account
3
Testimonial
4
This ‘Anti-Diet’ Could Save Christmas
Intuitive Eating: The Anti-Diet for the Holidays
What It Is and How You Can Benefit
If you’ve ever seen any “What I Eat in a Day” videos on TikTok or Instagram, you’ve probably come across the hashtag #intuitiveeating. It pops up under posts ranging from snapshots of green smoothies to reels of influencers sprinkling cheese over giant bowls of pasta. If you’re not familiar with the term, you probably have a few big questions. WHAT IS INTUITIVE EATING, AND WHY IS IT CONSIDERED AN ‘ANTI-DIET’? At its core, intuitive eating is simply giving your body the food it needs in a mindful way. As psychologist Dr. Susan Albers explained in an interview with the Cleveland Clinic, “Intuitive eating is the polar opposite of dieting. Instead of following rules and restricting what you eat, you trust your internal hunger, fullness, and satiety cues to help you decide what and how much to eat. No food is off the table.”
This means you won’t catch an intuitive eater counting calories, talking about cheat days, or staring longingly at a doughnut they want but just can’t have. Instead, you might see them slowly savoring their food and pausing between bites to decide whether or not they’re full.
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE? Intuitive eating is based on 10 principles, including “honor your hunger” and “feel your fullness.” You can read about them at Health.ClevelandClinic.org/what-is- intuitive-eating or pick up a copy of the 1995 book that started it all: “Intuitive Eating” by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EATING THIS WAY? Intuitive eating isn’t about weight loss, although some people who practice it do shed pounds. Instead, many articles point to
Resch, two health professionals who
specialize in nutrition and eating disorders.
Intuitive eating is an “anti-diet” for every age and body type. It may be just the strategy
other benefits like increased respect for your body, less stress and guilt around food, and even a better understanding of your emotions. Ultimately, practitioners of this anti-diet claim to find more joy in eating than before.
you need to heal your relationships with food and get
more joy out of the holiday season.
4 • OmahaInsuranceSolutions.com
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