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Medicare may be one of the most important—and confusing—financial decisions you make in retirement.

Between enrollment deadlines, late penalties, Medicare Advantage, Medigap, prescription coverage, and income-based premiums, there are plenty of decisions to navigate. And because some choices can have long-term financial consequences, understanding the basics before you enroll is an important part of wise stewardship.

Eddie Holland, Senior Private Wealth Advisor and Partner at Blue Trust, as well as a CFP®, CPA, and Certified Kingdom Advisor®, recently joined Faith & Finance to help simplify Medicare and explain some of the most important planning considerations.

A good place to begin is with Medicare’s different parts.

Medicare Part A primarily covers hospital-related care, including inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing care, and hospice. For people who have accumulated the required work credits through either their own employment or their spouse’s, Part A generally does not require a monthly premium.

Medicare Part B covers many medical services outside the hospital, including doctor visits, lab work, and outpatient procedures. Unlike Part A, Part B generally carries a monthly premium, and higher-income retirees may pay more.

Medicare Part D covers prescription drugs. Those enrolled in Original Medicare—Parts A and B—can generally purchase a separate Part D prescription drug plan.

Medicare Part C, better known as Medicare Advantage, is offered through private insurance companies. These plans combine Parts A and B and often include Part D prescription coverage as well. Some plans may also offer additional benefits such as dental or vision coverage.

Another option for those using Original Medicare is a Medicare supplement plan, commonly called Medigap. These private plans are designed to help cover some of the deductibles, copayments, and other expenses that Original Medicare does not pay.

Timing matters when enrolling in Medicare.

Your Initial Enrollment Period generally lasts seven months: the three months before the month you turn 65, your birthday month, and the three months afterward.

But turning 65 does not always mean you have to immediately leave employer-sponsored health coverage.

If you or your spouse are still working and you have qualifying employer coverage, you may have access to a Special Enrollment Period, allowing you to delay certain portions of Medicare without facing a late enrollment penalty. Holland notes that employer size and the nature of the coverage can affect how Medicare coordinates with the employer plan.

That makes it important to speak with your employer’s benefits or human resources department before making assumptions about which coverage should come first.

If your employer has 20 or more employees, the employer health plan may generally remain the primary payer while you continue working, potentially allowing you to postpone Part B and its monthly premium.

With an employer of fewer than 20 employees, Medicare may become the primary payer once you are eligible. In that situation, failing to enroll in Parts A and B could potentially leave gaps in coverage.

You should also verify whether your employer’s prescription drug coverage is considered creditable coverage for Medicare purposes. That can be especially important if you plan to delay Part D beyond age 65.

The larger lesson is simple: Medicare decisions should rarely be made in isola

You’ve got a dream. You’ve also got bills, responsibilities, loved ones eager to offer opinions, and that nagging question: Is this big idea for my future actually from God … or am I nuts? Saxophonist Emmanuel Garilus and his wife, Loreen, get real about finding your God-given purpose when the sensible path doesn’t feel like the faithful one. How do you weigh calling, risk, hard work, and marriage—and know when a dream is worth chasing?

Show Notes and Resources

• Emmanuel Garilus’s Apollo Theater performance. Find the video on Emmanuel Garilus’s Instagram.

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• Scriptures referenced: Proverbs 4:18 and Colossians 3:23.

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No matter a person's background, religion, or age, we all long for connection and closeness with others. In this program, guest teacher Aaron Pierce explains why establishing trust is an essential first step in leading someone to Jesus. Learn what you can do to build authentic relationships with those who have drifted or are far from God.

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Guest Speaker Bio

Aaron Pierce is the International Mission Director of Steiger International, a rapidly-growing, worldwide mission organization that is called to reach and disciple the Global Youth Culture for Jesus. Steiger is active in over 100 cities around the world within the regions of Europe, Eurasia, Central Asia, the Middle East, East Asia, South America, Australasia, and North America.

By making a few practical changes, you can reduce stress in your life, quiet the chaos and restore your sanity. Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory share what being overwhelmed feels like for the four main personality types (expressive, analytic, driver, and amiable). They talk about practical ways to organize your schedule, say no, increase your capacity for joy, make time for the Sabbath and create a personal manifesto that states your values to help you make choices in the future.
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For many years, it was an inspiring book. Then it became a hit Broadway musical. Then it was made into a movie several times. The story is Victor Hugo’s classic, Lés Misérables. One of the many dramas in the book portrays the efforts of this group of valiant young men and women to fight to free their fellow Frenchmen from a tyrannical government. They make their stand against a massive French army at a makeshift wall they have constructed. They call it the “barricade of freedom.” They fight bravely, but their cause is threatened by a major problem that develops. They begin to run out of ammunition. Well, this one little boy realizes that their fight for freedom can only continue if they can find more ammunition. So, he risks his own life to crawl across the battle zone, picking up bullets from wounded and dying French soldiers. Because you can’t win the battle when you’re running out of bullets.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Running Out of Ammo in the Battle for Lives.”

Right now, there’s an ammunition shortage in the most decisive battle of all—that would be the battle for human souls, the battle for human lives. It began at the cross where Jesus died to make eternal life possible. It moved out across the planet at Jesus’ command and in the power of His resurrection, and it continues this very day in cities and towns across this country and in every country of the world. It is a fight to liberate people Jesus died for from the penalty and the power of their sin, from an unspeakable eternity, and from Satan’s chains.

But on so many fronts in the battle, Jesus’ forces are running out of bullets. In many places God’s soldiers are beating back the enemy, taking prisoners from the enemy and pushing back the darkness. But they’re running short of bullets. The money just isn’t there to keep pressing the battle.

All those letters and appeals you get asking for money for ministry—they’re about a lot more than money. For ministries that are really making a difference, it’s all about ammunition to keep fighting the battle for lives. But something’s gone wrong. It can’t be that God isn’t giving the money to people through whom He wants to meet these needs. It must be that some of us are sitting on the ammunition instead of sending it to the front lines. And when we lose one of these battles, it’s lives we lose—maybe forever.

Our word for today from the Word of God lays out how the supply line for God’s army is supposed to work. And thinking of the economic battles and struggles and sometimes the downturns of our time, it seems particularly relevant to go back to those Macedonian believers that Paul cited as an example for all of us. Here’s what Paul says, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity…they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability” (2 Corinthians 8:2-3).

It was sacrificial giving so the believers in Jerusalem would have the ammunition they needed to fight their battles. Why? It goes on to say, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty we might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus impoverished Himself to make us rich, and He’s the Son of God. So, how can we hang onto what He’s given us so we can stay in our comfort zone? The battle for a lost and dying world is every believer’s battle, not just the battle for a few spiritual daredevils who take all the risks, exercise all the faith, and make all the sacrifices.

For those who are fighting on the front lines, it’s our responsibility to make every bullet count, to stay on mission, to always take the high road of integrity, and put our faith in Jehovah Jireh, not in our contributors. And for every one of us, we n

This hour we learn about the plight of a seriously ill Chinese pastor who needs to be sent home. The President is set to meet with President Xi this month and the issue needs to be addressed. Bob Fu, of China Aid, will explain what we can do to help. Then Mark Joseph, producer of multiple films will share how Big Tech is becoming the gatekeeper of free speech. Join us for great conversation.

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