N e w s   Y o u   C a n   U s e

C a s t e l l   I n s u r a n c e

December 2011 Newsletter  ~  www.castellinsurance.com

December is now here and the weather is getting a little frosty!  Downtown Sequim looks so pretty in the evening, with all the holiday lights twinkling and reminding us that Christmas is now less than two weeks away.

Now that we are finished with the Medicare Annual Enrollment season for another 10 1/2 months it gives us time to pause and give thanks for all our wonderful clients and friends.  It's also a time to remember those less fortunate than ourselves.

So, wherever you will be during the holiday season, we thank you for your friendship and for your business, and we look forward to working with your for many years to come.

My column in this month's  Sequim Gazette was about the recently finished Medicare Annual Erollment season, as well as other money saving tips.  Come on now, who amongst us doesn't want to save money if we can?

So please click here for the full story and to read about my money saving tips.

I recently had the pleasure of attending my first meeting in Olympia as a member of the Washington State Life & Disability Agent/Broker advisory committee.  I was appointed by Mike Kreidler, the Insurance Commissioner, and he was present and an active participant in the entire meeting.  My prior thoughts were that as an elected official, he would be a hands-off administrator, but I was most thoroughly impressed with the depth of his knowledge and the passion of his beliefs. 

One of the biggest subjects facing the insurance industry will be the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act that has been enacted by Congress under President Obama.

It is a very tricky and highly complicated subject, and knee-jerk reactions are very common from both sides on the political spectrum.  Regardless of whatever happens in the courts, as this is challenged by many states, changes are already here, and folks under age 65 like them.

The first example is that preventative services are now covered at 100% without any co-pays or deductibles.  The second is that a policy may not have a lifetime maximum benefit, where previously many plans had a lifetime maximum of $1,000,000 or so. That seems like a massive number but if something really nasty like a severe auto accident or cancer should occur, you can approach those limits very quickly.

After much waiting, the Federal Drug Administration has finally approved a generic version of the all time top selling prescription drug Lipitor. 

The generic drug is called Atorvastatin.  It is not yet available on the Medicare.gov web-site, but all companies are highly anticipating this as a cost saving measure for both consumers and companies.

If you take Lipitor please check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if this new generic drug could be of benefit to you!