As you embark on the journey beyond 60, or if you’ve already crossed that threshold into your golden years, one of the things you have to begin thinking about in regard to your health and finances is Medicare.

This can be an often overwhelming and daunting task to take on as there are so many options and variables to weigh. One of the first steps of enrolling in Medicare is knowing when you’re eligible (when you turn 65) and when you’re able to enroll or change any plans you may have previously been enrolled in.

There are three different Medicare Enrollment Periods that you should be aware of, each of which have their own specific rules when it comes to applying.

It’s important to familiarize yourself with these rules and be sure not to miss an Enrollment Period as you could face steep penalties, including a delay in health coverage.

To get the best prices, better prepare for any decisions/changes, and avoid any hinderances to your coverage, it’s critical to know the dates and rules of each Enrollment Period and ensure that you sign up on time.

Medicare Annual Enrollment Period

The first enrollment period we’ll go over is the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. Anyone who’s now eligible or a current beneficiary can enroll from October 15th – December 7th.

During this time, current beneficiaries can re-enroll in their plan or choose a new policy, and newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries can select their health plan. All policy benefits will take effect on January 1st of the following year.

You can also change your Advantage and prescription drug policies during this time.

What Kind of Changes Can I Make to my Plan?

You can make several changes to your current plan if you already have some form of Medicare coverage. Some of these changes can include:

• Switching from Medicare to a Medicare Advantage policy – and vice versa
• Enrolling or withdrawing from a prescription drug plan
• Changing insurance carriers
• Switching to a new insurance policy through your current insurance carrier

Am I Required to Switch My Plans?

You may be wondering if you’re required to switch plans, even if you’re happy with your current policy. The good news is, there’s no need to change plans if you love yours!

Most times, your current plan will renew automatically on January 1st. You should worry about making changes if you’re unhappy with your current policy or want to switch to another option that can save you money.

Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period

The second period that needs discussion is the Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period. Many people choose to boost their Medicare coverage with a Medicare Supplement policy, also known as Medigap.

Medigap helps to bridge the gap between Medicare and your out-of-pocket costs. Premiums, copayments, and deductibles can swallow your income if you’re not careful.

The best time to get a Supplement policy is in the Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period, which is a six-month timeframe that begins on the first day of your 65^th-birthday month. An important caveat is that you must sign up for Part B to qualify for a supplement policy.

You can sign up for your Medigap policy without having to answer any health questions, which means if you enroll during Open Enrollment, you won’t have to deal with denials in coverage.

Outside of the Open Enrollment Period, insurers will use underwriting to determine eligibility. At that point, you’re buying insurance with your health. And unfortunately, if you’re not healthy, you might pay more or be denied a policy.

What Kind of Changes Can I Make to My Medicare Supplement Policy?

You can make several different changes to your current Medigap policy during the Open Enrollment Period. A couple of these changes may include:

• Switching from your Medigap plan to an Advantage policy. You can’t have both a Medicap and Advantage plan at the same time.
• You can also switch from your Advantage plan to a Supplement policy at this point.
• You can change over to a Medigap plan if you move outside of your Advantage plan’s network area.

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period

The final enrollment period we’ll cover is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, which allows you to make a one-time change to your policy at this time if you find yourself not having a full understanding of how your Advantage plan works or the doctors you want to use are outside of your plan’s network.

Any of these changes must occur between January 1st – March 31st every year. You can switch to a different Advantage policy or go to original Medicare. If you miss this period, you’ll have to wait for the Annual Enrollment Period to make any changes.

What Kind of Changes Can I Make to my Medicare Advantage Plan?

If you have an Advantage Plan, you can make the following alterations:

• Switch to another Advantage policy with drug coverage
• Switch to a different Advantage plan that doesn’t offer prescription coverage
• Switch to Medicare and add a standalone drug plan
• Switch to Medicare and forego a Part D policy

Make sure to talk with your insurance agent before you decide on an Advantage plan to confirm that you’re enrolling in a health policy whose network will align with your providers and the associated cost fits into your monthly budget.

Your new health coverage will begin on the first day of the next month following the alterations. For example, if you decide to switch your Advantage plan on February 15th, your new policy will take effect on March 1st.

Staying on Top of Enrollment Dates

Each enrollment period has different implications for every beneficiary. It’s important to be fully aware of which enrollment periods apply to you and carefully plan out ahead of time any changes you want to make.

Medicare is always changing and sometimes enrollment periods vary. You can stay on top of these important dates by setting a reminder in your phone or email calendar, or even a written notice on the kitchen calendar, and save yourself a lot of money and frustration!

How do you keep track of the enrollment periods and Medicare options available to you? Have you missed a deadline? What were the repercussions? Do you have any tips, tricks, or resources to share with our sisters? Please use the comments below.

Keeping up with the Kardashian-Jenners’ ever-changing hairstyles is basically a full-time job. More often than not, a major transformation from Kim, Khloe and Kylie is thanks to a really great wig. But apparently, Kim Kardashian’s new red hair is not faux, according to her hairstylist. “Red head it’s NOT a wig before you start with that shit,” wrote Chris Appleton on Instagram. Well, okay. He shared two videos of his client showing off her fiery red hair. Like all her hairstyles, it looks pretty real but it’s also hard to tell with a really intense Instagram filter.

The truth is, Kim and Kylie’s hair is often a mix of real color and extensions. So, it’s basically both true and not true. But there’s nothing wrong with playing around with wigs and weaves, especially when it saves your strands from bleach and hot tools. Appleton didn’t share why or how he created this look on Kim but fans are loving it. Usually, Kim goes lighter and more bronze so this hue is a big departure.

Source: Instagram

Kim isn’t the only one who switched up her hair over the weekend. Kylie took her ’90s bronze hair that everyone is loving and added a platinum wig.

Source: Instagram

Then, she changed it again to pastel pink. After months of quarantine, the ever-changing looks are back.

Source: Instagram

Khloe even got in on the transformation action and went brunette—a big change for the bottle blonde. She said on Instagram how much she’s loving the hue and we totally agree that it looks bomb.

Source: Instagram

Though because we’re still in thick of this thing, we hope they’re all (and their glam teams!) are at least still wearing a mask.

Kristin Cavallari’s Grey Tie Dye Tank Dress on her Text Newsletter

Kristin Cavallari Fashion

Since I’m a loser I recently signed for little text alerts from Kristin Cavallari since I’ll miss her face (and outfits) as she won’t be moving forward with Very Cavallari after her divorce from Jay Cutler. And yesterdays “Monday Moves” text came along with a super cute photo of her in a grey tie dye dress. And as if we don’t miss Kristin enough, those of us who don’t act super quickly are about to also feel the same about this perfect summer dress.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to Shop her Enza Costa Dress

Originally posted at: Kristin Cavallari’s Grey Tie Dye Tank Dress

My skin is so dry, it’s embarrassing. I go to have my legs waxed, and the Italian beautician practically has a nervous breakdown over the state of my legs – and my feet!

I don’t believe my skin could be any drier if I tried! I have what is called very mature, dry skin. So, I am constantly trying to find new face and body moisturisers because moisture makes you look younger.

There are a few anti-aging ingredients that can really make a difference. For instance, if you spray your face with water, you look younger. NuSkin NaPCA Moisture Mist is a product I especially like as I once saw it plump up a jar of dried apricots. It works miracles!

Having said that, and working on the principle that some of these companies may actually be right, you should still read about the efficacy of purportedly anti-aging peptides and retinol to help smooth lines and boost cell renewal.

Inside out, antioxidants are a must to protect the skin from the environment by day and repair it at night; eat them and apply them. In other words, drink water, eat fruit and veggies high in anti-oxidants, and use skin care products that work for your skin.

I have selected 5 of what I consider to be amongst the best moisturisers for dry, mature skin. I have tried all of them, and I’m certainly the right age to report on their efficacy and efficiency!

Benefit’s Total Moisture

I love Benefit’s Total Moisture Facial Cream because it provides immediate as well as long-term hydration. After application my skin looked plumper and felt smoother. It contains mango butter, and the scent is wonderful and fresh! This is my #2 choice as the hydration effect was about 7 hours.

Aesop

Aesop has a great palette of products for parched skin! Yes, you read it correctly – parched skin. The one I tried absorbed quickly, and left my skin feeling soft and smooth. The hydration effect lasted for about 3 hours. It has a better and longer lasting effect on medium dry skin.

L’Occitane and Their Ultra Riche Comforting Cream

The Ultra Riche Comforting Face Cream by L’Occitane made my skin feel very smooth and soft. The hydration effect is reported to last about 8 hours, but for me it was approximately 3 hours.

It contains 25% Shea Butter which is wonderful for ultra-dry skin. But not mine! This is why you have to try all these products for yourself.

L’Oréal

The Age Perfect Day cream by L’Oréal says it lifts sag, removes age spots and hydrates. I probably didn’t use it long enough, but nothing happened, per se, and it certainly didn’t do anything for the age spots.

It does hydrate, but not for long enough. Again, this is another product that will have a longer lasting effect on medium dry skin.

Ella Baché – My #1 Choice

My #1 choice is Ella Baché’s Eternal Very Rich Reconstructing Cream. I felt my skin plumping, and the hydration effect lasted all day! This product is very rich in texture. It is also the most economical because you use so little.

If you want to try different moisturisers, visit your local beauty counter and ask for samples. If they don’t have them pre-packaged, ask for a sample in a small pot; they will usually give you about a week’s supply, depending on the product – you need less of some products than others.

Or you can take my advice! Don’t forget, you can also sample eye creams or gels. It’s very important to get these ones right too.

I must add, all of the above are subjective opinions. I’m sure there are people who have found any/all of these product good, bad or ugly! Try them for yourself, and see what really works for you.

On a final note, it’s good for your skin if you change your range of cosmetics and skin care every 6 months. Your skin gets used to the same products used time and again, and the efficacy of any product you use is diminished because of that! It’s a good idea to create two different packages and just rotate them. It sounds like an expensive exercise, but you’re worth it!

What are your favorite moisturizers? Do you use a product that’s different and unique? Do you have any special recommendations? What tips do you have for taking care of mature skin? Please join the discussion below!