Medicare 101: Understanding Costs, Coverage, and Cautions with Skeizka Komala

Are you or a loved one approaching the age of 65 and feeling overwhelmed by Medicare options? Ever wondered how your income might affect your healthcare costs? Join us on Women of Wealth as we unravel the intricacies of Medicare with expert Sheizka Komala. Inspired by her own grandmother's journey, Sheizka dives into the essentials of Parts A and B, and the nuances of Medicare Supplements versus Advantage Plans.

Discover why 2026 could be a pivotal year for group health insurance and Medicare, and what the impending Part B premium increase means for your wallet. Plus, get the lowdown on prescription drug coverage changes and how to dodge unexpected expenses. Finally, Sheizka shares her personal finance tips, highlighting the importance of early bill payments and diverse investments. Tune in for a wealth of knowledge to empower your retirement planning journey!

Sheizka Komala's Bio:

I specialize in helping seniors navigate the complexities of their Medicare

options. With a commitment to personalized service, I work closely with

each individual to understand their unique healthcare needs and

preferences. My goal is to simplify the Medicare process, making it easier for

seniors to make informed decisions about their coverage. Whether it’s

choosing the right Medicare Advantage plan, enrolling in Part D for prescription coverage, or exploring Medigap options, I provide the guidance and support needed to ensure peace of mind. 

BACKGROUND:

Half of my background is in insurance and investments and the other half is in

health and wellness. My Insurance Career Started in 2001

FREE TIME:

Spending time with friends and family, volunteering at church, traveling, hiking and paddle boarding.

Connect with Sheizka:
Email: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

For more awesome episodes visit our podcast website at [e-mail]

Got a burning question or a topic you're itching to hear about? Slide into our DMs on Instagram at @Wowwomenofwealth. Now, let's turn those pennies into power moves!

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Allie: 00:00

Have you ever wished for guidance and effectively growing your business and managing your finances? Or wonder what it takes to succeed as a female entrepreneur in finance? Then this is the podcast for you. Welcome to Women of Law, where generational wisdom meets ambition. I'm Ali Romo, your millennial host.

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Hawley: 00:43

Hey, Wealth Warriors. Are you ready to redefine wealth and master your money mindset? Welcome to Women of Wealth. I'm your Genex host, Hawley-Woods Gray.

Allie: 00:52

And I'm your millennial host, Allie Ramo.

Hawley: 00:55

Today, we will be talking to Sheizka Komala about Medicare benefits.

Allie: 00:59

So to start us off, Cheska, can you introduce yourself and some share some insights on your journey through health care and Medicare?

Sheizka Komala: 01:06

Yeah. I sure can. Thank you. So nice to meet you guys. Again, Sheizka Komala out of Columbus, Ohio.

Sheizka Komala: 01:13

So, I have been doing, insurance for quite a long time. Just started with Medicare back in, 2022. So that was a new venture for me. But no matter what type of job I've ever had, it's always been to help people. I have a 92 year old grandma who, I'm very protective of.

Sheizka Komala: 01:31

And so once I heard all of the the hoops and stuff that they have to go through as far as Medicare, every year during annual enrollment, I wanted to just help them through this journey on a on a regular basis.

Hawley: 01:41

That's amazing. Right? 92. Wonderful. So, you know, there's so much confusion about Medicare basic Medicare benefits.

Hawley: 01:50

So can you just talk a little bit about the basics, about the Part a and Part b, what they cover, what they don't cover?

Sheizka Komala: 01:57

Yes. I can. So, yeah, traditional Medicare, is what we call Part a and Part b. So that covers 80% of hospital doctor medical bills. So, generally, when you get that, you get, Part a when you turn 65, and then you're able to sign up for part b, when you turn 65 as well, or you also have the option of delaying that, if you're continuing to still work or if you're on your your spouse's group health insurance.

Sheizka Komala: 02:22

But, essentially, like he said, it covers 80% of hospital doctor medical bills. But unless you get other coverage, you're liable for that other 20%, which is where we also help out

Allie: 02:31

with. I also have some clients, you know, as they're they're still in their sixties and they're still working. So how does that, work with Medicare if you're still working?

Sheizka Komala: 02:45

Which I actually, I I help a lot of clients with that. Like, if they're in the process, they're getting ready to turn 65, and they're trying to decide, hey. Do I stay on my group health insurance, or do I transition to Medicare? We call that, t 65, so turning 65. So I sit down with them, do a side by side comparison with their group health insurance, and see does it make sense.

Sheizka Komala: 03:08

You know, it also depends on if they have spouses that are under 65 or, dependents because, you know, if they need to have insurance, it makes sense for them to stay on the group health insurance, but it just depends. For companies that are under 20, employees, those, employees have to transition to Medicare, but if they're in a work for a company that's over 20, then they have the option of staying on. I do know in 2026, there is a potential of, group health insurance not being considered credible coverage anymore. So it's gonna look a little different back in 2,000 or, it's gonna look a little different in 2026. This coming 20 2025 is gonna be a little bit of a buffer year.

Sheizka Komala: 03:51

But so far, like I said, it's just sitting down, doing that side by side comparison, and then seeing what kind of makes sense monetarily as well as for their families.

Hawley: 04:00

Speaking of monetarily, typically, how do you how can someone, like, anticipate what the costs are gonna be?

Sheizka Komala: 04:09

So we generally, which they we just found out, the new Part b premium is gonna be 1.85. So most people, if you've been paying into Medicare taxes, you know, through your working, you know, your working history, Part a is gonna be free, but everybody has to pay for part b at a minimum. It's gonna be for next year, 2025, it'll be, a $185. This year, it's 17470. So that's something that you automatically pay that can either be taken out of your Social Security check, or you can pay for it if you're not planning on taking Social Security yet.

Sheizka Komala: 04:43

So that that's what you start off with. There's what's called a part e IRMAA. So depending on your income 2 years ago, it could potentially go up, every month. That's recalculated every year, but they they base it off of your MAGI 2 years ago. So that's at a minimum.

Sheizka Komala: 05:00

That's just for that part a and part b, you know, the 80%. If you decide to do a Medicare Supplement to help take care of that extra 20%, that could range depending on the on the state that you live in, the ZIP code, and your age, you know, could range anywhere from a $115 to a $165 per month. That Medicare supplement plan generally covers the other 20% that your a and b don't cover, and then you have to get prescription drug coverage on top of that. The other side of the fence is the Medicare Advantage Plans. Those typically run 0 monthly premium, and they're set up traditionally like, group health insurance.

Sheizka Komala: 05:40

So you have max out of pockets, co pays, coinsurance, you know, you can do a PPO, HMO, so depending on the actual type of coverage, as far as what that max out of pocket looks like, on the medical side. So it's they're 2 totally different types of coverage, which is what we would help peep help people walk through and make those decisions. So it could look anywhere from a minimum of, you know, that 185 if they don't ever use you know, if they don't ever go to the doctor, which I have some clients that hate going to the doctor. So they want a Medicare Advantage Plan. They don't wanna pay for anything more.

Sheizka Komala: 06:13

And then they're just paying co payments if they go into, you know, the ER or the urgent care, you know, to see their primary care doctor. But on the Medicare supplement side, they're paying ahead of time, to not have any health coverage or to not have any medical bills. So it just depends on the type of coverage.

Allie: 06:30

Awesome. And you you mentioned, you know, some of your clients that don't go to the doctor very often. Mhmm. What about the clients who are on several prescription drugs already? I have I know I I have a few clients, you know, around their 50, sixties.

Allie: 06:47

They're on high blood pressure medication, high cholesterol medication. You know, they're they're on a lot of different medication. So what might Medicare look like for them going into 65?

Sheizka Komala: 06:59

So it depends. This year or or well, I guess I should say for next year, 2025, they reduced the max out of pocket, for prescription drug coverage down to $2,000, and that is it's brand new. This year, it was, like, 8,000. So the insurance companies are having to fit the bill for the rest of that. So we have seen a drastic change in prescription drug coverage.

Sheizka Komala: 07:21

We have a system that we use called Sunfire where we can just plug in their medications, and it tells us which prescription drug plan or which Medicare Advantage plan works would work better for them due to the coverage. I have seen with some of my clients who were on a, you know, on a Medicare Advantage Plan or a prescription drug plan this year, and it's not gonna work for them next year because the insurance companies have taken some of those medications off of formulary, meaning that it's a 100% out of pocket for them, trying to keep under that $2,000 maximum. So this year, we've been, you know, very adamant that everybody needs to do a Medicare review for next year just because of that drastic change. Nobody wants to go into January and find out that some of their medications aren't covered. If they're on a tier 1 or tier 2, prescription, most of the time it's gonna be 0, for those medications, which is awesome.

Sheizka Komala: 08:16

Some of them can range anywhere from 2, you know, dollars 2, $5, all the way up to, you know, like, 100 of dollars. So it just depends on the actual medication. But like I said, our system makes it really easy for us, just plugging it in. We have 7 different insurance carriers that we use, so we have, a wide variety of ones to choose from. And like I said, thankfully, our system does a lot of the hard work for us, and it's it's just trying to figure out which one.

Sheizka Komala: 08:43

And then, you know, if some of those medications are not in formulary on some insurance, you know, plans, but on others, then that kind of narrows down what we're looking at for them.

Allie: 08:53

And so is you you were mentioning Medicare Advantage, and that's where the prescription drugs are offsetting the part part a and b, or is the prescription drugs separate?

Sheizka Komala: 09:06

So, you the the government wants you to have prescription drug coverage no matter what. So with the Medicare Advantage Plan, everything is all wrapped up into 1. So you have, you have, you know, your health coverage. You have dental, vision, hearing, and prescription drug coverage all wrapped up into one package. Like I said, most of those are 0 monthly premium, so that's included.

Sheizka Komala: 09:30

When you look at the supplement side, those you have to do a stand alone prescription drug plan in addition to that supplement to have prescription drug coverage. But if you don't sign up for a part d or prescription drug coverage, either one side of the fence or the other, the government will penalize you, 1% of your annual premium, every month that you don't have coverage. So when you're turning 65, you wanna whether you're taking any medications or not, you wanna make sure that you're signing up even for, like, the lowest premium one just to make sure that you have that, that coverage.

Allie: 10:07

Okay. Thanks for clarifying that. And so there's all these caveats to to Medicare. And what makes, Medicare now, differ from the original Medicare that came out?

Sheizka Komala: 10:21

I think a lot of it has to do with I mean, because, you know, traditional Medicare, like I said, covers just 80% hospital doctor medical bills. So they added the supplements first, but knowing that most of them are, you know, higher premiums. So they wanted to when they met when the Medicare Advantage Plans came out, and those have a have a contract with the federal government, so the government got involved with that portion of it. So allowing people to have coverage and not have those large premiums, and then also, you know, kind of incorporated all of the dental and the vision. So giving people the option to kinda still have what what feels like a group health insurance plan, but being able to still have coverage for everything that they need for it.

Sheizka Komala: 11:04

So it's changed quite a bit. You know, I've had lots of questions, you know, as far as what's it gonna look like next year. Next year is gonna be the same. Everything had to be put in place before, you know, annual enrollment this year, prior to the election day, you know, election, but we don't know what it's going to look like. You know, in our office, we always say our favorite word is pivot because things change constantly.

Sheizka Komala: 11:26

So we don't really know what it's gonna look like in 2026, 2027. But knowing that, it's still gonna be there, you know, but we're still gonna have it. It's just may look a little bit different.

Allie: 11:37

Yeah. I always tell people, you know, what you're seeing roll out right now, it wasn't created this year. It was created long, long ago, and then it had to go through several different groups, to start being enacted. And so things that are, going through the laws right now in Congress, you're not gonna see until a few years later down the the line. And they always like to blame the current person.

Sheizka Komala: 12:06

It's like a couple more people before that. Yeah. So I mean yeah. Because we like I said, we the $2,000 max out of pocket change was fit was new for this year. And you don't we don't know how long they had been working on that.

Sheizka Komala: 12:20

You know, it was designed to help people. But, again, like I said, you know, I have clients that were on a plan that was just fine this year, next year. They would be paying $20,000 for the exact same plan for their medications because they took some of those off of formulary. So, you know, things formularies change and networks change all the time. So, and they can unfortunately change at any time too.

Sheizka Komala: 12:43

So, but we do our best to try to make sure that we're trying to mitigate any of those risks and and try to plan ahead for them.

Allie: 12:50

Okay. That's awesome. And, I mean, that that's all you can do. And so, I mean, when I'm meeting with my because Holly and I do retirement. And so when we're meeting with our 20 something year olds and we're looking at their sources of income for retirement, I'm like, yeah.

Allie: 13:04

And we're looking at Social Security. I'm like, yeah, that may or may not. I don't know that that'll be bonus money. Yeah. Because at the end of the day, we just know what we know for this year and the laws that are around for this year, and then do our best to help our clients prepare for those.

Allie: 13:22

And I wanna go back. You said you've been doing Medicare since 2022. Correct? Yes. And then what were you doing previously to Medicare?

Sheizka Komala: 13:32

Well, I've been I've so I have a weird background. So half of it is in health and wellness. The other half is in insurance and investments. So I've had, after COVID, I had, you know, a couple different jobs because COVID was COVID. Prior to that, I was working for the YMCA doing corporate wellness.

Sheizka Komala: 13:50

And, as far as insurance, you know, I worked for Huntington Investment Company and then also Aflac, in my previous life. So I've done a little bit of a little bit of everything. I'm the community relationships manager right now for Exact Medicare, so I'm out and about, you know, making friends and trying to create partnerships, and using that b two b background that I have as well as using insurance. So I've kind of tried to use both of those both of those weird I mean, like I said, it's just weird because it's 2 totally different, but they they kinda match together a little bit, you know, being able to to get that in there. Mhmm.

Sheizka Komala: 14:26

So yeah.

Allie: 14:28

Yeah. I have a I have a health and wellness background as well. And now I'm in insurance and financial services, and I always joke, you know, on, our wheel of health, what, like, different aspects of health. You have relationship health, financial health, physical health, emotional, mental. I always say I'm just I'm just on the next part of the the health wheel, and I'm helping people with their financial health.

Sheizka Komala: 14:53

Totally agree. Totally agree. Because of it, it is, you gotta be well rounded and, you know, and you can always glean a little bit from each part, you know, to be able to help the other

Allie: 15:03

one. Yeah. So anything so there's so we've gone through the part a, part b, and then Medicare Advantage. Mhmm. And you were talking about supplemental.

Allie: 15:18

And so is that supplemental called Medigap? Is that what we're is that what we were talking about?

Sheizka Komala: 15:24

So the the yeah. The supplemental so it's either called, Medicare Supplement Plan, Medigap. So, you know, traditionally, we or at least I like to use the g plan, you know, because there's n, l, k, f. Like, there's all different ones. G plan for me always seems to make more sense because it covers the most.

Sheizka Komala: 15:45

And usually, there's, like, a 20 or $30 difference between them and the other ones. You know, because it covers the other 20% that, traditional Medicare doesn't cover. So 100%, you know, next year, the there's an annual deductible of $257, and that's the only out of pocket cost you have besides your, your monthly premium.

Allie: 16:06

Wow. That sounds good.

Sheizka Komala: 16:08

Go in for a knee replacement, just as long as you pay that $257, it's gonna be a 100% covered. So Wow. When you are brand new to Medicare, that is one of the only times that you can get into a Medicare supplement plan guaranteed issue. So they let everybody in. So whether you're turning 65, or if you delayed and you're involuntarily losing your group health insurance, then you're eligible you're guaranteed issue to be able to get in one of those plans.

Sheizka Komala: 16:37

If you, decided that you wanted to do a Medicare Advantage Plan and then try to go to a supplement plan later on, you have to go through full underwriting. So they ask all kinds of health questions and ask you about your medications. So make it makes it a little bit difficult. So that's why normally when I'm sitting down with somebody who's getting ready to transition to Medicare, I give them the good, the bad, and the ugly of all of it and kinda see, you know, what their health history looks like, what their finances look like because it is a, you know, a steeper, monthly premium, but you're paying ahead of time. And then just kind of like the usage.

Sheizka Komala: 17:08

You know, what do they what do they wanna how do they wanna use their benefits, or do they wanna use their benefits at all, and kind of what makes sense for them.

Allie: 17:17

Yeah. And I know it it varies on industries and workplace, but do you see people usually getting equivalent health care through Medicare that they had in their career, health plans?

Sheizka Komala: 17:33

That's a very good question. So, yeah, normally, when I do a side by side comparison, traditionally, group health insurance so you're you're paying your monthly premium, which could range, you know, anywhere between 2 to $600 for an individual. Majority of the time, you're gonna have a fairly, you know, hefty deductible. Sometimes only sometimes it's only, like, $1500, but could be, like, 3 or $4,000, and then you have a max out of pocket, which could range anywhere from 6 to $14,000. So if you think about it, like, you're paying that, you know, 2 to $600 for an individual, and now you are also having those that deductible as well as that max out of pocket, you're paying that one way or the other.

Sheizka Komala: 18:15

But you go to Medicare, you know, if you're looking at a Medicare Supplement plan, you got 185. You've got your monthly premium. Like, say, for a woman here in Columbus turning 65, it's usually around a $120. You have a prescription drug plan, you know, 20 to $30. That's the amount that you're looking at to have complete coverage, as opposed to paying, like I said, between $26100 plus you're paying trying to make to that deductible just so you can have that max out of pocket.

Sheizka Komala: 18:47

So as far as equivalency, like, it's majority of the time, it's night and day. It like I said, a lot of the time, it just depends on if they have, dependents or spouses that are gonna be on it. And, you know, and it's, you know, you know, even with the, the Medicare supplement plans, those are portable too. Like, you can go anywhere in the United States, go to any doctor. No co payments, no coinsurance, no network.

Sheizka Komala: 19:13

Go anywhere. So, you know, if you're looking at someone who loves to travel, you know, around the United States who are snowbirds, you know, they wanna be able to go anywhere they want, then it makes sense. You know? But, yeah, there as far as doing the side by side comparisons, very rarely is it comparable, just because of the way I mean, if you're on an old Cadillac plan, maybe, if those are very rare anymore. Yeah.

Sheizka Komala: 19:43

Because the majority of the time, you're gonna get better benefits with Medicare, and you're gonna be paying a lot less. Like, even if you did a Medicare Advantage Plan, like you said, you're paying $185 for your part b premium. You do have a max out of pocket, which, the minimum here in Columbus, Ohio is around $45100, but go up to, like, 93100. But you're also not paying 5 or $600 a month. And you still in those max out of pockets are still fairly similar to what you would have in your group health insurance.

Allie: 20:18

Yeah. Wow. So so most of the time, they're paying or they're saving on the monthly premiums Mhmm. And on the costs of medication and generally speaking have lower deductibles.

Sheizka Komala: 20:35

Mhmm. Yep. As far as medications, like I said, it depends, you know, because I have some clients that are on group health insurance, especially if it's with the larger company. Some so the medications may be a little different as far as the coverage, which is why, like I said, we try to do our best, you know, when there's a changing formulary for them if there's Mhmm. And, you know, and and that also gives us an option too.

Sheizka Komala: 20:56

Like, if there is a a medication that isn't covered, like, are there other options that the doctors can can put them on, to try to make it a little bit more cost effective? The only other difference too is the, dental and vision. So Medicare Advantage Plans usually have dental and vision that are included in the plan. On the supplement side, you usually have to purchase a a stand alone prescription or not sorry. Not prescription.

Sheizka Komala: 21:22

A stand alone dental plan to cover that. So, you know, generally, with group health insurance, you're paying, you know, 5 or $6 for your your your vision plan and, you know, 15 to $20 for your dental plan. It's a little bit more expensive when it you get to Medicare, but that's usually when you're gonna need more dental work anyway. So

Allie: 21:43

For sure. For sure. So I know you said you do a side by side of, you know, what what they've been covered by and the costs. If someone were to just kinda wanna get an idea for how much Medicare may cost for them, Is there a way to estimate their Medicare costs?

Sheizka Komala: 22:04

Yep. Like I said, the majority of the time is gonna be based off of your ZIP code as far as what's available. And then, you know, we do a quick quote, you know, whether it's a supplement. You know, like I said, I can easily input that into our system and bring up the quotes for the Medicare supplement side as well as the Medicare Advantage sides and give them an idea, and do that for them. Yeah.

Sheizka Komala: 22:24

That's usually that's that's the easy part, usually.

Allie: 22:27

And then that also will show them, you know, different options for different needs and budget as well. Correct?

Sheizka Komala: 22:35

Yes. Mhmm.

Allie: 22:36

Awesome. Is there oh, you had mentioned something about traveling along the US, but what if they travel internationally?

Sheizka Komala: 22:47

Mhmm. So that that's an another good question. So if you are on a Medicare supplement plan in traditional Medicare, it does not cover out of country, or it doesn't have any out of out of country coverage. A Medicare Advantage plan, majority of them do have urgent care and ER coverage for out of the country. So, you know, a lot of my clients, if they are on the supplement side, you know, they get a, you know, a a travel a small travel insurance plan, but, yeah, Medicare generally doesn't.

Sheizka Komala: 23:20

I believe the f plan, which is no longer available, had coverage for out of the out of the country. The g plan and the n plan do not.

Allie: 23:30

Okay. And then, another question regarding coverage and care. Does Medicare cover long term care such as nursing homes or home health care? That is something that you're more, susceptible to as you age, and so this is something that older adults want to to be aware of.

Sheizka Komala: 23:54

So it doesn't cover for nursing homes or, for long term care. It does cover for, like, hospital, coverage and then, you know, skilled nursing facilities. Majority of the time, anybody as far as, you know, a couple other options for long term care, is like Medicaid. So I do have some clients that are on Medicare and Medicaid. So that covers for long term care in nursing homes, But, traditionally, it's just the actual hospital stays and, like I said, home health care, you know, as well as, you know, skilled nursing facilities for a a limited amount of time for them.

Allie: 24:32

Okay. And then something that's also susceptible for or common for older adults is different types of scams. So can you talk about some scams that are out there and what adults should be aware of? What what are common Medicare, scams and frauds that people should be aware of?

Sheizka Komala: 24:56

So, generally, what, the a lot of people will call, like, there's you, and I'm sure they're getting lots of phone calls. So if you have somebody who right off the bat asks you for your, your Medicare number, as opposed to, you know, the majority of the time. So, like, how we do our business at Exact Medicare, you know, we walk through, we do, you know, Medicare review, we make sure that we're checking hospitals, doctors, medications, all that kind of stuff. So but there are people out there who will just call and say, hey. I am calling you about your Humana plan.

Sheizka Komala: 25:36

Just wanna go over the new changes, and they're actually and then you're like, okay. You know? Because you can do verbal signatures, on Medicare just as long as everything's being, recorded, which there are some I'm sure there's individuals out there who are not recording. Right. So, yeah, it's it's a little it's a little scary sometimes out there, which is why we do what we do because we're trying to help people and do everything compliantly and making sure that everybody's taken care of.

Sheizka Komala: 26:05

Because we have talked to clients where they're like, I just talked to them. They told me that I could get a a food card, and now I have a different plan. And I hadn't I didn't know that this was a whole a totally different plan. So, what I normally say is if you were getting called about, like, a specific food card, and they're like, oh, you automatically are eligible. We can get this for you, and they're not giving any information.

Sheizka Komala: 26:30

They're not checking doctors. They're not checking medications. You know, they're just automatically rolling into something, then I would be aware. Like I said, we do our due diligence every time we we talk to a client, you know, whether it's on the phone on the phone or in person. And then, you know, we go through because there's lots of disclosures.

Sheizka Komala: 26:51

Medicare is highly regulated. Unfortunately, there are people out there that are not doing good business, but we always wanna make sure that, you know, if you're if the person you're talking to is not going through the whole disclosures, not asking for permission, not, you know, those type of things, then that's, those are red flags. So, you know, you may hear as far as, like, food cards or, you know, especially if you see, like, really high dollar amounts, like, you're gonna get 12,000 or, like, what was it? It was I think it was, like, $12,000 in in food benefits. Well, those are possible because if you are on Medicare and Medicaid, you know, some of the plans have food cards.

Sheizka Komala: 27:32

So you get, you know, $100 a month to buy food. So those are so the benefits are potentially out there for you, but you don't automatically qualify for it. So Mhmm. Yeah. There's there's lots of different ways that they're saying it.

Sheizka Komala: 27:52

But, you know, if you're talking to someone, you know, if anybody who's getting those phone calls because it's annual enrollment, just make sure that you're trying to get as much information and that they they're not just automatically just talking you into anything, I guess, is what I would say.

Allie: 28:07

Yeah. And I think any like, any strange phone call in general. And so maybe this isn't you listening right now, about this. You know, this doesn't pertain to you, but maybe it pertains to your parents. And so you can share it with them to protect them, or aunts and uncles or grandparents, whatever it is.

Allie: 28:29

My grandma got a call that little alley was in jail and needed to be taken out. God bless her. She called one of my other aunts and was like, you can't say anything because they told, like, she told me not to. And luckily, my aunt was like, are you kidding me right now? Like

Sheizka Komala: 28:51

Well, is there is I did a I went to a seminar where they were talking about the different scams for, for our seniors and especially for those type of things because people are using AI now. Like, they'll they could call my cell phone, get my voice from my voice mail, and then call anybody and say, hey. This is Shaska. So what I've what they actually told us is if you have, you know, family members, friends that would be potentially be targeted, have a you can and you don't even really have to have one. Like, say, what's what's the family password?

Sheizka Komala: 29:26

So whether you have a family password or not, you know, everybody in the family knows what the password is or even just to ask it because they don't they won't have the password. So that they'll automatically hang up, but it prevents them from using your, you know, a recording of your voice through AI to get, you know, you know, however many 1,000 of dollars to get Ali out of out of jail. If they ever ask you to buy gift cards to pay for anything, that is a scam. And, unfortunately, I've also seen, where they have, you know, because of online dating. You know, there was the the, the lady who was teaching the seminar was telling us a story.

Sheizka Komala: 30:06

This lady had dated, a gentleman for 5 years. Like, they were gonna get married, and he took her for all of her money. She was talking to this lady, you know, and just know that every state has, through the attorney general's office, they have, a senior, I I think it's a I don't remember if it's called seniors. Some as far as I'll often see what it was. I apologize.

Sheizka Komala: 30:31

I don't remember what it's called, but

Allie: 30:32

it's the

Sheizka Komala: 30:33

the general's office in each state, that it's it's they're there to help seniors and prevent things like this. So this lady was doing this seminar, and so she was telling her to, like, tell him you're not going to give him any money any more money. And the the guy was, like, trying to, like, he was gonna say he was gonna come and kill her, like, he was threatening her, like, all this kind of stuff. It got it got hugely, like, overwrought, like she was just beside herself, and it was just because she had met him online and she had been giving him money. So there are people, you know, because it's it's lonely out there, and if you, you know, if you don't if you're doing everything online, you never meet them, they won't know they don't know you, you don't know them.

Sheizka Komala: 31:21

There's lots of people who are taking advantage of people out there, especially our seniors, because they, yeah, because they're they're, you know, vulnerable.

Allie: 31:32

Yeah. Well, thanks for giving us those tips. I my mom was an information security officer. She retired, and so she's all about the security. I'm gonna have to tell her that family password thing because she's gonna love that.

Allie: 31:46

Yeah. And so anything else that you want to share about Medicare or, anything on this topic that we may have missed?

Sheizka Komala: 31:57

I I don't think we talked about the, enrollment periods. So, age of enrollment, so this time of year, this is, the busiest season. So you can so October 15th through December 7th. So, anybody on Medicare can make as many changes as they want. Whatever is the last one on the books on December 7th goes into effect on the 1st January.

Sheizka Komala: 32:20

So if you're on a prescription drug plan and a supplement plan, this is the time of year when you wanna do that, renew or that, review because otherwise it's gonna go into effect January 1st with keep checking. In open enrollment, which is our 2nd busiest season, is January 1st through October 31st. So we always I always call that buyer's remorse month. So if you ended up getting into a plan, you know, if somebody talked you into, like, you got changed in to a plan, had no idea what you did, you want to go back to your old plan, you want to go to a new plan, or if you didn't make any changes during annual enrollment, you're able to make one change during that 3 month period. The difference

Allie: 33:01

said you said January until when?

Sheizka Komala: 33:05

January 1st through October 31st is called open enrollment. And then right now, we're in annual enrollment. So

Allie: 33:12

Okay.

Sheizka Komala: 33:13

In January between January and the end of March, they can make one change. The difference between the 2 as far as timing when it goes into effect, like I said, now, you know, from October 15th through December 7th, whatever change they make, it doesn't go into effect until the 1st January. During open enrollment, so between January and the end of March, if I did an application, if I wanted to change in January, it goes into effect the 1st February. So you don't have to wait till the end of that 3 months for that plan to go into effect for you.

Allie: 33:45

Okay. Awesome. Thank you. Alright. And then how can people get in touch with you?

Sheizka Komala: 33:51

Yeah. I 2 different ways. So, you can either give me a call or text, on, which my number is 614 810-7479. All compliance. Everything is is recorded, whether, like I said, those text messages or calls, or you can email me at s kamala, that's s k o m a l a, atexactbenefitsgroup.com.

Allie: 34:18

Awesome. Thank you for that. And then we do have a quick lightning round that we'd like our guests to, share. Just quick one two word answers. Some of them will require a few more, but not just no long drawn out ex explanations.

Allie: 34:37

Lightning Gotta keep it short. Lightning answers. It's okay. I won't fire you. All right.

Allie: 34:44

So our first question, cash or credit? Credit. Real estate or stocks?

Sheizka Komala: 34:53

Real estate. If you want

Allie: 34:55

a $1,000,000 today, what would be the first thing you do with the money? Travel. Mhmm. Love that. What is a fun impulse buy you've had recently?

Sheizka Komala: 35:07

We got a new car.

Allie: 35:09

Oh, what's a money saving tip you swear by?

Sheizka Komala: 35:13

Money saving tip? I didn't think it went. I well, my money saving tip is I pay all of my bills at the beginning of the month.

Allie: 35:26

Nice. There you go.

Sheizka Komala: 35:27

Is taken care of.

Allie: 35:28

There you go. Not waiting till the last day of the month?

Sheizka Komala: 35:31

Waiting for it to actually you know, when it's due, I just do it all at the beginning of the month.

Allie: 35:35

Smart. Smart. Then you know what you're you're budgeting with for the rest of the fun things. Mhmm. There you go.

Allie: 35:43

What's a what's your biggest financial fear?

Sheizka Komala: 35:47

Not shaving and preparing enough.

Allie: 35:51

That's a common one. And last but not least, what's your biggest financial goal for the next year?

Sheizka Komala: 35:58

Invest more.

Allie: 36:00

Love it. What are we investing in?

Sheizka Komala: 36:04

A little bit of everything. I'm going to diversify.

Allie: 36:09

So retirement, emergency, are we saving for a certain thing?

Sheizka Komala: 36:14

Probably retirement.

Allie: 36:16

Awesome. Well, get with Holly and I. It was so nice meeting with you, Shezka. I appreciate you giving all of the insight on Medicare, and I am nowhere near that. However, I support people with their retirement, and so this has been very helpful for me, so that I can make recommendations to people and also where to send them when they need further assistance other than the basics from me.

Sheizka Komala: 36:45

That would be awesome.

Allie: 36:47

Awesome. Alright. Well, take care, and then we'll put your information in the show notes as well. So if you'd like to get a hold of her and her team, then, check out the information of the podcast for her phone number and email. Alright.

Allie: 37:02

Thank you.

Sheizka Komala: 37:03

Thank you so much.

Allie: 37:05

Thank you for joining us on this week's episode. We'd love to hear from you, so make sure to follow and tag us on Facebook and Instagram at women of wealth podcast. Your support means the world to us. Until next time, remember, your financial future is in your hands. Stay informed, stay inspired, and embrace your wealth.

Allie: 37:21

See you on the next episode.