First Medicare Advisors – 1-800-825-2919
E-mail: [email protected]
Finding the right Medicare plan matters. With hundreds of policies to choose from, and so much information to understand, most people guess when choosing a policy and end up paying too much for a plan that doesn’t cover what they need. here is plenty about the Medicare program that is tough to cheer about if you are not careful about your choices.
One of the first mistakes you can make is waiting until your 65th birthday to start thinking about Medicare. Your probably don’t understand what the various parts of Medicare cover. But more important you probably do not realize that Medicare is an “acute needs” program and it does not cover a large number of things you would expect.
If you are not aware of these gaps you will have to pay for them yourself unless you have other insurance coverage to pay for these Medicare gaps. For example, there is no coverage for chiropractic services, dental, vision, hearing exams, or other non-emergency services to name a few.
The second mistake you can make is not understanding there is an unlimited out of pocket potential. Medicare has deductibles and pays 80% of Medicare approved medical expenses. You have to pay the other 20% and there is no limit as to what that amount could total.
Over your retirement life time that could easily total 300,000 dollars and you could add another 100,000 for your uncovered costs like dental, vision, overseas travel, etc.
A third mistake would be not knowing the huge differences between Medicare supplement plans and Medicare advantage plans. The Medicare Advantage plan you have left Medicare and are now with a “fee for service” plan.
You have left Medicare and or now with a private insurance company that is providing you with group like insurance coverage. With the Medicare supplement plans you have plans that will pay for 100% of your approved Medicare medical expenses.
Keep in mind that if Medicare covers an illness or service they usually do not pay for it 100%. Unless you have a Medicare supplement plan you will have deductible and co-payments.
A fourth major mistake is taking too long to consider your Medicare options. There are a number of deadlines involved and by missing enrollment deadline you are looking at higher rates due to penalties. For example, you can have lengthy penalties on Part A and extensive penalties for missing deadlines on Part B and your prescription Part D drug plan.
Finally not shopping your coverage: This is probably the biggest mistake most people will make. All of these plans have been standardized by the federal government. The only difference between the plans are the premiums each company will charge you.
You can grossly overpay if you are not careful. For example – I was talking to a gentleman who has been putting off enrolling in Medicare because of various reasons. He stated that he had a friend that recommended a certain Medicare supplement plan and he was probably going to enroll in it. It was a major named organization that does millions of mailers each year to people retiring.
I suggested that he allow me the opportunity to shop the market for him. I found there were 43 companies that had exact same plan in his home town. In fact, there were 35 companies that offered the same plan he was interested in at a much lower price.
The prices ranged from 30 to 70 dollars per month less. He could save s substantial amount of money for the exact same plan by shopping. He ended up going with another major company for $70 per month less.
In closing – You don’t have to do this on your own. You can get help from a trusted source that can help you think through your options and compare plans. If you’re unsure about your choices, give us a call at First Medicare Advisors at 1-800-825-2919 to get a personalized report on your options.
Get back in touch with me so we can go over the options available in your area. They are all different in every zip code in America. I will shop all the plans for you in an independent way so that we’re not recommending any one company. We will show you a whole list of companies. You will understand the differences plans and how Medicare works.
This is Dale Stringer, call us at 1-800-825-2919. Thanks for watching.
