I have signed up over 2000 Medicare clients over the years. Only a small no. have bothered to get Part A when turning 65 if they were not getting Part B also, and therefore making Medicare their insurance plan. You ABSOLUTELY do not have to get Part A if you are staying on your group plan. It might even work against you! Some bullet points:
1) If you are turning 65, and have group insurance, take a few minutes to determine if you should keep your current group insurance or move to Medicare, as is your right once you turn 65. By the way, if you decide to move, the group plan will not and cannot stop you from moving and the company pays less for your coverage so it makes them HAPPY!
2) A single person paying $300 or more for group insurance (just the health portion) should probably move to Medicare and keep your other benefits in place. Or possibly a person needing surgery! Do review your drugs as some group plans have a leg up on Ozempic approvals, etc. But if you move, Keep your dental, vision, life insurance, disability, etc.
3) Good reasons not to move? Your wife/husband is not yet 65 and would not enjoy being on Obamacare (the ACA plan). Some spouses don't care if you move, especially if they hardly ever use the plan. Another issue is that you have children (it happens) under 26 on your plan. Nurses often get free insurance. A rare company offer now days is that they pay 100% of it. Keep that plan !! A few stray reasons make keeping your health insurance with the company after 65 reasonable.
4) Medicare says if you have group insurance that you have "Creditable coverage." That really means they won't bother you as long as it's in place. And if you think about taking Part A at 65, know that you do not have to. It does little for you other than become the secondary payor on Part A expenses. What no one tells you is that it KILLS YOUR TAX FREE CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOU HSA plan. Many people have taken A (because others said you must / WRONG) only to find it killed those valuable HSA contributions.
5) Good reasons to move, Medicare with a supplement has only a $257 deductible. and no co-insurance. Many on group insurance have deductibles today of $1500, even $2500. And if they have surgery then pay the deductible and then 20% of the following costs until they reach $5000 (co-insurance) . But if they move to Medicare, Medicare A&B combined with a supplement (also known as a GAP Plan) gives you a great starting supplement cost of ($100 to $165), plus Medicare's monthly Part B charge of $185. Now you can easily have that knee operation by meeting your $257 deductible and there is NO co-insurance with a supplement (80-20).
6) So don't ASSUME (makes an ass out of you and me?) that keeping your company insurance at 65 is the best path without exploring the up and down sides of this. Many reading this will tell you I went through the math with them and told them to stay or move as the nos. indicated. It's not much trouble to run all the nos. and know the truth.
7) Worst mistake, sign up for A&B (when your company does not make you) and keep your group insurance. Do not pay for Part B and keep your group insurance UNLESS your employee is count is below 20 and they make you do this.
8) How about the KISS method? If you are turning 65 this year email me your contact info and a time to reach out. Let's go through the nos. And if moving makes sense, I'll walk you through getting your Medicare card and then review all the major options with you so you have a good look at your choices and find a plan that fits you well.
9) Why don't I just call Humana, etc. or a local agency that I don't know? Best reason to avoid that is they all want to sell you an ADVANTAGE plan. Many younger agents don't really even understand supplement plans (GAP plans) or knowing that they get paid DOUBLE to sign you up on your first time ADVANTAGE plan, steer (a bad word in sales) you toward what is best for the sales person or company.
10) Why don't I call a big name provider and buy my supplement from them? First, you'll get someone out of a pool. That person has no connection to you going forward. You can NEVER reconnect with that person. You don't really have an individual agent, you have an 800 no. !! Warm and fuzzy feeling isn't it. They do what they are trained to do and they put the company first, you second in all matters. And of course they do not compare their offer to possibly better other offers, as an independent agent will do.
11) And if you buy the same supplement that I would sell you, it's the same price. No agent to reach out to by name or 24/7 as many do me. And they will screw you over "helping" you with your Part D drug plan. Supplements have a "stand alone Part D drug plan." Meaning with a supplement you have a separate card ("stand alone") for your drug plan and that choice can be updated once a year. But ....
12) After signing you up for your supplement with Large Company X, they will ALWAYS say the following: "Now that we have your supplement in place, can I help you with your drug card? Well, what's a Medicare Newbie going to say? With great relief, they will almost always say "Why yes, thank you!" They are relieved as they had no clue how to get a drug card. Then the agent asks you tell him each medication that you take, how strong is the dose, how often do you take it, etc.. And then when they are through, they come back and say .... Well your best offer is .......... . Do note that there are 15 drug plans in that market in Texas for 2025 and that MAJOR health company you are talking to probably has only 2 or 3 of those plans but, get this, they have the BEST plan for you! Are you buying that? That's a lie from the pit of hell. They just quoted you the best plan their company has. And this could easily cost you $500 to $1000 more that year if you have some expensive medications.
Great time to consider rewriting your supplement also. Would big company X ever tell you how to rewrite your supplement and possibly lower your rate down the path (if you could pass underwriting?) Heck no! Many agents don't rewrite supplements as they consider it too complicated, too time consuming, or possibly a waste of time as not all applicants will be approved, etc.. I have rewritten about 175 plans is my guess, saving people from $360 to $2700 per person per year. Yep, many people are sleeping on this. In my own case, I saved $840 for one year, for exactly the same coverage the first time I moved and basically continue to save that amount yearly. I rewrote my plan has recently as June, 2024.
Please know that I have no fees ever and do know that all specific Medicare plans only have one rate in Texas, so I also, always have the lowest rate. And as an independent agent, I have lots of experience with most major companies and help you sort their value out. As your agent, it's my job to make this all as easy and as cost effective as possible. The better I perform, the more referrals I get and as you know, referrals are a major source of any business's income and stability.
Let's get your Medicare year off and running, shoot me an email with your birthdate, zip code and phone no. and let's talk about making this a good and profitable experience using Medicare. Been posting here since 2006, once wrote most of the staff of OB in the old under 65 market. Was a paid sponsor for 8 or 9 year at one point.
Gary S. / 713-376-5608 / ges01@comcast.net / please don't text me, send me an email me with a phone no. / Turning 65? Or Want to discuss rewriting your supplement Or even changing your Advantage plan (you have from now to 3/31 to change your Advantage plan as well) I have a staff I work with that writes group plans as well (highly recommend them) and a friend I refer under 65 coverage to (must write before 2/15 for the year of 2025) Hook Em! / My daughter is a 2005 grad, lives in Austin and went to both Rose Bowls.
1) If you are turning 65, and have group insurance, take a few minutes to determine if you should keep your current group insurance or move to Medicare, as is your right once you turn 65. By the way, if you decide to move, the group plan will not and cannot stop you from moving and the company pays less for your coverage so it makes them HAPPY!
2) A single person paying $300 or more for group insurance (just the health portion) should probably move to Medicare and keep your other benefits in place. Or possibly a person needing surgery! Do review your drugs as some group plans have a leg up on Ozempic approvals, etc. But if you move, Keep your dental, vision, life insurance, disability, etc.
3) Good reasons not to move? Your wife/husband is not yet 65 and would not enjoy being on Obamacare (the ACA plan). Some spouses don't care if you move, especially if they hardly ever use the plan. Another issue is that you have children (it happens) under 26 on your plan. Nurses often get free insurance. A rare company offer now days is that they pay 100% of it. Keep that plan !! A few stray reasons make keeping your health insurance with the company after 65 reasonable.
4) Medicare says if you have group insurance that you have "Creditable coverage." That really means they won't bother you as long as it's in place. And if you think about taking Part A at 65, know that you do not have to. It does little for you other than become the secondary payor on Part A expenses. What no one tells you is that it KILLS YOUR TAX FREE CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOU HSA plan. Many people have taken A (because others said you must / WRONG) only to find it killed those valuable HSA contributions.
5) Good reasons to move, Medicare with a supplement has only a $257 deductible. and no co-insurance. Many on group insurance have deductibles today of $1500, even $2500. And if they have surgery then pay the deductible and then 20% of the following costs until they reach $5000 (co-insurance) . But if they move to Medicare, Medicare A&B combined with a supplement (also known as a GAP Plan) gives you a great starting supplement cost of ($100 to $165), plus Medicare's monthly Part B charge of $185. Now you can easily have that knee operation by meeting your $257 deductible and there is NO co-insurance with a supplement (80-20).
6) So don't ASSUME (makes an ass out of you and me?) that keeping your company insurance at 65 is the best path without exploring the up and down sides of this. Many reading this will tell you I went through the math with them and told them to stay or move as the nos. indicated. It's not much trouble to run all the nos. and know the truth.
7) Worst mistake, sign up for A&B (when your company does not make you) and keep your group insurance. Do not pay for Part B and keep your group insurance UNLESS your employee is count is below 20 and they make you do this.
8) How about the KISS method? If you are turning 65 this year email me your contact info and a time to reach out. Let's go through the nos. And if moving makes sense, I'll walk you through getting your Medicare card and then review all the major options with you so you have a good look at your choices and find a plan that fits you well.
9) Why don't I just call Humana, etc. or a local agency that I don't know? Best reason to avoid that is they all want to sell you an ADVANTAGE plan. Many younger agents don't really even understand supplement plans (GAP plans) or knowing that they get paid DOUBLE to sign you up on your first time ADVANTAGE plan, steer (a bad word in sales) you toward what is best for the sales person or company.
10) Why don't I call a big name provider and buy my supplement from them? First, you'll get someone out of a pool. That person has no connection to you going forward. You can NEVER reconnect with that person. You don't really have an individual agent, you have an 800 no. !! Warm and fuzzy feeling isn't it. They do what they are trained to do and they put the company first, you second in all matters. And of course they do not compare their offer to possibly better other offers, as an independent agent will do.
11) And if you buy the same supplement that I would sell you, it's the same price. No agent to reach out to by name or 24/7 as many do me. And they will screw you over "helping" you with your Part D drug plan. Supplements have a "stand alone Part D drug plan." Meaning with a supplement you have a separate card ("stand alone") for your drug plan and that choice can be updated once a year. But ....
12) After signing you up for your supplement with Large Company X, they will ALWAYS say the following: "Now that we have your supplement in place, can I help you with your drug card? Well, what's a Medicare Newbie going to say? With great relief, they will almost always say "Why yes, thank you!" They are relieved as they had no clue how to get a drug card. Then the agent asks you tell him each medication that you take, how strong is the dose, how often do you take it, etc.. And then when they are through, they come back and say .... Well your best offer is .......... . Do note that there are 15 drug plans in that market in Texas for 2025 and that MAJOR health company you are talking to probably has only 2 or 3 of those plans but, get this, they have the BEST plan for you! Are you buying that? That's a lie from the pit of hell. They just quoted you the best plan their company has. And this could easily cost you $500 to $1000 more that year if you have some expensive medications.
Great time to consider rewriting your supplement also. Would big company X ever tell you how to rewrite your supplement and possibly lower your rate down the path (if you could pass underwriting?) Heck no! Many agents don't rewrite supplements as they consider it too complicated, too time consuming, or possibly a waste of time as not all applicants will be approved, etc.. I have rewritten about 175 plans is my guess, saving people from $360 to $2700 per person per year. Yep, many people are sleeping on this. In my own case, I saved $840 for one year, for exactly the same coverage the first time I moved and basically continue to save that amount yearly. I rewrote my plan has recently as June, 2024.
Please know that I have no fees ever and do know that all specific Medicare plans only have one rate in Texas, so I also, always have the lowest rate. And as an independent agent, I have lots of experience with most major companies and help you sort their value out. As your agent, it's my job to make this all as easy and as cost effective as possible. The better I perform, the more referrals I get and as you know, referrals are a major source of any business's income and stability.
Let's get your Medicare year off and running, shoot me an email with your birthdate, zip code and phone no. and let's talk about making this a good and profitable experience using Medicare. Been posting here since 2006, once wrote most of the staff of OB in the old under 65 market. Was a paid sponsor for 8 or 9 year at one point.
Gary S. / 713-376-5608 / ges01@comcast.net / please don't text me, send me an email me with a phone no. / Turning 65? Or Want to discuss rewriting your supplement Or even changing your Advantage plan (you have from now to 3/31 to change your Advantage plan as well) I have a staff I work with that writes group plans as well (highly recommend them) and a friend I refer under 65 coverage to (must write before 2/15 for the year of 2025) Hook Em! / My daughter is a 2005 grad, lives in Austin and went to both Rose Bowls.
