Welcome to Medicare School Daily, where we help you understand Medicare, save money,
avoid mistakes, and above all else, get the most out of your Medicare benefits. Now, today's
topic is approaching Medicare: 4 important steps. Folks, as you get ready to go on Medicare,
you're going to have to make lots of decisions. In fact, we know you want to make the right
decisions, and so that's why we're going to show you the four important steps. In fact,
I would say these are critical because if you'll follow these steps, you'll see that
you will make good Medicare decisions instead of making some Medicare mistake that could
cost you dearly. So let's look at these steps very quickly. Number one, want to be sure
that you get educated folks before you make any decisions. You want to be sure that you
understand what you're doing. So you want a very thorough education. Now, there is no
lack of information when you go on Medicare, you will soon see. Number one, you will be
inundated with ads. They're going to show up in your mailbox, they're going to be in
your email inbox, they're all over the television. Ads about Medicare. You'll also see that there
are lots and lots of agents out there. And if this agent gets your phone number, probably
going to be pushy, probably trying to pester you until you make a decision and buy a plan
from them.
Ok? But that is one way to get some information. The third way is to go online. Again, you
can search online and never read every article that's available. There's actually millions
of articles available online about Medicare. But that is one option. And then others. And
what I mean by others is that you're going to find that other people have made a Medicare
decision, meaning they've gone on Medicare, they've made a decision that was good for
them. And it may work for them, but it may not work for you. You see, folks, one size
does not fit all and so others are willing to give you their opinion. We want to be sure
that you're careful because you don't see the same doctors and take the same medications
and have the same health concerns as them. But the whole point is this: this particular
path will lead you towards information. But I think at the end of the day, you're probably
going to be overwhelmed, probably more confused. And so we would encourage you not to follow
that particular path, but rather to go to MedicareSchool.com, and here you'll get a
concise education, a very thorough education, and very unbiased information as well. Now,
the second step is this: are you going to enroll in Medicare? And when will you do so?
Enrolling into Medicare A and B. Now, if you're retired folks, you are going to enroll into
Medicare.
[You're going to have to start Medicare because unless you or your spouse are still working,
you're going to have to go on Medicare A and B once you retire. You have to, you have no
other options. OK? Now, if you're on Social Security, what's going to happen? You're going
to be automatically enrolled in Medicare A and B. In fact, the Medicare card is going
to show up about 90 to 100 days prior to when your coverage is going to begin. All right?
And so you'll be automatically enrolled if you're on Social Security. Now, if you're
retired and you're not on Social Security, but we are going to start Medicare A and B,
then you're going to have to self enroll to make that process happen. Okay? You have to
initiate the enrollment. You won’t automatically be enrolled if you're not on Social Security.
Now, others of you, you're approaching 65 and you are still working. And the question
is, should you take Medicare? Well, the answer is maybe. Alright? Maybe. May make sense for
you to go on to Medicare while still working; many today are. Here's the way you make that
decision. You have to take the time to compare your work plan with what Medicare has to offer
you. And the first thing you want to look at is what's the premiums that you're paying
at work? In other words, what's coming out of your check? What are the coinsurance that
you have on your plan? Is it 80/20? Is it 90/10? What is the deductible on the plan?
Do you ever meet that? What is the max out of pocket on that plan? In other words, if
you’ve got cancer, how much would you spend?
$5,000? $10,000? We need to know that. And then also, what kind of medications are you
taking as well? And so we look at those particular factors with your present group plan and compare
that to what Medicare has to offer, and sometimes it's a good decision to go on Medicare. Now,
we would never encourage you to go on Medicare A and B if doing so is going to hurt somebody
else in your family, maybe a younger spouse or children are covered, but sometimes Medicare
does make sense while you're still working. Now, step number three, we've made the decision
that we are going to go on A and B and you'll see that there's really only two insurance
options beyond A and B, and that is to take an advantage plan, which are called replacement
plans or a supplemental plan. Now, the advantage plans are given the letter C. These are C
plans. And any time we take an advantage plan, what happens is that C plan will also include
a prescription drug plan. So C plans come with D plans. So we have in and outpatient
for the C, and we have the drug plans for those prescriptions that we pick up at the
pharmacy. So that's one option.
The other option is to take a supplemental plan. Now, if I take a supplemental plan,
what that means is A and B is going to pay first. So Medicare pays first, and my supplemental
plan is going to fill in the gaps. These are called Medigap policies. These are represented
by letters and the most common is F, G and N plans. And so this is the plan that would
fill in the gaps and what we do is we add a Part D plan to that for our prescriptions.
All right? And so basically the way this works is we pay a premium and we're pretty well
done because that supplemental plan’s going to fill in most the gaps or all the gaps.
And so we're paying premiums here. Over here, this option, we have low or no premiums. We
still pay Medicare A and B, but the advantage plan, you see, doesn't charge as much because
instead of paying a premium, we pay copays. So this is pay a premium and we're done pretty
much. This would be a copay system, so we pay as we go. So once you've decided which
is best for you, then you need to probably get some enrollment assistance. OK? Most people
do not want to go at this alone.
And folks, there's really only two options when you get assistance. Number one, you can
use what we call a captive agent. Now, captive agents are captive to one company. They're
the employees of a particular company. And one of the issues with a captive agent is
this: You have limited insurance options. Well, why is that? Well, because their portfolio
products that they're representing is limited to one company and that company may have maybe,
you know, two or three plans and that's going to be it. So we have limited options and we
also have limited knowledge. And the reason for that is because they're basically trained
to sell what the company has to offer, and that's it. They usually provide no other assistance
beyond that. They're just trying to get you in one of the company plans. All right? But
that is an option. The other option is to use someone like us. We have chosen to go
down another path, which are brokers. We’re brokers. Why are we brokers? Because we know
that one size doesn't fit all in Medicare, and we want to give our clients unlimited
options. In fact, we look at all the insurance plans that are going to be in that market
that you're in. And then what do we do? We make a comparison of those plans. And so we
shop and we search and we make sure that you see everything that's available in your market
so that you can make a decision as to what is going to be best for you.
And regardless of how you go here, folks, I want you to realize the price is all the
same to you. There's no price, no cost at all to use either captive or broker because
the insurance company always pays the agents. All right? And so we would recommend that
you would have a Medicare school guide guide you through this process because a Medicare
school guide is again going to be unbiased. We look at all the plans, make those comparisons,
and then that Medicare school guide will make sure that you get in Medicare at the right
time with the appropriate paperwork. Make sure that you get on the right medical plan
A and B, whether that's an advantage plan or a supplemental plan. And also make sure
that you have the right prescription drug coverage. All right? So if you use a Medicare
school guide, it will help you through that entire process and really make it hassle-free
and you'll enjoy the experience. Without having to be pressured into making some kind of a
decision that you're really not comfortable with or a decision you do not really fully
understand. All right? So that's the four steps. And I'll be sure to follow this so
that you can avoid making Medicare mistakes.