Now today's topic is
do you need to change Medicare plans when you move?
We get a lot of people that ask us about that.
Maybe they have a move in store
in the future after retirement or they're just considering
what will happen.
And so let's address that and really answer the question
is it really just depends on the type of insurance
that you have
Welcome to Medicare School Daily where we help
you understand Medicare, save money,
avoid making mistakes and above all else,
get the most out of your Medicare benefits.
All right.
So there's four
different types of insurance possibilities.
Number one,
in order to be enrolled really into any Medicare plan,
whether that's a drug plan or a supplemental
plan or a prescription
drug plan or an advantage plan,
you are going to have to have Medicare A and B, obviously,
that's what begins
our relationship with Medicare
is getting enrolled in A and B
and so the way it works with A and B is
you don't have to change anything
other than you want to be sure
to update your address with them.
And that's it.
A and B is for life.
And so if you're enrolled in A and B, they'll never cancel
that unless you stop paying your Part B premiums.
And so you just want to be sure to update
the address, it's very simple to do that.
You can actually call
a local social security office between nine and four
and let them know that you have relocated.
All right. So that's that number two.
Now, most people don't have A and B
only they're going to get other insurance products.
So some people are electing to go with supplemental plans.
These are the plans that have letters to them, an F
plan or a G plan or an N plan are the most common plans
right now.
Now, in moves, what do you have to do with them?
Well, I want you to realize that the supplemental plans
are really like A and B in that
they are totally portable, meaning
they are written for life an insurance company.
That two issues, the supplemental plan
can never cancel your policy
unless you fail to pay the premium.
So your relocation will not cause them to cancel it.
If you have a lot of claims, they can't cancel it.
They can't cancel because of age,
only because of not paying a premium.
So it is written for life.
It's a portable policy.
So regardless of where
you move to anywhere in the 50 states or U.S.
territories, you can take that policy with you.
It's portable, now.
They can and sometimes will re-rate that.
In other words, if,
let's say you're moving from one state to another
and the average health care
costs are higher in the state that you're moving to,
then you may see that supplemental plan
go up a little bit.
Honestly, I've had plenty of people move
thousands and thousands of move,
and it's usually never a big issue.
But they do have the right to re-rate
you based upon what normal and customary Medicare
rates are in the state. That you're moving to.
All right.
So that can happen and will happen sometimes.
And then you also need to be sure
you update your address with them.
So once
you know that you're going to be moving
that it's a firm move
then you can let them know you're moving
and you want to update the address.
So they have the proper mailing address.
But also do not forget to update your bank records
if you keep the same bank account obviously,
you don't have to update.
But if you
relocate and you're going to set up a new bank account
or you're going to use that new bank account
to pay your supplemental premiums,
you want to be sure to update that address in advance.
Let them know that you're moving
and when they need to start drafting on that
new bank account because or if they're going to
draft that account and the money's
not there because you close that account out,
you only have 30 days of grace
to bring that policy current.
And so I've had people lose your policies because of that.
And we don't want that to happen
because if they cancel policy, the only way you can get it
back is to go through underwriting.
And if your health is changed, you may not be able
to do that. All right. So be sure.
Just simply
to update the address and banking information.
Now, anyone who has a supplemental plan
is probably 95
97% of the time they're going
to need a prescription drug plan.
Now, drug plans are not portable,
and the reason for that
is because a drug plan,
your Part D plan, is actually tied to a service area
and the service areas sometimes are just simply a
a large metropolitan city.
Sometimes they're counties, but you have a service area
that that drug plan was offered in.
And then when you relocate, you're
probably going to relocate to a different service area.
That means you're moving beyond the service area.
You cannot take your drug plan with you.
Now, the drug plan you're on may be available
in that new service area, but we have to find out.
And so if you're our client, this is something we actually
will help you with.
You just have to let us know your new address.
And then we'll run the drug plans in your area
and make sure that you are going to be relocating
and you're going to be on the right drug plan
in that new service area.
So you cannot take drug plans with you.
You will have to have a new one.
Now, not a big deal because they allow you to do this.
They call this a special enrollment period.
There's a special time. You can do it.
It's called a mover.
And we have a code that we use when we let Medicare
know you're going to cancel one drug plan and
pick up another one. And so
what has to happen during this
SEP code is certain timing.
And what that means is
once we have
a new physical address at your new location, 30 days
before you move or 60 days
after the move, you actually have this window
where you can change your drug plan.
They will allow you to do that.
Now, you can't change it.
Six months later, you'll get it.
Probably it'll be canceled because of relocation.
So you want to be sure to do this again
30 days before you move up to 60 days after.
No problem whatsoever.
Using the mover code.
All right. So that's what's going to happen.
If you're going to have those three plans,
then some of you are going to be covered by Advantage Plans
Meaning you didn't go with a supplemental plan
and a drug plan. You have an Advantage plan.
And so Advantage plans are called C plans.
And so they're very similar
to drug plans in that they are tied to a service area.
Again, multiple counties maybe a metro city.
And so your advantage plan
may or may not be available wherever you're going to move.
You have to find the best one and again, you work with us.
We help you do all this
because we want to make sure that,
you know,
your new doctors are going to be in the network
and that you're getting on a plan
that still you're comfortable
with the co-pays and the max out of pocket.
And so that service area switch
is going to require a new plan.
And again, just like the drug plan,
there's a code for this called a mover code
MOV we use on the application.
So they will let you do this. It's no problem.
Now, the plan that you're on now may be in that area,
but even if it is because you're changing service areas,
we have to rewrite a plan.
Even if it's the very same plan,
it's got to be rewritten in that service area
because there's a different policy number
attached to that. And again, the timing is very important.
30 days before you move
within 60 days
after you've moved,
once we have that address
that we can begin to set those things up for as well.
All right.
So that's what you'll need to do
if you are going to move.
And this is what change will be necessary
for your Medicare plans. Thanks so much for watching
Hey, thanks so much for watching the video,
and I do hope that it was helpful.
Now if you feel like
you need to learn more about Medicare
to make sure you're making the right Medicare decision,
really the best way and the easiest way to do
that is to go to MedicareSchool.com.
That's MedicareSchool.com,
and you'll be given the opportunity to be able
to click on Get the Free Workshop.
We call that the essentials workshop
and I do all the teaching.
And there you'll learn all the ins and outs of Medicare
to make sure that you have an accurate
and thorough understanding of how Medicare works.
The second thing you can do
is click where it says, talk to a Medicare guide,
and there
you can actually set up a time
where you can discuss your situation
with a Medicare guide.
They'll explain all your options
and actually even walk you
through the enrollment process as well,
if that's what you need to do.
And so go to MedicareSchool.com,
watch the workshop or talk to a Medicare guide.
It would be our privilege to assist you further.