Shopping for a Medicare Insurance Plan

Two Huge Mistakes to Avoid When Shopping for a Medicare Insurance Plan

Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t call me, saying ” I can’t believe how bad some of the advice has been when I called ____ to ask about an affordable Medicare insurance plan” (intentionally blank ).

Affordable Medicare Insurance Plan: Too Good to Be True?

I just had another call today from Ingrid in Texas. She had been listening to my Podcasts to educate herself and then the problems began. She went to the internet and started doing her research ( which I recommend…) then made a call to a call center and, before she knew it, she enrolled into a plan because the sales agent was ” pushing ” her into a particular type of plan. The actual plan she bought is not important but the fact was she did not know what she was buying. As she was going to bed that night, she couldn’t sleep and was troubled. She realized the rate was really just too good to be true. At the end of the day, she called an association plan. They then enrolled her into a particular plan without her complete understanding. She knew something just wasn’t right. So she called me and explained her complete situation with me and she came to the same conclusion for her Medicare Supplement Plan, that I was about to recommend to her.

Stumbling into the Wrong Plan for You

The second recent occurrence of this problem happened just a couple of weeks ago with a woman who is 82 years old and has COPD. (I think we all know what COPD really is.) She’s had a Medicare Supplement plan since she turned 65 and saw an advertisement on TV about a plan with a zero premium. Long story short, she called and they sent someone out to her house and this agent recommended a Medicare Advantage Program to her.

Again, it sounded too good to be true and it was. She has significant healthcare costs each month and was not totally aware of the out of pocket expenses she was already starting to incur ( in just a couple of weeks of coverage ). She was beside herself and I don’t blame her.

Moving this woman to this type of Medicare Plan, with her health conditions and ongoing weekly costs was just plain wrong! I was so upset for her, I wanted to call the Department of Insurance and report this agent. She said she was going to do just that.

Avoid the Traps

A little secret you may not be aware of is that some insurance carriers actually pay agents more of a commission to enroll folks into their Medicare Advantage Plans than into a Medicare Supplement. As you can imagine in the “sales world,” insurance carriers are always offering bonuses and trips to encourage agents to sell particular plans like a Medicare Advantage over a Medicare Supplement. Now to be clear, this is not true of every insurance carrier or product.

In my 30 years of insurance experience, I have no idea how much an insurance carrier will eventually pay me to sell their products. I base my recommendations on what is best for the client. NOT what is best for me. I never have and I never will.

At the end of the day

I am a Christian and my faith, principles, morals and values are more important to me than a few extra dollars.

Last experience is Louie. I spoke to Louie when he was turning 65 a couple of months ago. I met with Louie and recommended a particular type of plan with a particular Medicare Insurance Carrier. It sounded good to him and so I enrolled him. He called me the next day and asked me to cancel his application. His ” friend” told him of another carrier who offered a lower cost plan. Well, that ” lower premium” only lasted for 2 months and he received his first-rate “adjustment”- also known as a rate increase. A month later when a new calendar year began, guess what happened? If you guessed another rate increase, you would be exactly right. Well, Louie had enough and called me back and apologized (which was not necessary). I was then able to set him up on the same original plan we had initially talked about. Needless to say, he is extremely happy now.

The point of all these examples is twofold:

1. Take your time. Don’t give out your phone number or email address via any site on the internet to see “Quotes in your area”.

2. If some of these Medicare Insurance Plans sound “too good to be true,” chances are there are.

Medicare is far too important to guess or be swayed into the wrong plan for you. And it is vital that you understand the basics, compare alternatives, and talk with someone who is an experienced and independent agent, specializing in Medicare Insurance programs.

If you are searching for unbiased and experienced assistance, I offer free consultations.

Call me at 877-549-1212 today and let’s see what is best for you!

I am not a call center and will answer the phone personally.