To most people, Insurance is one of the most necessary and yet least understood consumer products. Why? Because Insurance companies like it that way. Think about it... You have been taught to think this is complicated, it isn't. Not to a trained professional. And you know how that can be. Ever have a supposedly trained professional mess things up for you? I have, and I'm sure you have too. So we are taught not to trust just anyone. That is wise or is it?
What if the above mistrust, was so you would seek out people that just aren't that trustworthy. The companies selling the product. It's gotten so bad, people are trying to do things they have no understanding of, themselves, with little to no help at all. But what happens when you find a good way of doing something, or a person that went way beyond your expectations? We tell our fiends, right? In the end, I want you to refer me to your friends and family. That's what tells me I'm doing a good job and that 's why I do what I do.
I'm not asking you to do what I say, based on faith. I would like to have a 10-minute conversation with you and see if I can help first, If I can, I will provide you with all my research in the form of three comparisons available in your area and my personal recommendation. Then you decide what you would like to do next, based on whether or not I have earned your trust.
Medicare Health Insurance is actually not that complicated, if you have an honest and well trained guide You have made harder decisions in the past few months. Have you taken your car somewhere for repair? Bought new tires? How about buying a house? Do you do your own taxes? Have you had to have some work done at your residence, say HVAC or a new roof. How about investments, do you do that without help? There are many things you have had to decide, and trust that are harder than this. With most situations, where you are not 100% sure what to do, you probably consulted with an expert, that helped guide you. In the end, you will be the one that sees the benefit of seeking my advice.
How do most people get Accident & Health Insurance? Through their Employer or Union, usually represented in a "Good, Better or Best" formula. Or as I like to say "At least I can get it" "Well it's not the worst" or "I better get the best" I can afford it. Keep in mind, the Employer is paying all or the majority of the cost for the plan in most situations. People are often extremely surprised when they learn what their Employer or Union actually pays for the employees' coverage. It's shocking!!! $500 to $2,500 a month and even more..
How did you ever decide in the first place? Most Companies and Unions have benefits advisers and they'll answer your questions and help you make a decision, if you ask.
Medicare doesn't work anything like Employer or Union coverage. You have been paying into Medicare for decades. Thousands of dollars and it's now time to benefit from all that time and effort. Don't throw away the opportunity to get wholesale prices on what you used to pay retail for. The reason Medicare is such a great idea is you were forced to contribute to a program that would be there later on in your life when you needed most. Now is that time.
With Medicare, all plans and programs must offer what Original Medicare covers or offer more than what Medicare covers. As to cost, generally people with low-incomes pay less and people with higher incomes ($91,000 + per year) pay a little more. Where do you fit in? Don't assume only people with low incomes qualify for great options through Medicare. Don't assume you need to pay more to get all Medicare has to offer either. All plans and programs related to Medicare have to cover what Original Medicare covers. Really!!!
So why all the different Medicare options? Because, Insurance companies want their share of the pie. Providing your medicare benefits is big business, worth Billions of dollars. And they want you to be satisfied with what they individually have to offer and not go looking elsewhere.
To help make your decision to stay or choose them, they use a model you are familiar with (Good, Better, and Best). Whichever you choose, they win. The only way to know you have made your best choice - is to look at them all, regardless of the company, branding or marketing ability. It's funny actually. Insurance companies have convinced many people, they are the ones that matter, when it comes to your healthcare or the outcome of treatments done, not by them, but the medical providers in charge of your care. How does the credit card you used to buy a product make the product any better? It doesn't and neither does the insurance company you go through. What matters is what is best for you, based on your individual situation - nothing more and nothing less.
I just makes since to use an independent non- partial Medicare Broker like me. I want you to get the best options. Without people like me, many people are left in the dark and have to trust whatever shows up in their mailbox. Some people, to make it easy, just stay with the Insurance company they had through their Employer or Union. Some people call a number on TV after an informercial that seemed like the plan offered is better than sliced bread.
Still others go with plans offered through memberships, through what are called co-branding opportunities, which are good for the Insurance Company (marketing wise) and not always so good for the beneficiary. Are you a Costco Member, how about AARP? And others call their doctor's office and ask the people at the front desk - even though they don't have an Insurance license or specialize in Medicare options. Simply put, most people just lack the training, knowledge or the skills needed to make such a comparisons.
The thing is, You have to start somewhere. Unless you have a reliable person, with no attachment with what you choose, that is able to provide verifiable comparisons, you just won't know what you have available for you. That is where I come in.
For those of us that don't have staying with an Employer or Union coverage as an option, (outside of the military, and some other government employment), I have always been self-employed. It may seem impossible to find reliable help. It's can be, if you aren't given the ability to use your own knowledge of what is best for you.
What I can tell you is there are a limited number of plans that will stand out once I review them and compare them for you, looking with your needs and situation as a guide. After I have done the research, the why I recommended the plan or program I do will make perfect since. My recommendation is 100% based on your needs, budget and what is available in your area.
Lastly, I like to make this comparison, as this is what I do, but for Medicare Programs, not a battery as in this example.
There are only a few Battery manufactures in the United States. If you go to a Mercedes Dealer and buy a battery for one of there cars, you'll pay around $400. Go to a Chrysler Dealer for a car that has the same engine and drivetrain that is in a Mercedes and you pay around $280. Go to an Autozone, Pep Boys or better yet, Costco and you'll pay around $150 or less for the same DOT rated battery. This is true with Medicare as well, But only when you have an excellent guide.
What really matters is whom your providers are, where do you like to get your Medications? Do they all accept Medicare as payment, why pay one company over another. Why pay for one plan over another? Given the opportunity, that's what I want to show you.
There are no correspondence courses to learn how to swim, you just have to have a good trustworthy guide and get in the water, when it all works out, it's like magic.