Frequently Asked Questions

A Medicare Advantage Plan, sometimes called Part C, is offered by a private insurance company approved by Medicare. Instead of receiving your benefits directly through Original Medicare, you receive them through the plan. These plans cover everything Original Medicare covers, and many bundle in extra benefits and prescription drug coverage. Plans differ by county, so what is available in Box Elder County may differ from what is available elsewhere in Utah.

They solve the same problem in opposite ways. A Medicare Supplement, also called Medigap, works alongside Original Medicare and helps cover costs Medicare leaves behind, while you keep broad access to any provider who accepts Medicare. Prescription coverage is purchased separately. A Medicare Advantage Plan replaces how you receive your Medicare benefits, usually through a provider network, and often includes prescription coverage. Which one fits depends on the doctors you want to keep, how much you travel, and the medications you take.

Both are government health programs, but they serve different people. Medicare is generally for people who are 65 or older, or who qualify through a disability. Medicaid is based on income and resources, and is run jointly by the federal government and your state. Some people qualify for both, which is called being dual eligible, and in those cases out of pocket costs can be very low. If you think you may qualify for both, it is worth a conversation.

There are three windows that matter. Your **Initial Enrollment Period** runs for seven months around your 65th birthday: the three months before, your birthday month, and the three months after. The **Annual Enrollment Period** runs October 15 to December 7 each year, when anyone on Medicare can change coverage for the following year. **Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment** runs January 1 to March 31 for people already in a Medicare Advantage Plan who want to make one change. Missing the window that applies to you can mean waiting a year, sometimes with a late enrolment penalty attached.

In most cases Medicare starts automatically after 24 months of Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits, and your card arrives in the mail before that 25th month. You do not need to apply separately. Certain conditions follow different timelines. Because the rules vary by situation, the official details are best confirmed at Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE, and I am happy to help you understand how they apply to you.

Yes. Several programs exist for people with limited income and resources, including Extra Help for prescription drug costs, Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs, and PACE for people who want to keep receiving care in their community. Each has its own eligibility rules. Medicare.gov and your State Health Insurance Assistance Program hold the official criteria, and I can walk you through which ones may be worth applying for in your situation.

No. There is no cost to you for a consultation, a plan comparison, or help enrolling, and there is no obligation to enrol in anything. Plenty of people call, get their questions answered, decide their current coverage still fits, and we leave it there. That is a perfectly good outcome.

Licensed agents are compensated by the insurance company when someone enrols in a plan, and that compensation does not change what you pay for the plan. It is the same either way. What matters more is that I am independent rather than tied to a single company, so I am not steering you toward one carrier. If you would like to know how that works before we talk about plans, just ask. I would rather answer it up front than have you wondering.

Licensed agents are compensated by the insurance company when someone enrols in a plan, and that compensation does not change what you pay for the plan. It is the same either way. What matters more is that I am independent rather than tied to a single company, so I am not steering you toward one carrier. If you would like to know how that works before we talk about plans, just ask. I would rather answer it up front than have you wondering.

My office is in Willard, Utah, in Box Elder County, and I work with neighbours throughout Brigham City, Perry, Tremonton, Corinne and the wider Ogden area. I am also licensed in a number of other states, which helps for families spread across the country and for people who split the year between two homes. If you are not sure whether I can help where you live, call and ask.

Nothing formal, but three things make it faster: a list of the prescriptions you take, the names of the doctors you want to keep, and your Medicare card if you already have one. If you do not have those to hand, we can still talk. No question is too basic, and the people who get the most from a conversation are usually the ones who arrive with a list.

No. Plans change, prescriptions change, and life changes. Being someone's agent means picking up the phone in year three, not just at enrolment. I check in with clients ahead of each Annual Enrollment Period to see whether anything needs revisiting, and you are welcome to call any time a question comes up in between.