Should You Use a Broker to Compare Medigap Plans?

September 6, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

The advantages of using a broker as opposed to doing the research yourself are:

  • Brokers are independent agents, who will give you their unbiased opinions about which Medicare Supplement plan to enroll in. They will explain all the various options to you, as far as which plan would be the best suited one for your situation and needs.  Some plans have more benefits than others and vice versa, and they will help you decipher between the advantages and disadvantages of each plan.medigap broker
  • The broker understands which Medigap companies have stability and what their credit ratings mean. They are well-versed in how to interpret these rating scales, and the stability outlook ratings as well. The broker is adept at breaking all this information down and explaining it in a clear, simple fashion. If you do the research on your own, you might not know about the AM Best or S&P ratings and skip them entirely.
  • The broker has experience and knowledge as to which companies have competitive rates and which do not.
  • The broker, possessing an in-depth knowledge of the industry, is aware of which companies are more reputable than others and can thus steer you in the right direction.
    guidance from medigap broker
  • The broker has the time and patience to do all the legwork for you. If doing all the work yourself, you might get overwhelmed and inundated (in fact, I’m sure you will!) by the amount of material you will have to sift and make sense of before you decide.
  • There is usually a back-office support team who can assist you and intervene on your behalf, when you have an issue or question regarding your Medicare Supplement plan. When you call a large insurance company, you usually get a call center and the customer service is not catered to you alone.  On the contrary, if you call your broker, the customer service you receive will most likely be more attentive and personalized, as you have already established a business relationship with the agency.
  • Most brokers (including Secure Medicare Solutions) do NOT charge a fee for their services (and there is no need to pay for a broker’s services).

Once you decide that you want to use a broker to help you find a plan, you need to ask yourself the question:  Do I want to enlist the help of a local or national broker?  The following comparison may clarify things for you.

  • A local broker can indeed assist you, but they are not always the most qualified. Location might be everything to some people, but the proximity of the agent should not be the decisive factor when buying a Medigap policy.  Nowadays, with streamlined technology being available, most applications can be completed using an online application process.  The client then reviews and signs the application electronically, and it is submitted in real time to the insurance company.  The application can also be done over the phone with the client.  As such, there is really no need for client face-to-face interaction.  You will have more access to a larger pool of brokers among which you can choose to work with. face to face broker
  • Some local brokers are not really brokers – they are “captive” agents who sell only the products of the company they work for. They might be considered employees of the company.  In this instance, the broker might not have the best of intentions.  He is restricted to selling only what the products that his company promotes.  Even if there is a better product available in the market, since he/she is held captive to that company, you would not have other options.
  • A broker must be licensed in the state in which is selling the Medigap plan. So please be wary of anyone who tries to sell you something that he or she is not licensed to sell or not for the state they are licensed to sell in!

The decision to go it alone or use a broker may be a tough one to make.  On the other hand, it may be an easy one for you to make, since you know exactly what you should do.  If you like doing research and are good at it, then forge ahead on your own!  But be aware that, to make a truly informed choice, you may have to call 30+ insurance companies that offer Medigap plans in your state.  If you want someone else to do the “heavy lifting” for you and explain all aspects of Medicare and Medigap so you can make an informed choice, then the best choice for you would be to let a broker do the work.

Filed Under: General, Medigap Plans, Secure Medicare Solutions · Tagged: , , , , ,

New Medicare Cards – What You Need to Know

September 15, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

The new Medicare cards are coming! With the Equifax security breach in the news, as well as other recent hacks of personal and sensitive information, this news could not come soon enough. Medicare will begin mailing out the new Medicare cards in April 2018.

new Medicare cards

FIRST LOOK! The new Medicare cards will no longer contain your Social Security number. Instead, they will have a random, unique sequence of numbers and letters.

Currently, Medicare cards contain a Social Security number on them with a letter at the end. The letter, by the way, indicates whether you are drawing Social Security yet, and whether your Social Security is based on your work history or that of a spouse, former spouse or deceased spouse. Most Medicare cards contain the Social Security number of the insured person.

In 2015, Congress passed a law requiring Medicare to change the way they identify Medicare beneficiaries on their Medicare cards. It’s a bit of an undertaking with Medicare having to assign all Medicare beneficiaries a new unique number and recreate 60 million Medicare cards. The rollout of the new Medicare cards will take place over a 12-18 month period, and it will begin in April 2018.

“We want to make this process as easy as possible for everybody involved,” said Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on a conference call Thursday.

Medicare has set up a website specific to the transition, will also be sending out handbooks related to this and has a call center to handle questions specific to the new Medicare cards.

So, what do you, as a Medicare beneficiary, need to know about the new Medicare cards:

  1. First and foremost, you should not do anything with your current card until you receive the NEW Medicare card. Keep using the current card, then once you receive the new one, replace the “old” card (the one with a Social Security number on it) with the new card (the one with the unique set of random numbers and letters on it).
  2. Be patient. CMS Head Seema Verma stresses that the rollout will START in April 2018 but it will carry over into 2019. We would expect it will last until late 2019. There has been no indication yet on how they will decide who gets the new cards first or what order they will go in.
  3. The new cards will be paper, just like the current cards (we know, it doesn’t make sense to us either!). $242 million just doesn’t buy you what it used to, I guess.
  4. Do not give anyone your current Medicare card or any information from it. Just like everything else that pertains to seniors, there is certain to be scams related to the new Medicare card rollout. To repeat, Medicare will NOT be asking you for your old Medicare card back or any information from it.
  5. When you receive the new Medicare card, take care to appropriately and effectively destroy the old one. Remember, it has your Social Security number on it. Burning it up may be taking it too far (but it is paper, after all). Whatever you do – cut it, shred it, burn it, flush it – make sure you leave no trace since it has your personal information.
  6. The new Medicare cards do not affect anything about your actual Medicare coverage. Your benefits will stay the same.
  7. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan instead of “original” Medicare, you will still get a new Medicare card (even though you don’t have to actually use it). Make sure you keep it in case your Advantage plan cancels you or you decide to go back to regular Medicare in the future.
  8. If you have a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan, you will also receive the new Medicare card but should not need to contact your Medigap company with the new information.

If you have any questions about this transition, or anything else related to Medicare, we are here to help. Feel free to contact us online or call us at 877.506.3378.

Filed Under: General, Medicare News · Tagged: , , , , , ,

South Carolina Medicare Resources

August 24, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

For South Carolina Medicare enrollees, there are many resources through which you can get answers to your questions, obtain information about your benefits, and evaluate your current coverage. We’ve compiled a few of those resources below with links to the corresponding web sites:

  1. South Carolina Medicare Insurance – Medicare in SC – This is the home page for Secure Medicare Solutions, which is a leading, independent resource for Medicare and Medicare insurance information in South Carolina. At the site, you can research information about your South Carolina Medicare Supplements coverage or South Carolina Medicare Part D information.
  2. South Carolina Medicare Minutes – South Carolina Medicare Minutes is an independent blog and reference for all things related to South Carolina Medicare and Medicare insurance. The blog has frequent updates about things of interest to those who have Medicare in the Palmetto state.
  3. Medicare.gov – The Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare – Medicare.gov is the official government Medicare site. This site give you information about how the various parts of Medicare work overall, how they work with one another, as well as information about how to sign up for the various parts of Medicare.
  4. Center for Medicare Advocacy – This is an independent site with unbiased information about Medicare and how it works. You can get the answers to a lot of frequently asked questions on this site.
  5. Garrett Ball – EzineArticles.com Expert Author – This is the main site for EzineArticles.com, which is a leading, human-reviewed article site, which compiles qualified articles from expert authors from around the world. Garrett Ball, who has been given the designation of expert author, writes articles particularly about South Carolina Medicare Insurance, which can be found on his author home page.
Filed Under: General, Medicare insurance news, Medicare News, South Carolina Medicare Supplements · Tagged: , , , ,

Relocating to SC? What to Do About Your Medicare Insurance

August 3, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

South Carolina has quickly become one of the leading states for retiree relocations. Retirees, predominantly from the Northeast, have been heading to the Coastal regions of the Palmetto State for the great weather, easy living and beaches.

When you move, does your insurance move with you? In most instances, NO. But it depends on the type of plan you have.

I have recently written an article that can help anyone facing this question sort through this complex dilemma. There are three guidelines to helping you find out if your insurance is portable and what to do if it is not: South Carolina Medicare Insurance – A Relocation Guide to Choosing a Plan in the Palmetto State.

Filed Under: General, Relocating to SC · Tagged: , ,

Welcome to the SMS Blog!

May 26, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Hello and thank you for stopping by the Secure Medicare Solutions Blog. We’re glad you are here. This blog is a product of Secure Medicare Solutions, an independent, client-driven Medicare Insurance brokerage. Please check back often or subscribe to our feed to stay up-to-date on news and notes about the ever-changing world of Medicare and Medicare Insurance.

Filed Under: General, Uncategorized ·