Do you need a medicare insurance agent?
Navigating Original Medicare, Medicare Supplement Insurance plans, or Medicare Advantage plans can be overwhelming. When first learning about Medicare options, the internet is a great place to start. You may want to ask family members and friends who have Medicare if they like their Medicare plans. Additionally, there are community resources to help you understand your options. If you would like personal guidance to choose what’s best for your unique needs and lifestyle, an Medicare insurance agent may be helpful in guiding you through the process.
What Is an Agent?
An agent is a licensed professional who can help educate you about your Medicare options and enroll you in additional health care coverage. Captive agents work directly for the insurance carriers and can only offer health plans from one company. Independent agents are usually appointed with several insurance carriers and can offer a variety of health plans. All of our agents are currently appointed with all of the carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans in our home county and most other health plans offered in Michigan.
How Does an Agent Help You With Medicare Choices?
A Medicare agent can help you narrow down your options based on your doctors, medications, and personal preferences. To do this, they’ll learn about your health goals and budget. They’ll present you with options to meet your goals within your budget. They can help you enroll in the plan you choose. You can also contact an agent to help you change plans if the one you’re enrolled in changes coverage or doesn’t meet your needs. Medicare agents provide their services at no cost to you.
How Does an Agent Get Paid?
Agents are either employed by healthcare companies or have a contract with the companies to sell their plans. They’re typically paid by commission. When an agent enrolls you into a health plan, they receive both an initial payment and ongoing renewal payments that may last as long as you remain enrolled in that health plan. If you change your health plan with assistance from your agent, they will continue to receive renewal payments. Your agent has an incentive to provide good service.
Why Work with an Agent?
Although there is no requirement to work with an agent, you may choose to do so for the following reasons:
- Access to data that you otherwise may not have access to
- Offer a variety of plans, so recommendations are unbiased
- They know and understand the federal and state programs that are available to help people with financial limitations
- Better quality support
- Personalized service
- People who care about you
In simpler terms, they provide you with the most unbiased, cost-effective, and strongest policy recommendations.
What Should You Consider When Choosing an Agent?
Licensure – You should only work with agents that are licensed by your state insurance department. You can confirm that an agent is licensed by visiting the state insurance department’s website.
Location – The internet made it possible for agents to be located anywhere. National tele-sales centers often use flashy advertising to drive sales, but remote agents will have limited knowledge about the health providers in your area and may be unable to service your needs appropriately. Local agents may have hundreds of clients in your area and are better able to assist you if provider-related issues arise in the future.
Benefits of Working with an Agent
Navigating Medicare
Medicare can be complex. There are numerous plans, plan combinations, benefits, rules, and exceptions — all of which can be confusing. Buying health insurance is a huge investment, so you want to find a plan that meets your needs. An ethical and knowledgeable agent can help you get excellent coverage and cost savings. Agents or brokers who sell health insurance products related to Medicare have to pass a test on their knowledge of Medicare every year.
Searching Multiple Companies
You might have to check with multiple insurance companies to find the best health plan for your individual needs. One of the benefits of working with an independent Medicare agent is that they represent many health insurance companies. They can present you with plan options from different carriers, increasing your chances of finding the right fit.
Medical Underwriting
If you want to buy a Medicare Supplement Insurance policy (also called Medigap) after your open enrollment period (the guaranteed issue period), insurance companies may use medical underwriting and set the premium based on your current health condition. They may also refuse to sell you the policy based on any health issues you have. A Medicare agent can help you figure out if you’ll meet the underwriting requirements for the plan you want.
When Can You Switch Your Insurance Agent?
Some insurance carriers allow you to select a new agent of record without having to change your health plan. If you are already signed up for a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, you can change your plan during an enrollment period. If you already enrolled in a Medigap plan, you can enroll in a different Medigap plan at any time, but you may need to pass medical underwriting. If an insurance agent assists with these changes, they will become your agent of record.
Next Steps
It’s up to you whether you want to work with a Medicare agent. Using a knowledgeable and ethical agent can make your search for a health plan significantly easier and faster. Since they provide their services at no cost to you, you have nothing to lose by trying an agent near you.
By completing and submitting the requested information in this form, you agree to allow a licensed sales representative to contact you regarding information related to Medicare health plans and health insurance plans, products, services and/or educational information related to health care.