|
|
 |
Attention
Seniors… Beware of Sharks!
By Donna Kemp
A feeding frenzy is about to begin. No, I am not talking about
real sharks. I am referring to the Medicare Annual Enrollment
Period (AEP). The Annual Enrollment Period is the time of year,
set aside by Medicare, during which Medicare beneficiaries can enroll
in or change their Medicare Advantage or Prescription drug plans.
The AEP runs from October 15 to December 7, although insurance
companies and agents can begin marketing to you beginning October 1st.
The problem arises due to the fact that this is the only time of the
year that insurance companies and agents can market their Medicare
Advantage and Prescription Drug plans to you – unless you are new to
Medicare. In my opinion, this leads to very aggressive marketing
behavior. Now don’t get me wrong, just like every shark in the
ocean is not out to bite you, not every agent and insurance company is
out to take advantage of you, but you do need to be aware.
So what steps can you take to protect yourself?
Know what you have. It is extremely important to know what type
of plan you have. Do you have Traditional Medicare Parts A&B
paired with a Medicare Supplement policy, or do you have Part C of
Medicare which is a Medicare Advantage plan? If you have a
Medicare Supplement policy, what plan do you have (A – N)? If you
have a Medicare Advantage plan, do you have a HMO, PPO or PFFS
plan? Do you have a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan or
is it part of your Medicare Advantage plan? These are all
important questions to ask yourself.
Know what you should do. The first thing you should know is that
you don’t have to do anything, unless your plan is terminated for some
reason. If that is not the case, and you are completely happy
with your plan, you can just leave everything “as is.” With that
said, it is important to review any benefit, premium or formulary
changes to your plan. If you have a Medicare Advantage or
Prescription Drug plan, your plan will send you an “Annual Notice of
Change” packet explaining any changes to your plan for 2015.
Don’t assume that because your medication was covered this year that it
will automatically be covered next year. Finally, don’t let any
agent or insurance company lead you to believe that you have to make
any changes.
Know what you can/can’t do. There are a lot of rules surrounding
Medicare, so be careful when you do make any changes. Some
changes could get you disenrolled from a plan you didn’t intend to get
disenrolled from. Don’t assume all agents know these rules.
Know what agents can/can’t do. It is important to know that
agents cannot cold call you in any way, meaning that if you didn’t
invite them, they can’t contact you – except by mail. Be careful
when requesting free information whether by mail or on the
internet. Many times when you request this free information, you
have just given an agent permission to contact you. If you have
made this mistake in the past, you know how many phone calls you can
get. The Ohio Department of Insurance put out an excellent flyer
called, “Medicare & You: Understanding & Protecting Yourself
from Predatory Sales practices.” You can view this form on their
website.
Work with a trusted advisor. When you do have questions or need
to make changes to your plan, make sure you work with a trusted
advisor. An advisor is someone who listens to you and helps you
find a plan that is right for you based on all the options
available. A salesperson is someone who will tell you what you
want to hear so they can sell you a product. Sometimes it’s hard
to tell the difference, so do your homework on this one. How long
have they been in the business? Are they a jack of all trades or
do they focus on senior insurance? Do they have a local
office? Do they have a website to help you research your
options? Do they work with someone you know who can vouch for
them? Are they available during working hours to help you, or do
you just get their voicemail?
If you will do your homework and become knowledgeable in these five
areas, you will have come a long way in protecting yourself and making
sure you don’t get bitten when the feeding frenzy begins October 1st.
If you’d like more information, please contact Donna Kemp at
937-569-4048 or e-mail her at dkemp@premierseniorinsurance.com
|
|
|
<
|
