As a Regional Manager for Advocate Health Advisors, Jason Luquire is in the business of helping as many people as possible find the best-fit Medicare plan for their unique needs. A big part of his work is to recruit and develop licensed agents to effectively connect with people in their communities to do just that. But Jason also gets the pleasure of directly helping Medicare-eligible people from time to time.
Plan reviews unveil savings
Jason was referred to a couple that was interested in exploring Medicare options for the husband who had become disabled as the result of a stroke at age 62. To protect the couple’s privacy, we will refer to the husband and wife as Charles and Cindy. Cindy was already enrolled in Medicare but told Jason she’d appreciate if he would do a quick plan review for her as well. “At first glance, I believed Cindy’s existing plan was a good fit,” says Jason. But to be sure, he asked some questions to better understand her current needs.
Jason asked Cindy what she liked about her current plan and what she might like to change (if anything). He suggested conducting a thorough search for available plans including her preferred doctors and medications if she would like, an offer Cindy appreciated and accepted.
Based on the information Cindy shared, Jason discovered she was eligible for a plan that would meet all her needs and would save the couple thousands of dollars per year; $3,348 per year to be more precise.
New plan makes potentially life-saving medication affordable
After learning about this option that would save them a significant amount of money, Cindy was interested to find out more. She said her heart doctor had prescribed another medication but that she had not taken it because the cost was too high. While Jason had not entered this medication in their initial search for other possible plans, he asked Cindy if she’d like him to conduct another search that included it.
This second search generated a new plan comparison that would save Cindy and Charles over $15,000 per year, making it possible for Cindy to take the medication her heart doctor recommended. As you might imagine, Cindy decided to change her plan.
Finding the best Medicare options difficult without a guide
Concerned that an insurance broker had given Cindy poor advice that led her to choose her previous, ill-fitting plan, Jason inquired about how she came to sign-up. Cindy told Jason that she self-enrolled previously, meaning she did her own research and chose the plan she felt would be the best fit.
As anyone 65 or over will likely tell you, the number of brokers and carriers who reach out to help Medicare-eligible individuals enroll can be overwhelming. So it’s understandable why someone might feel so pressured by offers of “help”, they’d rather just do it themselves. Although it is possible to research and enroll in a variety of Medicare plans on your own, it is difficult to get a good view of all that is available.
“Understanding Medicare and accessing the best options based on individual needs can be challenging, even for experts,” explains Jason. “So it’s important to find an individual who will listen to understand all your needs, search for plans across carriers, and provide a full menu of benefits options that would meet those needs.”
Jason discovered that Charles will be eligible to enroll in Medicare in March 2022 and will be back in touch with them closer to that time. In the meantime, he was very happy to be able to help Cindy, and he looks forward to helping more people in the future directly, and through the Advocate Health Advisor’s Agents he helps recruit and train to guide others through the process.
