Hello! If you ever have questions about television ads or phone calls saying you are entitled to more benefits, this is the webinar for you. Lots of people wonder what the differences between a Medicare Supplement and Part C Medicare Advantage Plans are and we’re here to make it nice and clear for you.

This video is also a great resource for relearning the basics of Medicare and the main things to think about when you are selecting the type of coverage you feel most comfortable with.

Hey, everyone! We’re back again this year with an updated recording of our Medicare.gov Plan Finder Tool Guide seminar! All you have to do is press Play on the video below to begin your journey into Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder Tool as it works in 2022/23.

The Plan Finder Tool is the most reliable way to simultaneously compare your drug costs across all the available Part D drug plans and Part C Advantage plans. In this video, we will start from the beginning with how to input your medicines correctly, then move into understanding how to read the Plan Details which shows what the costs for your medicines will be.  By knowing how to use the Plan Finder Tool, you can determine if your drug plan will still be the most cost-effective for you for the coming year and help you to decide if you might benefit from a change.

This is how we review your drug coverage and are certainly still here and available to review your plan for you like we’ve always done. To request a review from us, or if you’d like us to double-check any plan changes you’d like to make, download our review forms from www.imagineinsadv.com/resources.    If you’d like to change your plan, we would love to be able to continue supporting your policies. We can only support your policy if you allow us to help you complete the enrollment. We can send you an electronic application or paper signature pages to sign to complete that change. Just reach out to Madeline or Allison to let us know which plan you want to enroll in.

Thank you for spending your time with us! Hopefully you’ve learned something new or have refreshed your education. We are here for you as things change with Medicare and look forward to continuing our relationship with you as a trusted resource for Medicare coverage options.

Have a great day.

Hello, clients and friends! This video will answer most of the questions you have about the different options you have to completing your Medicare coverage. If you have questions about ads you see on television or phone calls you receive saying you can “get a plan for $0” or “are entitled to benefits you are not receiving,” then this is a must-watch for you.   If you wonder why your drug costs may fluctuate throughout the year, this video will explain the reasons.

To make the video big, just click the box in the lower right hand corner of the video.

Have a lovely day!

Here is our recorded webinar for how to use the Medicare.gov Plan Finder Tool to compare Part D drug plans (and the drug coverage in Part C Medicare Advantage Plans) and to investigate your plan’s drug costs. No need to be taken to Youtube, just press play and learn something new today. (To make the video full screen, just click the box in the bottom-right corner in the video.)
Have a lovely day, everybody!

We had some online seminars in May about how if you feel your Medicare Supplement premium is getting too high, what are your options? In case you couldn’t attend one of our live sessions or would like to watch it at your leisure, the link to our Youtube video is below.

To change your Medicare Supplement, even if you stay with your same insurance carrier, you have to go through underwriting (health questions and a three-year lookback at your medical records.)  If you are willing to reduce your benefits to lower your premium, you have that option as long as you can pass underwriting.

Click this link to learn about the underwriting questions and if you could pass to change your plan, and what the coverage differences are between your plan options.

https://youtu.be/Rua16ZypK2I

You may be receiving a letter from Anthem about a class action suit. You will get this letter if you have Individual coverage or were on an Anthem Group plan from Feb 7, 2008 to Oct 16, 2020. Apparently, two different Blue Cross companies agreed to not compete in certain markets which violated anti-trust laws. You need to fill out a form to participate in the settlement. If you have questions about filling out the form, call the toll free number below.
MEMBER RESOURCES:
• The settlement website, at www.BCBSsettlement.com
• A toll-free inquiry number, which is 888.681.1142
• An email address, which is info@BCBSsettlement.com
To learn more and to file an online claim, visit www.bcbssettlement.com. Although we anticipate that policyholders will receive a notice regarding the opportunity to participate, you don’t need to wait to receive that notice before submitting your claim.
Here’s what you’ll need to file:
• Company information:
o Company name
o Primary address
o Name and title of company contact
o Phone number and email address
• Plan information:
o Plan name (Anthem Indiana you will choose Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. d/b/a Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield)
o BCBS group number
o Coverage start date
o Coverage end date

There have been a number of ads on TV about a Medicare Advantage plan paying your Part B premium. This is known as the “Part B Premium Giveback.” These plans vary by state and county. Not all areas will have a Giveback plan. In KY, there is currently only one plan that offers this. As you know if you’ve met with us, a Medicare Advantage plan is where a private insurance company is paid money by the government to provide your Medicare benefits (outsourcing Medicare, essentially.) They receive a fee each month for each member of the plan. These plans’ benefits can vary each year as they are a one year contract with Medicare, but they must cover at least what Original Medicare does. Advantage Plans have copays for all visits and services up to a maximum-out-of-pocket.

The way the giveback works is that the amount that Medicare is deducting from your check is reduced. So, if the giveback on a plan is $50, then your Part B premium they take from your check will not be $148.50 but will be $98.50. If the state is paying your Part B premium because you have the Medicare Savings Plan (a form of Medicaid), then this type of plan will not benefit you. You will not get an extra $50 from Social Security.

If you think this sort of plan is appealing, you need a valid Special Election Period to enroll in the plan outside of the Annual Enrollment Period (Oct 15th – Dec 7th.) During the Annual Enrollment Period, you would have a chance to enroll in a Giveback plan if it is available in your area.  If you have a Medicare Supplement, you must drop it in order to enroll in the Advantage Plan. There could be consequences to getting your Supplement back in the future.

We are familiar with all the plans available in this area. If you would like to review your options, please give us a call. We are here to help you determine if an Advantage Plan is right for you. There is no obligation or pressure to chat or meet with us and as always, there is no fee for our assistance.

Our Office’s Covid Guidelines

Per the CDC and KY Commonwealth guidelines and for the safety of everyone, we are changing the way we physically do business. We offer, and prefer virtual appointments via Webex, Zoom or a phone/e-mail appointment at this time and the intermediate future.

We are taking every precaution to keep you, our clients and ourselves healthy. Since some of our clients have vulnerable health conditions, we are taking protection seriously.

These are the things our office is doing to ensure we do not contribute to the spread of the virus:

• Employees take their temperature before they come to the office every day.
• All employees have been provided masks to wear.
• We disinfect all surfaces (like the employees’ desks, conference room, chairs, copiers, door knobs, and light switches) at the end of every day.
• No one (except our employees) are allowed beyond the waiting area. Clients are only permitted in the conference room and restroom. This has been our protocol since March 18th.
• Our office is fully cleaned every week.

If you require an in-person appointment, we have instituted the following process and have installed safeguards to minimize the risk for potential virus spread:

1. If you are not feeling well, are coughing or have a fever, please reschedule your appointment when you are not sick or opt for a virtual appointment.
2. Only one client in the office at any time.
3. Enter the office and stop at the X on the floor. This is 8 feet from our receptionist, Gina.
4. Let Gina know your name and go back through the door to wait in the foyer for your agent. The chairs in the foyer are disinfected after every appointment.
5. Your agent will receive you through the opposite door that goes directly to our conference room. We disinfect the table, chairs and pens after every appointment.
6. You will sit at one end of the table and the agent will sit at the other. This is an 8 foot distance with a plexiglass barrier in the middle.
7. It is recommended that you wear a face mask while in the meeting unless your health precludes it. The agent will wear their mask as another layer of protection.
8. You may use the restroom, but cannot go anywhere else in the office. Our restroom is right next to the conference room.

We appreciate your understanding and participation in the safety of everyone.

Reading reviews for products or professionals that you want to use is always a wise choice because it gives you confidence backed by other people’s experience.  We work hard to clearly and fully present plan material when you meet with us so that you can fully understand your options and make the the best coverage choice for yourself. We also create take-home papers and packets that reiterate all the points we discussed and an overview of your coverage so that you have quick and easy reference materials if you have questions afterwards.   If you’ve been happy with the service we provide, please consider writing us a review on Google. We would love to know that you’ve benefited from working with us and want other members of our community to know that they are in good, trusted hands when they call us for help.  We appreciate your support and look forward to being here for you in the future if your coverage needs change or if you have questions about your plans.

In the service industry, not always is a professional’s style a right fit for everyone, so we are sorry if we didn’t live up to your expectations, but if you haven’t been happy with our service, please consider reaching out to us to let us know where we fell short instead of leaving a bad review. And remember that if you were unhappy with your insurance carrier, it wasn’t necessarily our actions that resulted in that experience. Prior to recommending a plan for you, we take information that you provided us to choose plans that best fit your actual needs. We do our best to only place you with carriers that we have good experience with and that we feel comfortable recommending to ourselves and our own families. If you have a bad experience with your insurance carrier, we would like to know so that we can be alerted if a particular carrier is more difficult to work with than others. We use that feedback to adjsut our recommendations in the future and to follow up with those carrier’s higher-ups, which helps the organization fix their deficiancies.

Here is how to leave us a review on Google:

1. You need a Google account to write a review, so sign into Google with your account or create one.   You sign in at www.google.com.
2. Search for “Imagine Insurance Advisors” in the search bar.
3. We will appear at the top of the search results. On the right of the search results page will be a box with our information in it.
4. Look for “Reviews” in that box.
5. Click on “Write a review”.
6. You can rate us with stars and leave a comment.
7. When you are finished, click “Post” and you are done.
8. Thank you for your review! It’s been delightful working with you.

Throughout the year, we take calls from clients saying that someone called them saying things along the lines of “there are changes to Medicare and you’re not receiving the benefits you are entitled to,” or “if you have the Plan F, it is going away and you will lose your coverage.”  Today, I want to clarify what these people mean and what they want from you so that you aren’t worried for your coverage or make a change to your coverage that may be irreversible.

“My Plan F will be cancelled?!?!”

Firstly, NO. If you have the Plan F, you can keep it and it will NOT be cancelled or taken away from you. The news you hear about F going away pertains to people turning 65 AFTER 1/1/2020. There are lots of agents and call centers that are using false statements about the F “going away” in order to try to get you to buy something from them. The hard and quick fact is that if you are turning 65 after 1/1/2020, you will not be able to buy the F. That is all. Again, if you have the F, you get to keep it. Some agents and call centers are also assuming that Plan F premiums will skyrocket and are using that as a high-pressure sales tactic. When we look historically at other plans that were discontinued and their rate of premium increase, it does not justify the assumption that the F will “blow up.”  If you have concern for the future of your rate stability, we can discuss with you the option of moving down to the Plan G (same as the F except you pay the Part B deductible) and if you would pass underwriting (health questions/recent medical history) to do so.

“Changes to Medicare and your plan doesn’t cover them.”

Every single time someone calls you or sends you mail that says there are changes to Medicare’s coverage and that your plan has holes/doesn’t cover new services, they are going to try to sell you a Medicare Advantage plan (MAPD) or a home-healthcare policy.  There have been no changes in Original Medicare’s coverage that a Medicare Supplement would not cover. When Medicare updates its deductibles/copays/co-insurance, your Supplement automatically reflects any changes and your benefits remain the same. Advantage plans and home-healthcare policies are not bad things, but they may not be suitable for your particular situation or be the type of insurance you want because the costs are different.

A lot of marketing callers like to tout the routine vision/dental/hearing and over-the-counter benefits of a Medicare Advantage plan, which are great additional benefits that you don’t get with a Supplement, but you have to make the trade-off of always having copays for visits/services and a network of doctors. Lots of people love their Medicare Advantage plan and the extra benefits that you can access from them, but MAPDs aren’t for everyone and not everyone feels comfortable with the potentially high accrual of copays in the event that a serious or unexpected change happens in your health. If you think that your Supplement is no longer suitable for you and would like to investigate a Medicare Advantage plan, call us because we have been here for you and always look out for your best interest. We want you to receive ALL the pros and cons and be well informed before you make a coverage change because sometimes, depending on your health, changing can have long-term consequences to your options.