Find answers to some of the commonly asked questions about Medicare Insurance and download valuable information.
If you are already collecting Social Security, you will automatically receive your red, white, and blue Medicare card roughly 90 days prior to your Medicare eligibility date.
You can apply for Medicare in any of the following ways:
Online at: ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/
Over the phone by calling Social Security at 800-772-1213
If you require a Part B-only application: You can download the form below, fill it out and drop it off at your local Social Security office.
To locate your local social security office click here.
If you are over the age of 65 and still working, and are about to come off of your group plan and start Part B, your employer needs to fill out the form below, which goes along with the Part B application above, and drop it off at your local Social Security office.
For more information regarding working past 65, click here.
If you are already collecting Social Security, you will automatically receive your red, white, and blue Medicare card roughly 90 days prior to your Medicare eligibility date.
If you are not currently receiving Social Security, Medicare beneficiaries sign up for Medicare the Social Security Administration via one of three ways:
No. Each insurance company files their rates with the respective state insurance commissioners. Therefore the rates direct through the carriers are the same as through a broker like MBG. We shop all the carriers at once saving you time and money by recommending the products that have the best premiums, copays, and networks for each individual client. If you went direct through an insurance carrier, that company can only discuss their products. We can discuss all of the products that we represent as a one-stop shop as we don’t work for the insurance company…we work for you.
We get paid a commission by each insurance company. These commissions vary by product type. The carriers pay us very similarly across product lines so we can confidently say that we don’t care which company or plan our clients choose. We just care that our clients choose us.
To enroll in a Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan, simply contact us so we can choose the plan together that’s right for you. There are many carriers that offer $0 monthly premium plans but they are not all created equally. We look up the doctor networks to ensure your providers take the plan and we do a comprehensive prescription analysis to ensure we choose together. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach as you may have different medical needs and prescriptions than your neighbor or your spouse, so contact us today so we can review the pros and cons specific to each carrier and choose the plan together that’s right for you.
The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period offers a penalty-free opportunity to adjust your Medicare Advantage plan, whether it’s a Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, or another type.
If your Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan is discontinued, you’ll be informed by the insurance company and can choose a new plan at that time. You do NOT need to wait for the Annual Election Period (October 15 through December 7) to choose a new plan. Contact us (please make this a link to our contact form) and we can make all the changes for you.
Changes affecting your Medicare Advantage or prescription drug coverage that are outside of the Annual Election Period (October 15 through December 7) can be made during Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs) throughout the calendar year. There are MANY of these, the most common include: retiring/leaving employer coverage, loss of job, loss of employer coverage, moving/relocating/left service area, you have Medicaid and/or Extra Help, and a disaster had been declared by FEMA. Please contact us anytime during the year and we can discuss your options.
This is the timeframe each year when Medicare Beneficiaries can review the coverages they have in place and make adjustments to their overall plans. It is VERY important to contact us at this time so we can ensure your doctors are still in network and that your prescription drug coverage is still good. The insurance carriers tweak their plans every year and the biggest changes we see are adjustments to the formularies (the list of covered medications). Make sure your drug coverage is correct by contacting us…our time and advice are free!
You can adjust your choices during the AEP, whether for Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Part D, or Medicare supplements, with the last decision being final.
Yes. We’ve been helping folks with Medicare planning for many years. We wouldn’t be very successful if we recommended plans your doctors don’t take! We represent most of the top carriers nationwide, but the doctor networks are all different. We look up each of your doctors to ensure the plans we recommend are accepted at your doctors’ offices.
That’s for us to decide together. Medicare planning is like putting together a big puzzle. We work with each client individually to gather the puzzle pieces and start putting them in place. Medicare insurance is not one-size-fits-all as each person has different needs, health, and budget. We recommend viewing this comparison chart and then giving us a call at (734) 657-4797 to discuss your options.
There are usually many low or even no-premium Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C) options in most areas of the country, and there’s no catch…low and even NO premium! What happens behind the scenes is that Medicare is subsidizing the plan premium. In other words, Medicare is paying for all or most of the premium. The amount of money the insurance company gets from Medicare is dependent largely on the ‘star rating’ of the plan. For example, when performing an ‘eye test’ on a couple zero-premium plans side-by-side, one can usually see that the copays and features of a 4.5-star rated plan look a little bit better across the board than that of a 3.5-star rated plan. This isn’t always the case of course, so we recommend connecting with us so we can comparison shop and discuss features and differences of the plans in your area.
There are various time frames throughout the year that you can choose to leave your Medicare Advantage Part C plan and go back to Original Medicare. When you do this, you should contact us (make this the contact link again) so that we can advise you on the timing of the change. Also, it’s very important that you get approved for a new Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan to go along with the proper coverage for your Part D prescription drug plan. All this sounds complicated, but it’s simple when you use us! So contact us (make this the contact link) today and we’ll review your options.
There are many things that we assist clients with all year long, so if you’ve missed the AEP and think you need to make a change, contact us today so we can advise you of any options that you have. There are other various Enrollment Periods throughout the year that you may qualify for. Or we may review your plan and advise you that missing AEP was just fine because your current plan is still great for you! Contact us today and we’ll discuss your situation.
The Medicare plan Finder tool is designed to be user-friendly. But the various differences and nuances between the dozens of plans are confusing and quite complicated. Trust us to navigate through this as we do the shopping for you! Our time and advice are free, and we get paid very similarly, if not the same, regardless of the plan you’re looking at. Contact us today and we’ll give our unbiased opinion on the plans in your area and help you with the right one for you.
Over the years, we have assisted thousands of Medicare Beneficiaries with the right insurance plans for them. Our time and advice are free, and we get paid very similarly, if not the same, regardless of the plan you’re looking at. Contact us today and we’ll give our unbiased opinion on the plans in your area and help you with the right one for you.
If you don’t qualify for an SEP and missed the AEP, you may have to wait until the next AEP to adjust your Medicare plans, including Medicare supplements and Medicare Advantage plans.
If your Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D plan is satisfactory and available the next year, it will auto-renew. Always review any changes to your Medicare health insurance plan.
MBG Is a Medicare insurance broker out of Commerce Township Michigan
This is a proprietary website and is not associated, endorsed, or authorized by the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This site contains decision-support content and information about Medicare, services related to Medicare, and services for people with Medicare. If you would like to find more information about the Medicare program please visit the Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare located at http://www.medicare.gov
DISCLAIMER:
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 10 organizations which offer 85 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.
Jim Neil | Licensed Agent | CEO
direct: 734-657-4797
email: Jim.Neil@MedicareBenefitsGroup.com