Medicare Supplemental Insurance

Archive for September, 2009

As an agent for Humana, I received a notice that all of my clients who were insured through Humana would be receiving a letter from them regarding the future of the health care in this country and their Medicare benefits.

Now CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicade Services) has told Humana to stop their mailings of the letter that suggested their Medicare Advantage beneficiaries would loose their benefits through the national healthcare reform.  CMS says these letters are misleading among other things.

Here is a link to the entire story : CMS to Humana: Stop Mailings

Training on the updates for the 2010 year plans are starting to be released by the different companies.  Whether it is for a Medicare Supplement, PDP (drug plan), or the Medicare Advantage plans, it takes a lot of time to keep up on the changes.

Which brings me to my main point, with all the changes that are taking place this year and the changes that we expect to take place over the next few years, make sure your advisor is keeping up so they can give you good advice.  With the number of seniors entering Medicare increasing each year, I also see a flood of new agents that are trying to make a quick buck.  A few questions so ask to make sure you have a good agent:

1. Are you an independent agent, and if so, how many companies are you certified to provide plans from.  (always be aware of the agents that can only provide plans from one company.  If you know anything about insurance, you know there is not one perfect company that works for everyone’s needs.
2. Is your agent accredited by the Better Business Bureau?  To apply with the Better Business Bureau, you have to be in business for a minimum of two years and also not have any complaints on your record before they will even consider your application for accreditation.
3. Does your agent show you options, or tell you that “this is the plan you need”.  Your agent should educated you on your options, with pros and cons and allow you to decide what you feel most comfortable with.  You should not feel dumb for asking questions, it is the agents job to provide you the information so you can make a good decision.

Always ask around to those who have been through the process, make sure you are never pressured and do not hesitate to get a second opinion.

Feel free to call us at 1-888-535-0999 if we can be of help in any way!

Travis