Do you ever meet with your Medicare Insurance Agent?

[Snazzylass]

I've used this same agent for a couple of years. We've never met. I did get really tripped up at the beginning of the year when I got a bill for Part D. I didn't think I needed to pay it since it was zero cost the year before. In hindsight, I think I signed up before the actual costs were determined in December. Lesson learned!

Anyway, my agent is an older woman. We seem to know many people in common, and she has always suggested we get together for coffee or lunch to meet. So, now my son tells me I need Dental Insurance. I think he's right. I should look into it as our dentist retired. I actually was a licensed Health & Life Insurance agent and sold these products, but it's been 10 or so years. And ever since I was hit by a truck riding my bike (TBI), I really have to take my time and right things down and study them. I want to be an informed, knowledgeable consumer.

So, I emailed the agent on Aug 10th. No response. I called and left a message today. One of the young bucks who works for her called me back. Boy, did he give me the run around. Namely, he said all appointments are done over the phone. They never meet with anyone in person because they are located in the same neighborhood I am (he didn't ask me where I am. He just stated the name of the village. I'm sure I could walk or ride my bike). And, my Medicare agent does not do Dental, but her son does.

I think this is odd. I've never had an agent who I've not met - well, one for my house (but I was out of state at the time) and have since switched. I think this is a Generational thing. It's more efficient and less time consuming for them to do everything over the phone.

What's your experience?

 

[Luanne]

Nope. He is in Texas, I am in New Mexico. We only deal with each other over the phone. And I've had very little contact with him. Once when I first signed up and two other times when I changed companies to lower my rate.

 

[jackio]

We meet with ours every year in October. She is also available by email to answer questions throughout the year.

 

[Timeshare Von]

I/we initially met ours when I was preparing to go on Medicare and evaluating advantage plan options. No need to meet any more, but we do have at least an annual conversation by phone or email around the renewal time. She handled my DH's policy work by phone when he turned 65 earlier this year.

 

[Snazzylass]

Nope. He is in Texas, I am in New Mexico. We only deal with each other over the phone. And I've had very little contact with him. Once when I first signed up and two other times when I changed companies to lower my rate.

That's actually kind of interesting that your agent is out of state. Was he recommended to you? Very easy for health insurance agents to get licensed in other states... unlike real estate.

 

[DeniseM]

Our agent is local and we meet with her as needed. However, we do submit a form to her every fall covering our medical and prescription needs and she reviews it to make sure we have best policies to cover our needs. With a history of stroke & heart issues, DH takes some pricey drugs, so she sometimes changes his coverage.

As far as dental coverage - we have been told by both our dentists and our agent that there are no worthwhile dental insurance plans. YMMV

 

[Luanne]

That's actually kind of interesting that your agent is out of state. Was he recommended to you? Very easy for health insurance agents to get licensed in other states... unlike real estate.

Yes, he was recommended by a neighbor who had used him. He is licensed to provide insurance in my state.

When my premiums have gone up I check to see what else is available in my area, either through AARP or through AON, the company that administers healthcare insurance for the company I retired from. So far what the insurance agent has found for me has been the least expensive.

And we don't take out dental insurance either.

 

[Snazzylass]

Our agent is local and we meet with her as needed. However, we do submit a form to her every fall covering our medical and prescription needs and she reviews it to make sure we have best policies to cover our needs. With a history of stroke & heart issues, DH takes some pricey drugs, so she sometimes changes his coverage.

As far as dental coverage - we have been told by both our dentists and our agent that there are no worthwhile dental insurance plans. YMMV

I definitely understand what they are saying about dental insurance. I felt that way when I had it as a product to sell. This is why I want to thoroughly explore it. I do wonder!

It sounds like you have a great agent! I love that she gets a form of your prescriptions. They always want to know that but what a great process for the customer and the agent to be thorough.

 

[Snazzylass]

Yes, he was recommended by a neighbor who had used him. He is licensed to provide insurance in my state.

oh I never doubted that he's licensed in NM. It's as simple as mailing a check for a nominal amount to obtain a reciprocal license.

 

[Tia]

We use a local agent and meet annually if we choose to make an appointment, which we have.

 

[WinniWoman]

Didn’t even consider using ann agent for a Medicare. I took care of getting my husband signed up.

But for me, since I needed to be on an ACA plan first and had a little trouble with applying, I decided to use a navigator. And so when it was time for me to transition to Medicare I just let him handle it and then let him take over my husbands policy as well. ( in other words I gave him a nice gift- commission off both our policies - even though I was the one who chose the Medicare plans and insurance company)

The drug plan we get through Via Benefits since my husbands former employer will give us $120 per month in an HRA if we use them for at least one type of Medicare plan.

Dental insurance we don’t have. So far we’ve been paying out of pocket at a hospital based clinic with limited services. Rates have recently gone up, however, from $40 per visit to $64 and now for 2027 will be $128.

But to answer your question: No do not meet with him and in fact never met him. Everything done over the phone, but yes, he is in our resident state of New Hampshire.

 

[WorldT]

I don't have Medicare (not old enough) but I helped my aunt sign up. I did not use an agent, didn't need to. I guess you could say I was her agent, just not the paid one. I used the Medicare website to compare.

 

[Snazzylass]

"my husbands former employer will give us $120 per month in an HRA if we use them for at least one type of Medicare plan."

Wow, @WinniWoman that's quite a benefit!

"Dental insurance we don’t have. So far we’ve been paying out of pocket at a hospital based clinic with limited services. Rates have recently gone up, however, from $40 per visit to $64 and now for 2027 will be $128." - I can confirm that this is still a bargain

 

[AnnaS]

I did meet with an agent when I just recently signed up with Medicare/prescription and supplement. I probably could have done it myself. I am not sure if I will meet with him again or if he will check in with me yearly.

I have no vision coverage. Not worried. I can get a medical visit and have my eyes checked which I have been doing for many years and just pay for eyeglasses if needed.

I have no dental. I looked into it. I could have gone with AETNA with no waiting period since I was already with AETNA. I compared AETNA and a number of companies/plans with or without waiting period. The max yearly coverage is very low with all of them. Barely covers a cap. There is insurance and discount plan. I am not even sure it's worth getting a discount plan. For now I have decided to pay as I go.

If your medical needs change/heavy on prescriptions - you might want to meet with an agent again to compare plans if you feel you might need to.

 

[WinniWoman]

"my husbands former employer will give us $120 per month in an HRA if we use them for at least one type of Medicare plan."

Wow, @WinniWoman that's quite a benefit!

"Dental insurance we don’t have. So far we’ve been paying out of pocket at a hospital based clinic with limited services. Rates have recently gone up, however, from $40 per visit to $64 and now for 2027 will be $128." - I can confirm that this is still a bargain

Oh yes. It is still worth it. Been using them for 6 years now.

They do a full cleaning and all X-rays, plus the dentist does the exam for that price. So we go twice per year.

If you need work done like a cavity filled it was $140. Not sure what it is now since haven’t needed anything done recently. The only thing is it can take a long time to get an appt for the work to get done.

And They refer out for endo work.

And yes. The HRA benefit is nice and we’ve taken advantage of it for sure! The money doesn’t stay in there very long as I save up receipts for everything and submit them every month. And there’s never enough money to cover everything between a few MD bills, a few copays for prescriptions occasionally, and over the counter things, of which there are many.

 

[chriskre]

I don’t have an agent yet. I am still using my retirement insurance as my secondary payor and they still offer group dental. When I turn 65 I will need an agent since my employer will kick me out.

I just called Medicare directly and used their agents to sign up my mom with her plan D and secondary insurance. She has Medicaid for her secondary so they were very good about getting me a plan that covers all her meds and let’s her go to any doctor or hospital of our choice. I took her out of the terrible advantage plan she was in. Now she’s in original Medicare with a Medicaid supplement. This is something that was not advertised anywhere. I learned it from the rehab medicine doctor who recommended I do it. She was right. But it’s complicated for many to navigate. Luckily I am a retired nurse. I did it because her advantage plan didn’t want to pay her rehab. Medicare paid 100 days after I switched her and we avoided her ending up in a nursing home.

 

[davidvel]

What is a medicare agent? You do not need an agent for medicare. Maybe for ancillary plans, but not for medicare.

 

[Snazzylass]

I don’t have an agent yet. I am still using my retirement insurance as my secondary payor and they still offer group dental. When I turn 65 I will need an agent since my employer will kick me out.

I just called Medicare directly and used their agents to sign up my mom with her plan D and secondary insurance. She has Medicaid for her secondary so they were very good about getting me a plan that covers all her meds and let’s her go to any doctor or hospital of our choice. I took her out of the terrible advantage plan she was in. Now she’s in original Medicare with a Medicaid supplement. This is something that was not advertised anywhere. I learned it from the rehab medicine doctor who recommended I do it. She was right. But it’s complicated for many to navigate. Luckily I am a retired nurse. I did it because her advantage plan didn’t want to pay her rehab. Medicare paid 100 days after I switched her and we avoided her ending up in a nursing home.

Wow! That's fantastic! I am so glad you were able to get her switched

 

[Snazzylass]

I did meet with an agent when I just recently signed up with Medicare/prescription and supplement. I probably could have done it myself. I am not sure if I will meet with him again or if he will check in with me yearly.

I have no vision coverage. Not worried. I can get a medical visit and have my eyes checked which I have been doing for many years and just pay for eyeglasses if needed.

I have no dental. I looked into it. I could have gone with AETNA with no waiting period since I was already with AETNA. I compared AETNA and a number of companies/plans with or without waiting period. The max yearly coverage is very low with all of them. Barely covers a cap. There is insurance and discount plan. I am not even sure it's worth getting a discount plan. For now I have decided to pay as I go.

If your medical needs change/heavy on prescriptions - you might want to meet with an agent again to compare plans if you feel you might need to.

Excellent points! TY!! Yeah, maybe the dental insurance available to retirees is not worth it. I don't believe anyone has posted that they have it. On the other hand, when it's through one's employer, the numbers may look different. I had it when I worked and it was a good value then...

 

[chriskre]

Excellent points! TY!! Yeah, maybe the dental insurance available to retirees is not worth it. I don't believe anyone has posted that they have it. On the other hand, when it's through one's employer, the numbers may look different. I had it when I worked and it was a good value then...

I still have it thru my employer and it is thru Delta dental and is pretty generous. I think the max is $1900 a year
The PPO is expensive though. It’s $50 a month so if you don’t use all your benefits then you’re wasting money that year. I downgraded to the HMO to $20 a month and it is more restrictive but covers about the same thing with just higher copayments so YMMV. I don’t have any dental issues so far and hopefully will continue but you never know.

 

[chriskre]

Wow! That's fantastic! I am so glad you were able to get her switched

Yeah it was a stressful time fighting with her advantage plan at the time Cigna.
They in the end did end up paying the first 2 weeks until her switch over to original Medicare kicked in but they probably would not have had they not known I was taking her out of the plan.
Can you believe that they are now calling her to come back to the plan?
Unbelievable

 

[AnnaS]

Excellent points! TY!! Yeah, maybe the dental insurance available to retirees is not worth it. I don't believe anyone has posted that they have it. On the other hand, when it's through one's employer, the numbers may look different. I had it when I worked and it was a good value then...

If my husband had not passed - I would have had dental/vision/secondary insurance. Now I have to pay for it without dental/vision. It is what it is. Compare companies/check if your dentist accept the discount plan or insurance - but I found not worth it. My own dentist has their own discount plan also. But it's not any better than the plans I checked.

 

[Luanne]

What is a medicare agent? You do not need an agent for medicare. Maybe for ancillary plans, but not for medicare.

I'm sure what everyone is referring to is an agent for the ancillary plans.

Just before I turned 65 our State Farm Agent sent a letter letting me know I could come in to him for an explanation of supplemental Medicare plans. My husband and I both went in (even though he already had a Medicare Supplemental plan). The agent was very helpful in explaining the different options. We already knew we wanted Supplemental not Medicare Advantage Plans. State Farm did offer the Supplemental Plans but they cost more than what I could get elsewhere.

 

[Passepartout]

We had one (same Medicare plan for both of us), then for 2026, they stopped doing Medicare supplement, so... We found a local independent agent. DW is on one plan, and because I'm on a VA (small) disability, VA covers my prescriptions and Medicare gives me an extra $106 a month! Woo Hoo!

 

[Snazzylass]

Yes, I can.

While in general one often has to go through underwriting to switch from an Advantage Plan to a Supplemental, I believe there are 4 states which allow it automatically - Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut .. and can't recall the 4th. Also, many specialty systems like John Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic no longer will take an Advantage Plan, or at least that's my understanding.