To the Editor:
I am an Independent Health Insurance Broker and focus only on Medicare Health Insurance Plans. I decided to focus on this area of health insurance and make it my profession after several years working in pharmaceuticals, working for insurance companies and finally, working in the healthcare setting while being a Director at an outpatient surgery center. I also saw firsthand how my own parents didn’t understand their coverage or plan from year to year, nor did they get a check in call or visit from their previous broker or agent about their changing health needs, changes in Medicare Health Insurance Plans available in their County, or changes in Medicare Health Insurance overall.
So, I set out on my mission, which has been to help people understand and enroll in appropriate plans year after year.
I was sitting at Car Show on one of our first beautiful Sundays of 2017, in a local state park with my table cloth out, ready to help people who came up to me with questions. Funny thing was that I was avoided like the plague. It seemed that individuals didn’t want to think about health insurance. The only thing I did get was from a lady that passed by saying, “Why are you here? I’m already signed up and don’t need a plan.”
I don’t know how I thought of this so quickly but I said, “Don’t set it and forget it.” She stopped and turned around with a question mark written all over her face like I was crazy. She came back up to me and asked what I meant by that. I explained that it’s important to not only enroll in a plan that fits your needs when you initially begin Medicare Health Insurance Coverage, but it’s also important as health ebbs and flows, Medicare Health Insurance Plans may change, as well as Medicare may experience changes. And so, the plan that is the most suitable at the initial enrollment may also certainly change.
It occurred to me that many, not all, “Spring Chickens, older adults, or Medicare-eligible, (whatever someone prefers to be called) would rather just set it and forget it. It’s one less thing to worry about. But, regardless of how a person chooses to select a plan for Medicare Health Insurance Coverage, on the Web, with a broker/agent, through an employer, or through an insurance company directly, it is very important to confirm that they are in the most appropriate plan that fits their needs year after year. Please don’t set it and forget it.
Jeanine Fadeley, MHA, Jeanine’s Spring Chickens, LLC, Medicare Healthcare Professionals