Navigating Medicare Multiple Choice - Michigan Elder Law Center

With aging comes great cost: your body slows down, your vision and hearing dwindles, and navigating through problems takes time. The multitude of choices become difficult to sift through, and when you know your days are numbered, how much time do you want to use investigating and making the right choices?

This brings us to Medicare. The first decision is prompted at age 65 ? should you purchase Medicare B, get supplemental policy, go on Medicare D, or punt it all and completely switch to Medicare Advantage? These decisions are troubling, and the opportunity to revisit them continues to present itself until you are dead. Wouldn?t it be comforting to have the situation settled, knowing the right choice has been made, and go on living your life?

What is better for the patient? Multiple plans, with multiple choices, and multiple people looking for an opportunity to sell you on the choice they believe is best for you? Or should Medicare be simplified? Is it possible to provide one government run plan for Medicare that covers basic evidence based medicine with one secondary plan that covers non-evidence based ?extras? for those who are willing to pay for it?

Here is an example of the need for simplicity in Medicare. A couple in their early 70?s was contacted by their insurance agent, who believed they would benefit from a Medicare Advantage plan. But before he could come talk to them, the agent had to notify Medicare that he was going to attempt to sell the couple?s advantage plan. Medicare then called the clients to warn them the agent was going to make money on the sale, which was obvious to the client.

After the meeting the clients contacted their lawyer and wanted to know what they should be aware of and why the agent would make a special trip to change their traditional Medicare supplement they had for years. They were instructed to do the following:

1. Call their doctor and ask what plans the doctor likes. Does the doctor take the plan they are considering?
2. Make certain their medications are covered by the proposed new plan.

They also discovered a few resources to improve their Medicare knowledge: AARP, National Council on Aging, and the actual Medicare ?Plan Finder? site. After being advised to explore the Medicare Plan Finder site, they, who were active pillars in the community, and extremely smart and optimistic skeptics, were greeted with a number of difficult unpleasantries.

They had to input all of their medications, the site asked if they wanted to switch to generics, they had to find their pharmacy, then they were given multiple choices of plans. Even worse ? the site did not let them know if their doctor was on a particular plan. After calling their doctor?s office they learned that their primary care doctor did not take ?Medicare replacement plans.?

This particular agent has a good reputation, so it seemed precarious why the agent made the trip to see the couple when they had not heard from him in years? As it turns out, this particular insurance company gives bonuses if an agency sells a certain number of Medicare Advantage plans.

Medicare is complicated, and asking seniors to make these crucial decisions every year is absurd. Each year, seniors will be pitched on the best plan for them, and who knows what is behind the pitch. Contact Michigan elder law attorney Christopher Berry if you are ever approached by an agent to switch Medicare plans.

Read more:
http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml

Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas ofestate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning. Follow Christopher on Twitter@chrisberryesq

Source: http://michiganelderlawcenter.com/navigating-medicare-multiple-choice/

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