Medicare
Medicare, explained before you have to choose.
Parts, enrollment windows, and two broadly different approaches to the gaps. We lay the shape of it out in plain English. Which way you go is yours to decide.
No obligation. Starting a review does not change or bind any coverage.
What's going on
Somewhere around your 64th birthday the mail starts, and it does not stop. Brochures, postcards, phone calls, and a great deal of confident advice from people who have never asked about your situation. Underneath all of it, Medicare is a small number of decisions taken in a particular order, inside particular windows — and it makes far more sense once someone draws you the shape of it.
Why it matters
Some of these windows open once. Enrolling later than you should can carry a lasting penalty in certain circumstances. The choice between a Medicare Supplement approach and a Medicare Advantage approach also has consequences that are easier to weigh before you make it than to revisit afterwards. None of that means you need to rush. It means it is worth understanding the pieces before a date on a calendar chooses for you.
If your 65th birthday is the reason you are here, the turning 65 walkthrough covers the same ground in the order it tends to happen.
Things worth considering
The points we would talk through with you. Which of them apply depends on your situation, and what you do about them is your decision.
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The parts, in plain terms
Part A covers hospital services. Part B covers medical services. Part D covers prescription drugs. Part C, better known as Medicare Advantage, is a way of receiving your Part A and Part B benefits through a private plan.
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Your Initial Enrollment Period
It runs for seven months: the three months before your 65th birthday month, your birthday month, and the three months after. Some of the windows around Medicare come back around every year. This one does not.
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Whether you are still working
If you or your spouse are still covered by an employer group health plan past 65, the timing changes. How it changes depends on the specific plan and the employer, so it is worth confirming for your situation rather than applying a general rule to it.
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Two different approaches to the gaps
A Medicare Supplement plan works alongside Original Medicare and is standardised by plan letter, so a given letter covers the same things whichever company issues it. A Medicare Advantage plan is a different route altogether, and usually operates a provider network.
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Where prescriptions fit
Alongside Original Medicare, drug coverage is handled separately under Part D. Medicare Advantage plans often build it in. Either way, the specific medications you take belong in the comparison rather than after it.
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The doctors you already see
If staying with particular physicians matters to you, that is worth checking against each option before you choose, not once you have.
You will notice there are no dollar figures on this page. Medicare premiums, deductibles and income-related amounts are set annually, so anything printed here would be out of date before long. We go through the current numbers with you when we talk.
Information on this website is general in nature and is not a complete description of any insurance policy or every coverage option that may be available. Coverage availability, terms, conditions, limits and exclusions vary by insurer, policy and individual circumstances. The issued insurance policy and applicable endorsements control coverage. Beacon Point Insurance Group may provide information regarding available insurance options and discuss coverage considerations based on information you provide, but customers are responsible for selecting the carrier, coverages, limits and deductibles they wish to purchase. No insurance coverage is bound, changed, or canceled through this website unless confirmed by Beacon Point Insurance Group or the applicable insurer.
How this tends to come up
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Retiring at 65
Employer coverage ends and Medicare begins. The sequence and the dates are what keep a gap from opening up between the two.
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Still working, and staying on the group plan
Someone who keeps employer coverage past 65 may be on a different timeline than the standard one. We confirm which applies to you rather than assume it.
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Already on Medicare, and unsure it still fits
Plans change what they cover from one year to the next. Looking again at what you have is a reasonable thing to do even when nothing has gone wrong.
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Helping a parent work through it
Adult children sit in on this conversation all the time. Bring whoever you want in the room with you.
We Learn. We Compare. We Explain. You Decide.
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We Learn
We ask questions about your situation and the insurance you currently carry.
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We Compare
Based on the information you provide, we can obtain and compare available options from the insurance companies we represent.
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We Explain
We help you understand important differences in coverage, limits, deductibles, policy terms, and price.
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You Decide
You select the company, coverages, limits, deductibles, and options you want to purchase.
Keep reading
Let's go through Medicare together.
No obligation. Starting a review does not change or bind any coverage.