The plan letter is supposed to show what changed, and this week we read one that did not show either deductible. For 2027, more Advantage plans in Maricopa have a medical deductible, and drug deductibles can reach $700. Where to find your real numbers before October 15.
Since the 2027 plans went live on October 1, our team has pulled every plan in Scottsdale and Las Vegas to get ready for next week's client workshops. More deductibles, higher out-of-pocket limits, a $700 drug deductible cap, and what Medicare.gov cannot show yet.
What yesterday's Medicare workshops taught us. People holding their plan letter still had not caught that things were changing, Medicare.gov is not showing doctor matches for 2027 yet, and the numbers on the screen only help if you know what each one means. Here is what each one means.
The workshop's last section sorts the room into three groups: not on Medicare yet, on an Advantage plan, or on a Supplement with a drug plan. What each group does this fall, the six questions to ask anyone who offers to help, and every section of the show in print, in one place.
This morning Medicare.gov switched to 2027 plans, and the workshop's live demo walks the search click by click. How to search drug plans and Advantage plans, the notes-sheet grid, what the little tooth means, and what the site does not show yet on day one.
Plan letters are due today, and the workshop's calendar slide answers the next question: which Medicare window is yours, what you can change between October 15 and December 7, what happens if you do nothing, and the one change you can apply for any month of the year.
“My full trust is in you folks and always has been since the beginning.”
— Dana B., ARA client since 2019
“Best decision we made years ago in AZ was finding American Retirement Advisors!”
— Ellen K., Scottsdale
“I told my friends I was in the same position and talked to American Retirement Advisors and got my questions answered.”
— Rod H., ARA client
“I was talking to a family friend yesterday and told him what a wonderful job Marc did.”
— Susan S., Mesa
“He comes highly recommended by close friends. I only want to talk to David Edge.”
— Gene M., referred client
“This is my first year in Medicare and your input was extremely helpful.”
— Randy B., new client
We start by learning what you want to accomplish and what you have to work with. We can't help if we don't know the full picture.
We keep the best of what you already have, replace what can be better, and make sure nothing is falling through the cracks.
As life changes, so should your plan. We lock in an annual review to make sure everything is still working for you.
The plan letter is supposed to show what changed, and this week we read one that did not show either deductible. For 2027, more Advantage plans in Maricopa have a medical deductible, and drug deductibles can reach $700. Where to find your real numbers before October 15.
Since the 2027 plans went live on October 1, our team has pulled every plan in Scottsdale and Las Vegas to get ready for next week's client workshops. More deductibles, higher out-of-pocket limits, a $700 drug deductible cap, and what Medicare.gov cannot show yet.
What yesterday's Medicare workshops taught us. People holding their plan letter still had not caught that things were changing, Medicare.gov is not showing doctor matches for 2027 yet, and the numbers on the screen only help if you know what each one means. Here is what each one means.
The workshop's last section sorts the room into three groups: not on Medicare yet, on an Advantage plan, or on a Supplement with a drug plan. What each group does this fall, the six questions to ask anyone who offers to help, and every section of the show in print, in one place.
You would not skip your annual physical, and you should not skip your money's either. To close out our week on financial interactions, here is what actually happens in a real annual review, piece by piece, and the moment from one of ours that I would put up against any product pitch in the country.
One of our clients sees more doctors than anyone I know, and every one of them is careful, thorough, and completely unaware of what the others are doing. His money worked the same way for thirty years. Here is what happens when nobody is the general practitioner, and what it looks like when somebody
Plenty of retirees are carrying a death benefit they forgot about, tucked inside an annuity, an old policy, or a benefit from a job they left years ago. Before you buy new life insurance, take an inventory. The smartest sentence I've heard in a review meeting this year explains why.
You would never take a new medication without checking what it does alongside the ones you already take. But most people buy annuities, life insurance, even funeral policies without asking the same question. One client's story shows why the question matters more than the product.
Four real situations, thirty seconds each: a widow who found four accounts she never knew about, a man who sold his company and felt nothing, a couple whose plan is twenty-two years old, and three kids who will not agree. Plus Greg Frantz on thirty years of Medicare. Hayes's thirty-two-minute cut is
The thing that actually splits families isn't the money. It's a ring, a chair, a photo, and the feeling of being left out. Here is how you hand it all down without anyone stopping speaking.
Asking your parents about their estate feels like reaching for the inheritance. It isn't. It's making sure the plan they built still does what they wanted. Here are the words that open it gently.
The money you give while you are alive to watch it land is worth more than the same money left behind. Here is how to do it without stepping on the parents or spoiling the kids.
