Take-Home Notes, part five. As this goes up, the first room is filling at Foothills Library in Glendale, and the second one opens this afternoon in Scottsdale. The show ends the way it always has, with a slide that has three boxes on it and one question: which one are you? Everything before it, the two paths, the four words, the calendar, Medicare.gov, was building to that question. Here is the last page of the notes, and at the bottom, every other page too.
Which one are you?
The slide has three boxes. No Medicare yet, or still working. On a Medicare Advantage plan. On a Supplement and Part D. Almost everyone in the room fits one of them, and each box gets a different to-do list. Find yours below and skip the other two.
What if I am not on Medicare yet, or still working?
This box splits three ways. If you are still working and covered by an employer with 20 or more employees, you can stay on the group plan and wait on Parts B and D with no penalty, and the presenters walk through the stay-or-go math side by side, with no emotion, so you know to the penny what leaving will cost. Two warnings from that slide: COBRA does not count as job coverage once you are eligible for Medicare (our piece on COBRA and the Medicare clock has the math), and signing up for Part A while you have a health savings account ends your ability to keep contributing to it. If you are not collecting Social Security, nobody signs you up. Medicare's handbook is plain: if you "AREN'T getting Social Security or RRB benefits, you'll need to sign up for Medicare," online through Social Security or by appointment at 1-800-772-1213. Keep the application summary you get at the end, because it proves your start dates and your Medicare Number. And if you are collecting Social Security, "you'll automatically get Part A and Part B starting the first day of the month you turn 65," with the card in the mail. Still working? You can turn down Part B while a group plan from your current job at an employer with 20 or more employees covers you, and hold off on a drug plan as long as that work coverage is creditable.
What if I am already on an Advantage plan?
Research all of it, in a set order: your doctors, your hospitals, your drug costs, and only then the extras. The order is the point. A plan with a dental allowance you love is no bargain if your cardiologist is not in the network, and part two explained why there isn't just one network to check. Thursday's notes walked through doing that research on Medicare.gov, screen by screen. You have from October 15 to December 7 to switch, and if you switch and change your mind, a second window runs January 1 to March 31, as part three laid out.
What if I am on a Supplement and Part D?
Your drug plan is math: your drugs, your pharmacy, the yearly cost, and it can be checked fresh every fall because drug plans can change their lists and prices every year. Your Supplement is different. You can apply to change it any month of the year, not just in the fall, but health questions may apply outside your first six months on Part B, and part three covered what that means. Since a Plan G from one company has the same basic benefits as a Plan G from another, the Supplement question is really a price question, which is why part one's line from Medicare's booklet matters: price is the only difference between policies with the same letter.
How do I choose someone to help me?
The workshop gives the room six questions to ask anyone who offers. Are you licensed in my state? Medicare.gov is clear that "Independent agents and brokers selling plans must be licensed by the state." Do you offer plans from at least ten different companies? Do you lean toward one plan or another? Do you have real, local people who answer the phone, or is it just you? Can I talk to clients who chose the plan I am looking at? And will you show me a side-by-side comparison of every plan in my county, not just a few? One more thing people ask about: the same Medicare.gov page lists what plans and the people who work with them cannot do, and one of those things is "Charge you a fee to process your enrollment into a plan."
Where are all the take-home notes?
Right here, in the order of the show. Part one, which of Medicare's two paths are you on: the foundation, the five options, and the Supplement scroll. Part two, the four words that decide your bill: copay, deductible, network, and maximum out-of-pocket. Part three, what you can change this fall: every window and what it allows. Part four, Medicare.gov, live: searching the 2027 plans step by step. Each one has an Eddie and Betty podcast episode if you would rather listen.
Your take-home note
Circle your box on the notes sheet: not yet, Advantage, or Supplement and Part D. Under it, write one next step with a date next to it. For most people reading this in October, that date lands between October 15 and December 7. If you were in the room today, thank you for coming. If you were not, now you have the notes. Questions? The advisors are at 602-281-3898.
Still time for this afternoon: Mustang Library, Scottsdale, 2:30 PM. No cost. Register at 123easymedicare.com/medicare-workshop or call (877) 220-1089.
This event is presented by 123EasyMedicare, a brand of American Retirement Advisors, an independent, private organization. It is not sponsored by, endorsed by, or affiliated with Medicare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration, or any government agency. The libraries are not sponsors of, and are not affiliated with, this event. Educational only; not tax, legal, or insurance advice.
Continue the Series
Next: A bigger number is not a clearer number. Take-Home Notes →Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. It is not sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise representative of Medicare or the federal Medicare program. American Retirement Advisors is not a government agency. For official Medicare information, visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).