Medicare, from your side of the table

Your Medicare, Checked Line by Line

Bring the notices, the pill bottles and the names of the doctors you trust. Held side by side, they show which plan really fits.

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Where the help starts

Three Piles That Usually Land on the Table

See every service

The mail pile

Each notice is opened, sorted and explained in turn.

The pill bottles

Each pill is checked against every plan's drug list.

The doctor names

Your current doctors are looked up in every network.

How it works around here

Medicare Explained From Your Side of the Table

A brochure makes every plan look fine. Next to your pharmacy receipts and your specialist's name, the picture changes, and that is the view I work from.

Your last year counts

Your visits, refills and bills set the measure for any plan.

Ask whenever you like

Send a question whenever a letter arrives or a rule changes.

More on how I work
An older couple going through their Medicare papers together
Worth settling early

Four Decisions Hiding Inside One Medicare Card

1

When to sign up

Your first window opens before your birthday month and shuts after it. Missing it can add a penalty that does not go away.

2

Two kinds of plan

The government runs one and accepts any doctor who takes it. The second is a private plan with its own network and extras.

3

Drug coverage

Part D plans price the very same pill differently. Matching your list to a plan's tiers is where most of the saving hides.

4

Filling the gaps

A Medigap policy picks up costs that Original Medicare leaves behind, and the letter you go for sets how much it will pay.

A visitor going over Medicare paperwork at a table
Heard across the table

Words From People Who Sat Down With Their Paperwork

I turned up with a shoebox of letters and left knowing which two mattered. The check of my drug list alone saved me from the wrong plan.
Hazel B.Brought a whole pile of mail
My plan and my husband's were compared side by side, doctor by doctor. No one rushed me, and every question I wrote in got a full reply.
Stanley R.Brought a list of nine pills
The yearly notice meant nothing to me until it was gone through with me line by line. Now I know exactly what changed and what it costs.
Mildred P.Brought two plans to size up
I kept my specialist, my pharmacy and most of my budget. The plan I almost signed up for online would have dropped two out of the three.
Gladys W.Brought the name of a doctor
Asked more than once

Questions That Come Up at Nearly Every Table

No. If your plan still fits, you can leave it alone. A quick yearly check is still worth doing, because plans change their drug lists, networks and prices, and the yearly notice tells you exactly what moved.

Coverage from a current employer can let you delay some parts of Medicare without a penalty. The size of the employer and the type of coverage both matter, so it is worth checking before your birthday month.

Often, yes. With Original Medicare, any doctor who accepts it can see you. With an Advantage plan, it depends on the network, so every doctor you depend on is looked up carefully before any plan gets chosen.

No. Going through your details only shows you how the plans compare against one another. If you decide to enroll, that step stays yours to take, and it can proceed with or without further assistance from me.

Medigap sits beside Original Medicare and pays a share of what it leaves behind. An Advantage plan swaps it for a private version of the coverage, often adding dental or eye care and setting its own network.

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