Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Medicare three sixty, where the world of Medicare
is simplified and you are empowered to make informed healthcare choices.
With over two decades of experience and insurance and financial
solutions with host licensed insurance agents Jennifer Lee, you are
guided through the ins and outs of Medicare, whether you
(00:22):
are nearing retirement, navigating your options, or just curious about
what's available. Everything you need to know is covered. Tune
in for knowledgeable insights, tips and answers to your Medicare
questions so you can take charge of your health and
your future. And now Medicare three sixty.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Welcome to today's Medicare three sixty show. I'm your host,
Jennifer Lee, and we are diving in on the Medicare
New Handbook and we are down to the home stretch.
We are on page one oh six out of one
twenty eight, so let us begin. We ended off on
(01:06):
your Medicare rights and protections on section eight, and then
plans must follow marketing rules. Got a lot to say
on this, but let's go ahead. Medicare plans and agents
must follow certain roles when marketing their plans and getting
your enrollment information. Plans don't need your personal information to
(01:27):
provide a quote. Medicare plans can't sign you up for
a plan over the phone unless you call them an
as to sign up or you've given them permission to
contact you. Important call one eight hundred Medicare to report
any plans or agents that ask for your personal information
(01:49):
over the phone or email call to enroll you in
a plan, visit you unexpectedly use false information to mislead you.
You could also call the Investigations Medicare Drug Integrity Contractor
one DASH medic at eight seven seven safe seven Safe RX,
(02:09):
which is eight seven seven seven seven two three three
seven nine. The imetic fights fraud, waste and abuse in
Medicare advantage plans and Medicare drug plans. So let's touch
on this because it is just such a growing concern.
(02:30):
You get a million phone calls when you're turning sixty
five during annual Roman or just doing.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Year round. So the thing is if you did not.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Okay this is for Medicare advantage, if you did not
ask to be called on, that person should not call you.
So what typically happens is that there are these call
centers that hire people to call you and qualify you
(03:13):
and send inbound lead to a licensed.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Agent to make a sale.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
So just keep in mind if you did not talk
to this person or ask for them to call you
or give them permission, then really they're not in compliance.
The thing is, sometimes clients tell me, Jennifer, I never
I never talked to this person, but they enruled me
(03:41):
and so forth.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
The thing is, anytime you click on a Facebook lead
ad or like something on the internet, then that allows
them to call you because you clicked on the link,
be it on accident or at just a time, it
just seems so enticing that you did that, and then
(04:06):
your phone will ring off the hook and you don't
know who you could trust and not trust with your information.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
That's the biggest thing.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Also keep in mind you will get mail as well. Okay,
so sometimes these letters look super official from the government.
It looks like it's government letterhead. Call us now we
you know, with scare tactics. Okay, So in that case,
(04:43):
obviously if you call, they'll probably have your information, your
number stored, and they could sell your information.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
To other vendors and agents.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Okay, So if you do fill out that form and
send it back to the company. You will get calls,
and you will also get tons of calls because that
information might have been sold to another party.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
So keep this.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
All in mind when you do take a call, because
sometimes these call center agents they are smooth talkers and
they could know their stuff, but some of them aren't.
So let me give you an example. I had a
(05:42):
longtime client I actually also do financial planning for her.
She seemed to I don't know if she clicked a link.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Or she.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Or someone called her, so she decided to talk to them.
This person told her that she needs to be on
a better plan, so'll get more benefits, get more over
the counter benefits, so forth and so forth.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
So she didn't.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Bother to let me know at that time, because these
people could be very, very persuasive. So at least she
did reach out to me and say said, I'm so
sorry I went with someone else. They were telling me that,
(06:32):
you know, this is a better plan. I get more
over the counter benefits. I get more and more and
more and more. Okay, of course it does hurt my feelings,
but I should put my feelings aside, right because I
shouldn't take things personally when I help people. So I said, Okay,
(06:54):
you know, I understand, I understand people.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
People get persuaded all the.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Time, and it has no thing to do with me sometimes, right,
but I would I shouldn't get offended. So I asked her,
that's that's no problem. I understand. What plan did they
put you on? Right? Because for me, let's just make
sure that they put you on a better plan, because
(07:20):
there's no reason to move out of your plan if
it's not a good plan. So I looked it up.
I compared the benefits, and yes, well maybe she got
one hundred dollars more per quarter for over the counter.
(07:41):
First of all, she was going to lose money because
the give back on that plan was less.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
So if you're a senior relying on the money the
insurance company gives you back sometimes because there's plans like that.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Then you're going you're not going to get that.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And then come to find out this plan did not
have a drug plan. Okay, So put a client on
a plan that gives you less money back in your pocket. Yes,
you benefited for the over the counter, but what's that
(08:24):
worth if you wanted money back in your pocket and
there was no drug plan?
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
So keep in mined right with all our sessions. If
you do not have a drug plan, you will be
penalized one percent for every single month that you did
not have a drug plan and had to be on one.
She had to be on one. She didn't have any
(08:50):
other credible coverage like group insurance or even veterans insurance. Right,
So okay, that's wrong. But also imagine the drugs she's taking.
Is she's taking prescription drugs now, right? How is she
(09:10):
going to pay for these when she doesn't have a
drug plan. So it really definitely irks me to my
bone when I hear these situations. Let's go with more stories.
I had a client, I mean really great long term
(09:31):
client too. Sometimes they listen on the phone and talk
to someone. So this person changed their plan maybe a
month or two later because I didn't find out right
because I wasn't looking at my reports. My client calls
(09:52):
me and says, Jennifer, I made a mistake.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
I've actually getting surgery.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
I was actually intrigued mints for my hand, and everything's
messed up because I changed my plan. So things like that,
We definitely still helped him get to the right plan
to make sure that he had continuous care that.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
He was receiving. So things like.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
That, like we definitely could help fix the issue will
always be there. But if a client decides to talk
to someone and gets persuaded with all these benefits without.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Knowing, like all of all of it, right, if you're
in surgery or you're doing.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Treatments, or just a plan itself, like, just be cautious
and weary. I'm not saying every phone agent's bad. Believe me,
I've I've offered plans over the phone too, be it
referrals or during COVID when we could see anyone, right,
but just be really careful on that. I mean I
(11:09):
could go on and on. Let me just go over
a third story where a client was just like, you
know what, someone persuaded me to get on a plan
and I get it right. Sometimes not even just seniors,
just anyone in general. If you have a good, smooth,
a talking person that sounds like they know their stuff,
(11:32):
could be trustworthy, Like I get it. You know, things happen,
they promise you the world, right, So I get that.
But this plan this client was on was a plan
that could she she could never get again. It's one
of those grandfather plans that like, hey, this is a plan,
(11:56):
but this insurance company decided to stop this plan and
not let anyone in, right, and if you ever get out,
you can never go in. So usually when that's the case,
it's because it's probably a really good plan, right, and
they might be losing money or whatever it may be.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
So, you know, I had to tell her she she
wanted to.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Get back on that plan, and guess what, I had
to tell her that she couldn't get back on that plan,
and she actually really liked that plan. Right. I'm gonna
put a person or advise them on a plan that
is great for them or good for them. So that
(12:39):
is my soapbox. There are just a lot of crooked agents.
I'm not saying that there aren't good ones, but more
than more than likely that's what I see that happens.
Keep in mind, most of these people are like call centers,
(13:01):
so they work for a particular company. So sometimes they're
not going to be there forever.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
They leave.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
You know, there's a lot of high attrition. They're not
an independent agent that owns their book of business or
business owner. That it's our livelihood, right, We're not getting
a salary to keep people in our books. We need
to make sure that people are happy and stay with us.
Another thing is I've had clients that say, you know what,
(13:38):
I try to call that agent, but I can't get
a hold of them, right because they either left the
company or that company doesn't even allow them to service
the client that they enroll the planet.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
So obviously it's customer servicemwhere they want you to just
call the insurance company, right, But why not have that
added level of support to help you, right. It's not
going to cost you anything to work with a trusted
license agent. Okay, So I do see that a lot.
(14:13):
It's just horrible, Like, I don't know what we could
do in an industry. I mean, we are doing things,
we are fighting back. But the issue that we have
been running into as well is that, you know, some
people at medicare or most don't understand how agents work
(14:34):
and independent agents, small business owners really do right with clients.
And then these massive call centers with a lot of
money to invest and pump out and just enrollments and
not really care for clients, you know, like and obviously
(14:54):
the insurance likes them too. They enroll in plans, but
the attrition might be wrong. So you know, many of
us are fighting lobbyists in regards to just making sure
like the government understands and knows that there are differences.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Between agents local independent.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Agents, trusted license insurance agents versus sometimes the call centers
and who knows if they're even licensed or even in
the United States, things like that that the independent agent
is always up against because all they hear are seniors
(15:41):
complaining about all the calls, all the issues of switching
plans and just baid and switch and so forth. But
they're not segmenting it to know that who are making
these these bad, fraudulent or just unethical claims to seniors
(16:03):
right Like, they got to dig and drill down there.
But hopefully that will change in the future. Okay, that
was a lot for me to just tell you guys about,
but definitely it is a fight worth fighting for, Okay,
(16:27):
So onto and investigating suspected fraud takes time. Every tip counts.
Medicare takes all reports of suspected fraud. Seriously, when you
report fraud, you may not hear of an outcome right away.
It takes time to investigate your report and build a case.
(16:51):
But Russ assured that your information is helping us protect Medicare,
so definitely do that.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I would also.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Say, so, yes, you could definitely file a complaint on
an agent that did you wrong, right, but keep in mind,
like I've you know, I'm being frank, I've gotten complaints
(17:23):
where actually the clients loved me and are still my clients,
but they're complaining about the insurance company in general, and
for some reason it has fallen into me. It's unsubstantiated,
which is great, right, because if it's substantiated, an agent
could take corrective action, could lose your license.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
But just to make sure if it's.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Not based on the agent and just the insurance company as.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
A whole, you're filing a grievance.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
With them and not your agent unless they told you
some outrageous stuff. But sometimes I would say, you know,
get the summary of benefits, go over it yourself, because
sometimes you might not hear things that your agent said.
So I would always clear it up with them to
(18:19):
just to make sure.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
You guys are on the same page.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Okay, So how the Medicare Beneficiary Budsman can help you?
The Medicare Beneficiary Umbudsman helps you with Medicare related complaints.
Grievances and information requests. They make sure you have Medicare
rights and protection information and understand how to get your
(18:43):
concerns resolved. If you have a concern that hasn't been
resolved by Medicare or your plan as one hundred Medicare
one eight hundred six three three four two seven to
submit your inquiry to the Medicare Beneficiary odd buds TTY
users can call eight seven seven forty six to zero four.
(19:05):
Visit medicare dot com to learn more. Okay, so we
will go on finding helpful contacts and more information. Okay,
Section nine, page one oh seven. Get personalized help. Call
(19:29):
us at one eight hundred Medicare, which is eight hundred
sixty thirty three four two two seven live chat with
Medicare dot gov, slash talk dash to someone. Write us
at Pure Box twelve seventy Lawrence, Kansas, sixty six zero
four four. Get information twenty four hours a day, including weekends.
(19:51):
Speak clearly and follow the voice prompts. Pick up the
category that best suits your needs. Meets your needs, have
your Medicare car in front of you, and be ready
to give your Medicare number when ask for your Medicare number,
say the numbers and letters clearly, one at a time.
For help in a language other than English or Spanish,
(20:14):
or to get a Medicare publication in an accessible format
like large printer braille, ask the customer service represented.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Important.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
If you need someone like a caregiver to access your
personal information when they call one hundred Medicare, you could
complete an Authorization to disclose Personal health information form that
lets Medicare give your personal health information to someone other
than you. To get this form in English and Spanish,
visit medicare dot gov slash space six slash forms, dash Publications,
(20:48):
the dashmailing slash form, slash other, or call one hundred Medicare.
You could also submit this form at Medicare dot gov
in your secure Medicare account. Medicare must process the form
before the authorization becomes effective. If your household gets more
than one copy of Medicare new to get only one
(21:09):
copy of this handbook in the future, call one a
hundred Medicare. If you want to stop getting paper copies
in the mail, you could request this by logging into
or creating your Medicare account at medicare dot gov. If
you need a new copy of your Medicare card. If
you need to replace your card because it's damaged or loss,
(21:31):
visit medicare dot gov to log into or create your
secure Medicare account. To print or order an official copy
of a Medicare card, you can call also one one
hundred Medicare and ask for a replacement card to be
sent in the mail. To get Railroad Benefit Retirement Board benefits,
you could call eight seven seven seven seven two five
(21:51):
seven seven to two to get a replacement card. If
you need to replace your card because you think that
someone else is using your Medicare number, call one eight
hundred Medicare. So keep in mind, your Medicare card should
have your Medicare number on it.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
I've seen it still. For those that are a little
bit older, they might have the card that has.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Their social Security on it. So actually that was supposed
to be replaced could actually shed that because you know,
you don't want your Social Security number to just be
laying around, and your Medicare number is a little bit easier,
So definitely you could call or could help you call
to get your Medicare card ordered for you if it's lost, stolen, damaged,
(22:45):
or you have just really the old oney State Health
Insurance Assistant program ships. SHIPS are state programs to get
money from the federal government to give local health insurance
counseling to people with Medicare. You get this counseling at
no cost to you. Ships aren't connected to any insurance
(23:06):
company or health plan. They provide free, personalized counseling to
you and your family to help with Medicare topics like you,
oh sorry, like you, We're not like these? Your Medicare rights,
building problems, complaints about your medical care, treatment plan, comparison enrollment,
how Medicare works with other insurance finding help paying for
(23:28):
healthcare costs. Call a SHIP in your state to get free,
personalized and UnBias help with your Medicare questions and learn
how to become a voluntary ship Counselor go to pages
one fourteen to one seventeen if the phone number of
your local ship, or visit.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Shiphelp dot Org.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
I've been hearing that ship is going away, so I'm
not quite sure I should probably do a little bit
more research on that. But yeah, I'll tell you guys
next time what's going on with that. Because they are
not licensed agents, they're not certified, how do they really
(24:09):
know about all the plans and how could they really
help you. But I get the unbiased there as well.
But the insurance broker you shouldn't be unbiased as well.
So it really depends on the insurance broker you do
work with. So that concludes today's episode. We're almost down
(24:31):
to the last wire when it comes to the Medicare
and new handbook. So I look forward to next week.
You have a wonderful week and I'll talk to yousy.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
Thank you once again. My name is Jennifer.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Your Medicare three sixty show hosts have a great day.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Thank you for joining the program Medicare at three sixty.
Hope you found today's episode insightful and empowering. Remember, understanding
your Medicare options is key to making the right choices
for your health and financial well being. If you have
questions or topics you would like covered in future episodes
of Medicare three sixty, don't hesitate to reach out and
(25:14):
speak with our licensed insurance agent. Until next time, stay
informed and take charge of your healthcare journey. This has
been Medicare three sixty, your trusted source for all things Medicare.
Take care
Welcome to Medicare three sixty, where the world of Medicare
is simplified and you are empowered to make informed healthcare choices.
With over two decades of experience and insurance and financial
solutions with host licensed insurance agents Jennifer Lee, you are
guided through the ins and outs of Medicare, whether you
(00:22):
are nearing retirement, navigating your options, or just curious about
what's available. Everything you need to know is covered. Tune
in for knowledgeable insights, tips and answers to your Medicare
questions so you can take charge of your health and
your future. And now Medicare three sixty.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Welcome to today's Medicare three sixty show. I'm your host,
Jennifer Lee, and we are diving in on the Medicare
New Handbook and we are down to the home stretch.
We are on page one oh six out of one
twenty eight, so let us begin. We ended off on
(01:06):
your Medicare rights and protections on section eight, and then
plans must follow marketing rules. Got a lot to say
on this, but let's go ahead. Medicare plans and agents
must follow certain roles when marketing their plans and getting
your enrollment information. Plans don't need your personal information to
(01:27):
provide a quote. Medicare plans can't sign you up for
a plan over the phone unless you call them an
as to sign up or you've given them permission to
contact you. Important call one eight hundred Medicare to report
any plans or agents that ask for your personal information
(01:49):
over the phone or email call to enroll you in
a plan, visit you unexpectedly use false information to mislead you.
You could also call the Investigations Medicare Drug Integrity Contractor
one DASH medic at eight seven seven safe seven Safe RX,
(02:09):
which is eight seven seven seven seven two three three
seven nine. The imetic fights fraud, waste and abuse in
Medicare advantage plans and Medicare drug plans. So let's touch
on this because it is just such a growing concern.
(02:30):
You get a million phone calls when you're turning sixty
five during annual Roman or just doing.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Year round. So the thing is if you did not.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Okay this is for Medicare advantage, if you did not
ask to be called on, that person should not call you.
So what typically happens is that there are these call
centers that hire people to call you and qualify you
(03:13):
and send inbound lead to a licensed.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Agent to make a sale.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
So just keep in mind if you did not talk
to this person or ask for them to call you
or give them permission, then really they're not in compliance.
The thing is, sometimes clients tell me, Jennifer, I never
I never talked to this person, but they enruled me
(03:41):
and so forth.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
The thing is, anytime you click on a Facebook lead
ad or like something on the internet, then that allows
them to call you because you clicked on the link,
be it on accident or at just a time, it
just seems so enticing that you did that, and then
(04:06):
your phone will ring off the hook and you don't
know who you could trust and not trust with your information.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
That's the biggest thing.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Also keep in mind you will get mail as well. Okay,
so sometimes these letters look super official from the government.
It looks like it's government letterhead. Call us now we
you know, with scare tactics. Okay, So in that case,
(04:43):
obviously if you call, they'll probably have your information, your
number stored, and they could sell your information.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
To other vendors and agents.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Okay, So if you do fill out that form and
send it back to the company. You will get calls,
and you will also get tons of calls because that
information might have been sold to another party.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
So keep this.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
All in mind when you do take a call, because
sometimes these call center agents they are smooth talkers and
they could know their stuff, but some of them aren't.
So let me give you an example. I had a
(05:42):
longtime client I actually also do financial planning for her.
She seemed to I don't know if she clicked a link.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Or she.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Or someone called her, so she decided to talk to them.
This person told her that she needs to be on
a better plan, so'll get more benefits, get more over
the counter benefits, so forth and so forth.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
So she didn't.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Bother to let me know at that time, because these
people could be very, very persuasive. So at least she
did reach out to me and say said, I'm so
sorry I went with someone else. They were telling me that,
(06:32):
you know, this is a better plan. I get more
over the counter benefits. I get more and more and
more and more. Okay, of course it does hurt my feelings,
but I should put my feelings aside, right because I
shouldn't take things personally when I help people. So I said, Okay,
(06:54):
you know, I understand, I understand people.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
People get persuaded all the.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Time, and it has no thing to do with me sometimes, right,
but I would I shouldn't get offended. So I asked her,
that's that's no problem. I understand. What plan did they
put you on? Right? Because for me, let's just make
sure that they put you on a better plan, because
(07:20):
there's no reason to move out of your plan if
it's not a good plan. So I looked it up.
I compared the benefits, and yes, well maybe she got
one hundred dollars more per quarter for over the counter.
(07:41):
First of all, she was going to lose money because
the give back on that plan was less.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
So if you're a senior relying on the money the
insurance company gives you back sometimes because there's plans like that.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Then you're going you're not going to get that.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And then come to find out this plan did not
have a drug plan. Okay, So put a client on
a plan that gives you less money back in your pocket. Yes,
you benefited for the over the counter, but what's that
(08:24):
worth if you wanted money back in your pocket and
there was no drug plan?
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Okay?
Speaker 2 (08:29):
So keep in mined right with all our sessions. If
you do not have a drug plan, you will be
penalized one percent for every single month that you did
not have a drug plan and had to be on one.
She had to be on one. She didn't have any
(08:50):
other credible coverage like group insurance or even veterans insurance. Right,
So okay, that's wrong. But also imagine the drugs she's taking.
Is she's taking prescription drugs now, right? How is she
(09:10):
going to pay for these when she doesn't have a
drug plan. So it really definitely irks me to my
bone when I hear these situations. Let's go with more stories.
I had a client, I mean really great long term
(09:31):
client too. Sometimes they listen on the phone and talk
to someone. So this person changed their plan maybe a
month or two later because I didn't find out right
because I wasn't looking at my reports. My client calls
(09:52):
me and says, Jennifer, I made a mistake.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
I've actually getting surgery.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
I was actually intrigued mints for my hand, and everything's
messed up because I changed my plan. So things like that,
We definitely still helped him get to the right plan
to make sure that he had continuous care that.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
He was receiving. So things like.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
That, like we definitely could help fix the issue will
always be there. But if a client decides to talk
to someone and gets persuaded with all these benefits without.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Knowing, like all of all of it, right, if you're
in surgery or you're doing.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Treatments, or just a plan itself, like, just be cautious
and weary. I'm not saying every phone agent's bad. Believe me,
I've I've offered plans over the phone too, be it
referrals or during COVID when we could see anyone, right,
but just be really careful on that. I mean I
(11:09):
could go on and on. Let me just go over
a third story where a client was just like, you
know what, someone persuaded me to get on a plan
and I get it right. Sometimes not even just seniors,
just anyone in general. If you have a good, smooth,
a talking person that sounds like they know their stuff,
(11:32):
could be trustworthy, Like I get it. You know, things happen,
they promise you the world, right, So I get that.
But this plan this client was on was a plan
that could she she could never get again. It's one
of those grandfather plans that like, hey, this is a plan,
(11:56):
but this insurance company decided to stop this plan and
not let anyone in, right, and if you ever get out,
you can never go in. So usually when that's the case,
it's because it's probably a really good plan, right, and
they might be losing money or whatever it may be.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
So, you know, I had to tell her she she
wanted to.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Get back on that plan, and guess what, I had
to tell her that she couldn't get back on that plan,
and she actually really liked that plan. Right. I'm gonna
put a person or advise them on a plan that
is great for them or good for them. So that
(12:39):
is my soapbox. There are just a lot of crooked agents.
I'm not saying that there aren't good ones, but more
than more than likely that's what I see that happens.
Keep in mind, most of these people are like call centers,
(13:01):
so they work for a particular company. So sometimes they're
not going to be there forever.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
They leave.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
You know, there's a lot of high attrition. They're not
an independent agent that owns their book of business or
business owner. That it's our livelihood, right, We're not getting
a salary to keep people in our books. We need
to make sure that people are happy and stay with us.
Another thing is I've had clients that say, you know what,
(13:38):
I try to call that agent, but I can't get
a hold of them, right because they either left the
company or that company doesn't even allow them to service
the client that they enroll the planet.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
So obviously it's customer servicemwhere they want you to just
call the insurance company, right, But why not have that
added level of support to help you, right. It's not
going to cost you anything to work with a trusted
license agent. Okay, So I do see that a lot.
(14:13):
It's just horrible, Like, I don't know what we could
do in an industry. I mean, we are doing things,
we are fighting back. But the issue that we have
been running into as well is that, you know, some
people at medicare or most don't understand how agents work
(14:34):
and independent agents, small business owners really do right with clients.
And then these massive call centers with a lot of
money to invest and pump out and just enrollments and
not really care for clients, you know, like and obviously
(14:54):
the insurance likes them too. They enroll in plans, but
the attrition might be wrong. So you know, many of
us are fighting lobbyists in regards to just making sure
like the government understands and knows that there are differences.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
Between agents local independent.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Agents, trusted license insurance agents versus sometimes the call centers
and who knows if they're even licensed or even in
the United States, things like that that the independent agent
is always up against because all they hear are seniors
(15:41):
complaining about all the calls, all the issues of switching
plans and just baid and switch and so forth. But
they're not segmenting it to know that who are making
these these bad, fraudulent or just unethical claims to seniors
(16:03):
right Like, they got to dig and drill down there.
But hopefully that will change in the future. Okay, that
was a lot for me to just tell you guys about,
but definitely it is a fight worth fighting for, Okay,
(16:27):
So onto and investigating suspected fraud takes time. Every tip counts.
Medicare takes all reports of suspected fraud. Seriously, when you
report fraud, you may not hear of an outcome right away.
It takes time to investigate your report and build a case.
(16:51):
But Russ assured that your information is helping us protect Medicare,
so definitely do that.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I would also.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Say, so, yes, you could definitely file a complaint on
an agent that did you wrong, right, but keep in mind,
like I've you know, I'm being frank, I've gotten complaints
(17:23):
where actually the clients loved me and are still my clients,
but they're complaining about the insurance company in general, and
for some reason it has fallen into me. It's unsubstantiated,
which is great, right, because if it's substantiated, an agent
could take corrective action, could lose your license.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
But just to make sure if it's.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Not based on the agent and just the insurance company as.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
A whole, you're filing a grievance.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
With them and not your agent unless they told you
some outrageous stuff. But sometimes I would say, you know,
get the summary of benefits, go over it yourself, because
sometimes you might not hear things that your agent said.
So I would always clear it up with them to
(18:19):
just to make sure.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
You guys are on the same page.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Okay, So how the Medicare Beneficiary Budsman can help you?
The Medicare Beneficiary Umbudsman helps you with Medicare related complaints.
Grievances and information requests. They make sure you have Medicare
rights and protection information and understand how to get your
(18:43):
concerns resolved. If you have a concern that hasn't been
resolved by Medicare or your plan as one hundred Medicare
one eight hundred six three three four two seven to
submit your inquiry to the Medicare Beneficiary odd buds TTY
users can call eight seven seven forty six to zero four.
(19:05):
Visit medicare dot com to learn more. Okay, so we
will go on finding helpful contacts and more information. Okay,
Section nine, page one oh seven. Get personalized help. Call
(19:29):
us at one eight hundred Medicare, which is eight hundred
sixty thirty three four two two seven live chat with
Medicare dot gov, slash talk dash to someone. Write us
at Pure Box twelve seventy Lawrence, Kansas, sixty six zero
four four. Get information twenty four hours a day, including weekends.
(19:51):
Speak clearly and follow the voice prompts. Pick up the
category that best suits your needs. Meets your needs, have
your Medicare car in front of you, and be ready
to give your Medicare number when ask for your Medicare number,
say the numbers and letters clearly, one at a time.
For help in a language other than English or Spanish,
(20:14):
or to get a Medicare publication in an accessible format
like large printer braille, ask the customer service represented.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Important.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
If you need someone like a caregiver to access your
personal information when they call one hundred Medicare, you could
complete an Authorization to disclose Personal health information form that
lets Medicare give your personal health information to someone other
than you. To get this form in English and Spanish,
visit medicare dot gov slash space six slash forms, dash Publications,
(20:48):
the dashmailing slash form, slash other, or call one hundred Medicare.
You could also submit this form at Medicare dot gov
in your secure Medicare account. Medicare must process the form
before the authorization becomes effective. If your household gets more
than one copy of Medicare new to get only one
(21:09):
copy of this handbook in the future, call one a
hundred Medicare. If you want to stop getting paper copies
in the mail, you could request this by logging into
or creating your Medicare account at medicare dot gov. If
you need a new copy of your Medicare card. If
you need to replace your card because it's damaged or loss,
(21:31):
visit medicare dot gov to log into or create your
secure Medicare account. To print or order an official copy
of a Medicare card, you can call also one one
hundred Medicare and ask for a replacement card to be
sent in the mail. To get Railroad Benefit Retirement Board benefits,
you could call eight seven seven seven seven two five
(21:51):
seven seven to two to get a replacement card. If
you need to replace your card because you think that
someone else is using your Medicare number, call one eight
hundred Medicare. So keep in mind, your Medicare card should
have your Medicare number on it.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
I've seen it still. For those that are a little
bit older, they might have the card that has.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Their social Security on it. So actually that was supposed
to be replaced could actually shed that because you know,
you don't want your Social Security number to just be
laying around, and your Medicare number is a little bit easier,
So definitely you could call or could help you call
to get your Medicare card ordered for you if it's lost, stolen, damaged,
(22:45):
or you have just really the old oney State Health
Insurance Assistant program ships. SHIPS are state programs to get
money from the federal government to give local health insurance
counseling to people with Medicare. You get this counseling at
no cost to you. Ships aren't connected to any insurance
(23:06):
company or health plan. They provide free, personalized counseling to
you and your family to help with Medicare topics like you,
oh sorry, like you, We're not like these? Your Medicare rights,
building problems, complaints about your medical care, treatment plan, comparison enrollment,
how Medicare works with other insurance finding help paying for
(23:28):
healthcare costs. Call a SHIP in your state to get free,
personalized and UnBias help with your Medicare questions and learn
how to become a voluntary ship Counselor go to pages
one fourteen to one seventeen if the phone number of
your local ship, or visit.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Shiphelp dot Org.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
I've been hearing that ship is going away, so I'm
not quite sure I should probably do a little bit
more research on that. But yeah, I'll tell you guys
next time what's going on with that. Because they are
not licensed agents, they're not certified, how do they really
(24:09):
know about all the plans and how could they really
help you. But I get the unbiased there as well.
But the insurance broker you shouldn't be unbiased as well.
So it really depends on the insurance broker you do
work with. So that concludes today's episode. We're almost down
(24:31):
to the last wire when it comes to the Medicare
and new handbook. So I look forward to next week.
You have a wonderful week and I'll talk to yousy.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
Thank you once again. My name is Jennifer.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Your Medicare three sixty show hosts have a great day.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Thank you for joining the program Medicare at three sixty.
Hope you found today's episode insightful and empowering. Remember, understanding
your Medicare options is key to making the right choices
for your health and financial well being. If you have
questions or topics you would like covered in future episodes
of Medicare three sixty, don't hesitate to reach out and
(25:14):
speak with our licensed insurance agent. Until next time, stay
informed and take charge of your healthcare journey. This has
been Medicare three sixty, your trusted source for all things Medicare.
Take care
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