ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT MEDICARE

You can change your Medicare Supplement plan anytime during the year.  However, after your Initial Enrollment has passed, you will most likely need to Answer Health Questions and receive approval from the plan's Underwriting Department. In our experience this is not a problem for about 80% of Medicare beneficiaries.

WIth a Medicare Advantage Plan things are a little tougher.  Not impossible by any means, but there are more hoops to jump through.   Because Medicare Advantage Plans fall under Medicare Part C , you can only make changes to your plan during the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) or the Open Enrollment Period (OEP), unless you relocate or if you are entitled to a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to see what you qualify for. If you are completely unsatisfied with your Medicare Advantage plan, you will need to switch back to Original Medicare in order to enroll in a Medicare Supplement or a Medigap plan..

Most insurance companies incur price increases from time to time and different plans have different price structures.

All agents and brokers are required to fill out a Scope of Appointment Form whenever they visit with a new or existing client (beneficiary). This limits the items discussed as requested by the you, the client. Ethically, we cannot discuss anything that is not listed on the Scope of Appointment Form.

Medicare.gov is a great resource for you if you ever have any questions about Medicare.

STAR  RATINGS  -  CMS rates every Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plans Plan with a rating of 1-5 Stars.  Be sure to ask what rating your plan is or any plan you may be considering.  There are no Star ratings for Medicare Supplement Plans (Medigap) because all of the plans have the same coverage in every state.

Pricing

All pricing for Medicare Plans are determined in advance by each individual Insurance Carrier and approved by CMS which is the Government Entity who oversees the Medicare Program. 

Therefore there is no other company that can offer you a better rate than we can at Braden MSI.

We will always do our best to inform you of any/all discounts that are often available that you may not be aware of. 

The Social Security Administration completes the Background Information and enrollment process for Medicare, this makes sense because the SSA already has your Wages and Earnings in their system.  Once they complete the income verification they are obligated to see if you meet the  CMS threshold for being a High Wage Earner (HWE).  They do this by comparing your income by looking at your past 1-2 Federal Tax Returns. The majority of new Medicare beneficiaries will not meet the High Wage Earner criteria, but if they did, they would be assessed an Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) as it relates to both Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D.

Please refer to the 2023 IRMAA Chart above for clarification and to see the guidelines for earnings.

If you meet the guidelines for a High Wage Earner you will be assessed an additional penalty that will be added to your monthly Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D premiums.These penalties are listed in the last two columns of the IRMAA Chart above.

Obviously nobody wants to receive a penalty, especially as they are about to retire, however, the good news is this: Any IRMAA penalty/assessment is temporary.  Anytime there is a Qualifying Life Changing IRMAA event that causes your income to drop to the point that you no longer meet the requirements for a penalty, you can complete the necessary forms and present the information to your local Social Security Administration Office to dispute the assessment and request an IRMAA review.

As soon as they have verified your information the SSA will inform you when your can expect your assessments to end and they will also inform you if you are entitled to any refund based on your payments.

Here is a quick look at qualifying Life Changing Events when it comes to IRMAA:

MAJOR IRMAA LIFE CHANGING EVENTS INCLUDE:

1) Marriage, Divorce or the Annulment of a marriage.

2) The death of a spouse.

3) Work Stoppage or Reduction of work.

4) Loss of Income Producing Property Beyond Your Control.

5) Loss or Reduction of Pension Income Through the Plan's Failure or Termination of the Plan.

6) Employer Settlement Payment as a result of a previous from Employer's Bankruptcy, Closure or 

Reorganization.