Top 5 Tips for Choosing the Best Medicare Insurance Plan for Your Needs
Top 5 Tips for Choosing the Best Medicare Insurance Plan for Your Needs
Choosing the right Medicare plan is an important decision. It can affect your quality of life, your pocketbook and your wellbeing.
When selecting a Medicare plan, it’s important to consider your medical needs and budget. It also helps to review how each plan compares in terms of prescription drug coverage and provider network options.
A good insurance agent or broker can help you choose the right plan for your needs. But beware of brokers who only sell one company’s plans or can’t tell you about other options that might better fit your needs. If you live in Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin That’s where the helpful folks at Chicagoland Medicare come in! We are licensed to sell Medicare insurance products including Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans across Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois
1. Review Your Medical Needs
The fall Medicare annual enrollment period is the ideal time to review your insurance needs and choose the best plan for you. Even if you’re satisfied with your current coverage, it’s smart to compare your options to see if you can save money or improve your benefits by switching.
Whether you’re considering original Medicare, a Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D stand-alone drug plan, it’s important to review your medical needs and determine if you need to switch plans or stay with the one you have.
Medicare is made up of 4 parts – Part A, B, C and D plus Medigap (Medicare Supplement). The different parts of Medicare offer different coverage and have different premiums and deductibles.
2. Know Your Budget
Your budget is an important factor to consider when choosing the best Medicare insurance plan for your needs. Everyone’s medical needs, finances and lifestyle are different, so you need to choose a plan that works for you.
You also need to know the costs you’ll be responsible for out-of-pocket for your care, like premiums and deductibles. These numbers may vary between plans, so be sure to check the details before signing up.
When you choose the right Medicare insurance plan for your needs, you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that your health is well taken care of. It’s always a good idea to have an expert like the agents at Chicagoland Medicare help you make the decision that is best for you.
3. Review Your Prescription Drugs
Prescription drugs are an important part of health care. They are used to treat chronic diseases like diabetes and high cholesterol, as well as conditions like asthma, heart disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Almost half of American adults regularly take prescription drugs, and many take more than five medications. A review by a pharmacist or doctor can help keep all of your medications working together and maximize their effectiveness.
If you’re an older adult with a large medicine cabinet of multiple prescriptions, make sure to have your medications reviewed at least once a year. That way, your doctor will be able to make adjustments if any medications are no longer effective or cause unwanted side effects.
4. Check Your Provider Network
Choosing the best Medicare insurance plan for your needs involves more than just premiums, copays and deductibles. You also want to consider the network of doctors and medical facilities that accept your particular policy.
One of the biggest challenges for consumers in this market is finding a physician or health care facility in a provider network that meets their coverage needs. That can be difficult, especially as health plans shrink the size of their networks in order to stay competitive.
That's why you may need to call your Medicare insurance agent at Chicagoland Medicare to find out whether a specific doctor, hospital or specialist is in your plan's network. Once you know, it's easier to schedule appointments and avoid the last-minute shocks of hefty medical bills.
5. Review Your Plan Options
Medicare is a complicated program, and it can be difficult to narrow down your options and choose the best one for you. But if you take the time to review your plan options, and get help from a licensed agent, you can find one that works for you.
A great licensed, independent Medicare insurance agent can also help make sure you don’t miss important enrollment deadlines!
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Independent Medicare insurance agents and agencies such as Chicagoland Medicare get paid by the insurance companies they represent. The commissions we are paid are already built into the insurance policy you’ve purchased, and there isn’t a way to carve them out of the monthly premium. There is no extra fee for buying a Medicare insurance policy through Chicagoland Medicare, nor will you ever pay a fee for our help.
A local, independent Medicare insurance agent represents multiple carriers so that they can work to give you an unbiased opinion on your Medicare insurance plan options. Chicagoland Medicare agents and agencies are state-licensed, trained, tested and appointed by a hand-selected number of Medicare insurance companies to be able to shop and compare Medicare insurance polices to make sure we find the right fit for you! We explore your healthcare and financial needs and listen to your feelings around options available in your local area. We search for a plan that most closely fits your individual needs and budget.
Is Chicagoland Medicare free? Yes, our services are completely free to you and anything we get paid is paid to us by the Medicare insurance companies.
The monthly premiums you pay for your Medicare insurance policies are exactly the same. You cannot buy a Medicare insurance policy directly from a Medicare insurance company at a lower rate.
We have years of experience selling Medicare insurance in the Chicago area including Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana.
There are all sorts of differences in the amount of coverage and they type of Medicare insurance coverage you can buy depending on what state and county you live in! Chicagoland Medicare independent Medicare agents have a lot of real-world experience and insight regarding the inner-workings of Medicare insurance companies that you, the consumer, may not have access to, such as Medicare Advantage service areas, Medicare Supplemental (Medigap) annual premium increase trends, application fees, discounts programs and more.
Only independent Medicare insurance agents and agencies like Chicagoland Medicare can offer a variety of plans and an unbiased, multi-company approach so our recommendations are objective unbiased and personalized when we sell you a Medigap, Medicare Advantage or Part D drug plan that’s right for you.
At Chicagoland Medicare, we specialize in Medicare insurance products. Period. We’re not distracted by attempting to sell you life insurance, financial planning services, stocks, bonds or anything else. Medicare insurance is all we do! Unlike many other Medicare insurance agents and brokers, we don’t sell group small business health insurance polices, disability insurance, home or auto insurance. We are a boutique Medicare insurance agency, we like it that way and we’re awesome at what we do.
We only partner with ‘A’ rated, household name, established Medicare insurance companies who offer Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, Medigap and Medicare Part D plans in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
We do not contract with, nor offer our clients startup, new or state-based, regional Medicare insurance companies. We believe in partnering with established companies for consistency, financial strength and experience.
Sometimes, Medicare insurance agents and agencies try to offer too many different insurance products from too many companies. There are literally thousands of combinations of Medicare insurance plan combinations to choose from in the Chicago area – we choose to focus on a select few of large, reliable, well-established, and financially sound Medicare insurance companies to partner with. Oftentimes, other local Medicare agents and agencies get pulled in too many directions with too many insurance offerings and therefore can’t be as knowledgeable as possible about any carrier or one insurance type over another.
At Chicagoland Medicare, we limit the number of Medicare insurance carriers who have access to our clients. We work hard to know the deep inner-workings of each of our Medicare insurance partners which means our agents and our clients aren’t distracted by small, startup Medicare insurance companies who may have a great product for a year or two, then fade into the background and exit the market. We know our Medicare insurance company representatives by name, and know how to navigate their systems and processes.
The bottom line: Chicagoland Medicare is an independent Medicare insurance agency. We are not owned by a Medicare insurance company or by some large, national entity. We’re your local Medicare insurance agency for the Chicago area. This means we only work with hand-selected Medicare insurance companies so that we can provide you with the best Medicare plan for you that’s individualized and personalized. We exist and work ONLY for our clients, unencumbered by having to push just one company’s Medicare insurance products.
