Medicare Decisions Made Easy: AMAC’s Insider Tips for 2025

Full Episode Transcript:

Rebecca Weber: Hello, everyone. I’m Rebecca Weber, CEO of AMAC. Joining me now is Carl Hossfield. Carl is the Senior Vice President of AMAC’s Medicare Advisory Service, AMAC’s Senior Resources Network. AMAC has been helping AMAC members for over a decade, selling hundreds of thousands of plans to AMAC members in all 50 states.

Carl, it’s a thrill to have you with me. Thank you for joining.

Carl Hohsfield: Thank you for having me.

Rebecca Weber: Carl, you and I have been at it for about a decade now, every day working to improve the services that AMAC offers its members. And you do a terrific job. I want you to share with our listeners, what is the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, also known as AEP?

And why is the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period so important?

Carl Hohsfield: Yes. So the Medicare Annual Election Period or Annual Enrollment Period is very, important for any, Medicare beneficiary. Enrolled into Medicare and it runs from October 15th to December 7th every year. And what it does is it gives a Medicare beneficiary the opportunity to either enroll into a Medicare plan for the first time, switching from original Medicare.

It allows them to review their current Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare Part C. and change to a new plan starting January 1st. It also allows them to add a prescription drug plan if they’re not currently on a Medicare Part D plan. And we highly encourage every AMAC member who’s on Medicare, even if you don’t want to change your plan, at least call us, speak to us, review options for 2025 in this case, and see if you should stay on your current plan or switch to a new plan that’s more suitable for you.

Rebecca Weber: Carl, thank you. It makes it so easy the way you just explained it. Simply, it’s the time for you to check out whether or not you are, better off enrolling in a different plan, keeping the plan that you have, and certainly Part D, which is the prescription drug plan. This is that period of time where people can make sure that they’re getting the best coverage that covers the drugs that they need.

So really terrific information. Now. Share with those listening, how do they actually enroll in a plan in a Medicare plan during this Medicare annual election period?

Carl Hohsfield: Sure. Sure. So it’s a great question. AMAC makes it very, easy. We have licensed agents ready to go. They’re ready to take your call and the entire enrollment process is done with you, guided with you by our agents over the phone.

Okay. So by the time you call us, we discuss plan options. There is some scripting that has to be read and some disclosures that we have to go through that are important to you. So, you understand what you’re doing. And in the end, we help you enroll on the phone. We make it easy, painless for you. So, by the time you hang up with us, you’re ready to go on your new plan.

And now from there, you’re waiting on a welcome kit in the mail. So, we guide our AMAC members through the process. We make it easy for you. We take all the stress out of the way for you. Now, I will say. If, for whatever reason, you’re unable to call us, if you’re unable to connect with us over the phone, we have a self-enrollment portal for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans.

And if you visit myamacmedicare. com, you can explore plan options there and even enroll yourself. And if you find yourself struggling with that, even though it’s very easy, All you have to do is give us a call and it will help you with that as well. So there’s no shortage of ways for you to get the help you need.

Rebecca Weber: Yeah I love that program that you put in place carl. It is terrific We hear lots of positive feedback from amac members who really just want to go online and do it themselves so it’s an option my amac medicare. com. Thank you for reminding our great listeners all about another great terrific member benefit.

So, what kind of planned, changes are allowed during this annual election period, which is that period of time from October 15th to December 7th?

Carl Hohsfield: Yes, it’s a great question, Rebecca. And it’s important for people to understand that there’s different types of plans like Medicare supplement. Medicare Supplement Plan, also referred to as Medigap Plans, or Medicare Advantage Plans, also referred to as Medicare Part C.

And oftentimes people think you have to make these plan changes at the same time. The truth is you can make a change to your Medicare Supplement Plan any time throughout the year. But oftentimes, this is a good time to do it anyway, to check your Medicare Supplement Plan. To review the rates to see, is there anything changing for 2025 that you should be aware of?

Oftentimes, also people who have a Medicare supplement plan also have a standalone prescription drug plan or Part D plan. And that’s a great time, especially with significant changes that are coming for 2025 to the way. Part D plans and out of pocket costs are ruled and regulated. It’s a great time more than ever, to review your Part D plan along with your Medicare supplement plan.

And if you’re on a Medicare Advantage plan, it’s the right time to do that as well. And I want to make this point very clear too. You don’t have to change anything during the annual election period. And I think oftentimes with the 1 800 number commercials that are popping up all over the place and people feel obligated and even, pushed.

and coerced into making a change to their plan. We absolutely don’t do that. Our whole goal is to find suitability for you to find the plan that best suits your needs. And that means. If that means staying on your current plan and not making a change, we’re going to tell you that we’re going to offer you that advice.

It might even be, hey, the plan you’re on for 2024 is still the right plan for 2025. We’re not afraid to tell you that we’re not going to steer you into a plan that you don’t need or to an unnecessary change. So, it’s important. If you feel like you’re speaking to somebody out in the market, who’s giving that advice, even if you need to use this as a second opinion and you weren’t thinking about us before, give us a call and we’ll give you the advice that you need to make the right decision.

Rebecca Weber: Terrific. Carl, share with those listening, what makes AMAC different to the other organizations? And we know who the giant is out there, the other senior organization, like the AARP, but what makes AMAC different when it comes to Medicare?

Carl Hohsfield: Yes, great question. It’s a couple key things that you should consider when working with us.

First off, you get a dedicated agent. What I mean by that is the person that you work with when you start working with us for the first time is the person you’re going to be working with us. Who’s going to be working with you moving forward. And why is that important? Oftentimes call centers and these, phone numbers that you may call on these commercials that you see, you might call, get somebody one day, you call the next day, you get somebody different.

Oftentimes they don’t connect with each other. They don’t know what’s going on. And you’re starting the process over. Our. Team here works together. Your agent is your dedicated agent and you can connect with them anytime you need to. That’s a month from now, six months from now, a year from now. And either way, if that person’s on vacation or they’re stepped away from their desk for a moment, we’re going to be able to help you at that moment because we have all the information that you need.

Now that differentiates us, but also we have options for you. We have options. Like multiple plan carrier options, and within those carriers, multiple plan options, depending on the state you live in. If you call AARP, they have one carrier. That’s UnitedHealthcare. They have one plan that they’re going to offer you from that carrier.

as far as options, they’re not going to see what else is available to you in the market. They’re not going to compare prices for you to other insurance companies in the market. And therefore, how do you really know you’re getting the plan that’s right for you? The price that’s right for you that meets your budget.

That’s what we do here. Again, our agents are not obligated. They’re not incentivized to steer anybody into a particular plan or carrier. They have one goal, they have one directive, and that’s do what’s right for our AMAC member. So that’s important.

Rebecca Weber: I love this. Yeah. And it’s right in line with our cultural values here at AMAC.

Always put the customer first and do what is best for the customer. But Carl, what’s better than, multiple choices, one size does not fit all. So multiple choices, a dedicated agent, plus you’re dealing with an organization that stands up for what you believe in. And represents the values that make this country so great.

So in my mind, this is a clear winner for anyone listening. If you have questions about your health insurance, including even if you’re under the age of 65, we’ve got a whole team of folks that can help you there. and we’ll be, sharing more as we get closer to the open enrollment period for those under 65.

But again, October 15th through December 7th, important dates for you to make sure that you call us early. Schedule an appointment. I think that’s what we’re recommending all a Mac members. Give us a call. Schedule an appointment because our agents are going to be getting very busy as we inch towards closer to October 15.

Carl Hohsfield: That’s right. Good point. If I could mention one more thing, Rebecca, you mentioned Even people who are under 65, not Medicare eligible, and for those that are Medicare eligible, Medicare does not have comprehensive dental coverage. Okay. Oftentimes people think these optional benefits that oftentimes are promoted from Medicare advantage plans.

They’re not comprehensive dental. I want everyone to be aware of just a couple of weeks ago, a Mac launched a tailored a Mac member dental plan. That’s Exclusive to AMAC members. We just launched it. It’s doing very well. Our members are very excited about it And it’s called the AMAC Liberty Dental Plan powered by Emeritus It’s got great rates.

It’s tailored coverage for people of your age for things like dentures and crowns and implants It’s got benefits stripped from it that we don’t really use at our later stages in life And we highly encourage you to call us Request the discussion on the AMAC Liberty dental plan because we’re very excited about it.

And we’re, hearing so many good things from our members and we want to make sure you’re aware of it. And that if you need dental coverage to go along with your Medicare coverage, you really should be looking at this plan.

Rebecca Weber: Really terrific. And for all of you listening, you can find out more at AMAC.

us slash benefits. Go to AMAC. us. Look at all of our AMAC member benefits, so much under the insurance category, the health category, and we continue to add more and more AMAC member benefits each and every day. This is what makes AMAC so unique, so special, and we’re just so proud. We are growing over 2 million.

Members Strong, be sure to tell your friends and family all about AMAC’s Medicare Advisory Service. AMAC’s Medicare Advisory Service. Call the number on the screen. Check out our website at amac.us/benefits or amac.us/medicare. I am thrilled, Carl, to have you here with me. Thank you so much for sharing the great information.

Carl Hohsfield: Thank you. We look forward to hearing from all of our members and we want to help you with your Medicare.

Rebecca Weber: Terrific. And to all of you out there listening, thanks for tuning in. We’ll see you back again another day. Have a great day, everyone.