When most people join Medicare, they’re usually leaving an employer plan that they have had for years and were comfortable with. Yet, too frequently, I hear how people got bad advice from their employer about their Medicare decision.
Most people don’t realize that it isn’t your employer benefit person’s job to know all Medicare rules.
I had a client the other day, and he was 68 when he finally retired, but he had joined Medicare back at age 65. His employer benefits person made some recommendations about what to do with his Medicare decision, which at the time seemed like great advice. It wasn’t until he retired that he found out that it wasn’t.
The steps that he took lost him his guarantee issue rights, which meant that he had to undergo medical underwriting to go on the Medigap Plan that he wanted. He was lucky enough that he didn’t have medical issues at the time because he would not have been accepted if he had.
Medicare is complicated, but there are two critical things I want you to be aware of so that you don’t fall into bad advice.
1. Your insurance company cannot legally kick you off your employer plan because you’re turning 65.
Be very careful if your company tells you that you must join Medicare if you’re on their plan because that’s not usually the whole story.
Be sure you’re asking them to be clear and that they’re the right person to be answering your Medicare questions.
2. Beware of advice around COBRA.
Many companies will offer COBRA when you leave their plan. However, please know that COBRA does not meet Medicare rules.
I see this issue happen way too frequently, where people get COBRA instead of Medicare, thinking that COBRA will work just fine. They then end up with thousands and thousands of dollars in medical bills because Medicare should have been the primary payer.
Lastly, I want to share an extra vital factor to consider when talking to your employer benefits person. If you’re choosing to stay with your employer plan after 65, please ask them if the prescription coverage in their plan is deemed creditable by Medicare standards.
Creditable means that the plan, on average, covers medications as well as or better than Medicare.
Every company is legally required to confirm this, and this is one of the most important things that you should be asking from your employer when it comes to Medicare.
As I said, Medicare is complicated, so be a little wary of taking Medicare advice from your employee benefit person and be sure you are getting solid and accurate answers. Medicare is a whole new can of worms and works differently than the employer plans you’re used to being on.
To get help with your Medicare decision, you can register for my next free online Medicare workshop by going here: https://join.themedicarecoach.com/free-workshop
