Today, I wanted to share this very interesting call I recently had with one of my client’s doctors.
As a part of our Concierge service, we will call your doctors to confirm what types of Medicare they accept. So, I had called one of my client’s doctor’s offices and was impressed and very surprised about how our conversation went.
I told them that my mom was a patient of theirs and she was looking to join Medicare, so I wanted to confirm what they accept, and her response was, “I’m so glad that you’ve called, so many people pick out a Medicare plan, and it ends up being a nightmare.”
I was shocked to hear this from a doctor’s office. She continued, “We don’t take Original Medicare. However, we do take certain Medicare Advantage plans.”
And here was the impressive part, she added, “But here’s what you need to know about these Advantage plans. Most of the time, if you come here, those Advantage plans require a referral from your primary care doctor. So, if your primary care doctor on your Advantage Plan is maybe out of the office or very busy, we can’t see you. Your primary care doctor must approve surgeries, visits, anything you want to do here. They’re the gatekeeper of your health care.”
She also shared that so many clients get so frustrated with those Medicare Advantage plans because the red tape creates delays and more work and that they’re disappointed that the insurance agent never told them this would happen.
This is a fact about Medicare. We see this happen all the time. But unfortunately, people get sold these plans without understanding the ins and outs of how the plan works.
I was grateful that this lady was so informed about Medicare, but not all doctor’s offices are that aware of what’s going on.
This is why it’s so crucial for you to know what plan you’re picking because it really could cause a lot of headaches and be a complete mess down the road.
At the end of our call, she told me to be thoughtful about making my mom’s Medicare decision because once you join a Medicare plan, you are likely stuck.
And she’s entirely correct.
I want you to avoid these messes and make sure you get to see the doctors you want to see.
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
