A few weeks ago I received an email from Dave. He told me that he was recently diagnosed with cancer and that his Medicare plan didn’t allow him to see the doctor he selected and so this was costing him a lot of money.
He contacted me to see if he had different options with better coverage and I looked to see if I could help.
Dave lives on the west coast with his wife and has two kids and five grandkids. Dave joined Medicare two years ago when he retired, and he was looking forward to his retirement and the extra time he would have to spend on his woodworking.
When picking his Medicare plan for retirement, Dave turned to a Medicare agent his friends used and trusted. Dave was very healthy, so he selected a plan the agent recommended.
The Medicare plan worked great for him in the beginning, until one year into his retirement when he was diagnosed with cancer. His diagnosis quickly showed him the issues in his current Medicare plan.
He was clearly upset by the diagnosis but was set on beating cancer. He knew that with the right doctors he could be in good health again and go back to his hobbies and spending time with grandkids.
Dave discovered the first issue with his Medicare plan was that the Oncologist he wanted to see didn’t accept his plan. The Oncologist accepted certain types of Medicare but not his. Therefore, he would either need to find a different doctor or pay out of pocket for the doctor visits. He found that the out of pocket expenses for this Oncologist would easily cost him thousands of dollars which would place a substantial strain he and his wife’s retirement.
Dave decided to go back to his Medicare agent to help find a different option, and the agent wasn’t able to do anything.
That’s when Dave found the Medicare Coach online and contacted us.
After speaking with Dave and learning about his situation, I realized he made a critical mistake when he first enrolled in Medicare, and there wasn’t much that could be done to fix this problem.
If only I could have spoken with David before he joined Medicare we could have planned for this possible situation and avoided it. I could have asked him the right questions to find the best plan in his best interest.
Due to the Medicare rules, it is challenging to make significant switches in plans especially if you have any health issues.
With his cancer diagnosis, Dave is now considered uninsurable, and for that reason, he’s stuck in the plan the agent sold him.
It is never easy for me to have to give this news and it certainly isn’t easy for him to hear either.
Unfortunately, most people don’t realize the implication of a bad Medicare decision and aren’t sure what questions to ask to ensure they are doing what’s right for them.
When I was helping my dad with his Medicare decision, we didn’t want to think of him getting cancer, but we had too. Too many of his friends have had cancer or other serious health diagnosis and were able to see the best doctors in the country for treatment.
I believe having access to the best healthcare is the key to a long and healthy life, so we planned for the chance that one day he would get that too.
The Medicare Coach has been helping clients for nine years, and we’ve seen almost every situation and have been able to guide people through it successfully. We help people avoid mistakes, so their Medicare plan fits them no matter the situation.
That’s why I do this. Medicare is the most critical decision you will make in retirement because it impacts both your health care and your savings.
Too many people get bad advice from someone making commissions off the Medicare supplement or Advantage plans. Unfortunately, most people don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to Medicare until it’s too late.
To easily make the right Medicare decision you can CLICK HERE to sign up for our Medicare Enrollment Concierge.
