This month’s column will be about the value of using an agent to decide which plan is your best fit.
The website medicare.gov has a lot of powerful information inside it. The catch is that there are many configurations possible and they yield changing information. So if you have the wrong things entered, you don’t get the answer you are looking for.
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(1) comment
Mr. Weiss, thank you for this great article! Medicare's rules can be very convoluted and confusing at times. If you do not have an unbiased, licensed agent to help you navigate the Medicare waters, you will either drown in debt or with the wrong plan!
As someone who works closely with our elder loved ones, explaining and assisting can sometimes be difficult. The website I found and suggest they look into is called MedicarePlanFinder.com because it has in-depth information about everything Medicare. This article on preparing to meet with an Insurance Agent will help some of your readers:
https://www.medicareplanfinder.com/blog/medicare-insurance-agent/
Thank you again and have a great day!
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