Growing up with a Father that served in the Air Force, my family grew up throughout the United States. This meant that we moved all throughout our school years and I personally went to 12 different schools and four different high schools.
While living in North Dakota where the winter weather was beyond freezing, the High School provided more activities that could be done inside. Because you could not go out in the weather (it was nothing to see the temperature be -70 degrees fahrenheit), the school made sure to have activities that were normally done outside. They had an indoor track and field, an indoor driving school, a swimming pool, tennis and racquetball courts, and one of my favorites, a shooting range where you would learn gun safety.
The teacher that taught on the shooting range was very pleasing to the eye (I’m being honest) and so taking that class may have had other objectives to a young high school girl, but the class was fun, educational, and although I had no idea at the time, would have a positive impression of me by the man who would later become my husband.
John is an avid hunter and loves shooting sports so when he learned that I knew how to shoot, he invited me to go shooting with him while we dated. He still teaches me ways to improve my shot and although I am not able to go shooting for the entire day as he does (it wreaks havoc on my arms and hand if I do it more than an hour at a time), I do love the challenge of shooting sports such as trap and skeet.
Just about a month ago while doing some paperwork in my office, the phone rang. A potential client was calling to inquire about what to do for Medicare.
He was past his Open Enrollment Period (he was 66 years old), but thought because he had health insurance through his employer, he didn’t have to enroll into Medicare.
The problem was his coverage through his employer was not deemed credible coverage. This means that the coverage that he had through work was not equal or better than what Medicare offers. If you miss your Open Enrollment Period and do not have credible coverage, you cannot just go and get it any time. In this case, he will not be able to enroll into Medicare until January of next year and his coverage will not begin until July 1st of next year. He may also have to pay a penalty.
The other problem is that Medicare separates health care and prescriptions. Again, he will be penalized for not having a credible prescription drug plan.
I wasn’t able to help this man now. He thought he had this Medicare “thing” under control, but in reality, he missed the mark.
He missed the target.
The sad thing is he in not alone as I have witnessed this very thing happen over and over again.
It is my hope that no one misses the target. It’s why it has become part of my weekly routine to educate and inform you about as many insurance products as I can.
Medicare is complex consisting of many different and connected parts.
Before you miss the target on what are the necessary steps with Medicare, reach out.
With Balanced Care, we want to help you hit the target spot on.
Terri Trepanier is the owner of Balanced Care Health and Supplemental Insurance and a licensed insurance consultant and broker with Associated Brokers. Licensed in both Maine and NH, her specialty is working with small businesses, individuals, and families with their health and life insurance needs. She is certified to offer health plans both on and off the exchange and is contracted with every health insurance company that offers plans in both New Hampshire and Maine. Her other passion is assisting Medicare beneficiaries with their Medicare Supplemental, Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans, and Medicare Advantage plans. Terri has seen firsthand the importance of insurance products and how they help families. Her goal with Balanced Care is to “Insure Security and Peace of Mind One Family at a Time”.