Brian Sanet, Medicare Insurance Broker

Answer: To address properly, you would need to define what disparities you are talking about. Is it lack of facilities, lack of doctors, unaffordable policies. More information needed

Answer: If you had the PPO you might have had a chance, but i would try to find the best cardiologist you can IN network. then next year get a medicare supplement so you won't have these problems

Answer: The latest information Social Security has is 2 years old, assuming they haven't seen your 2025 tax information. You should file immediately and let them know what your income was in 2025.

Answer: They don't affect your drug plan all, what they affect is your wallet. a few things to consider:

There are generally five tiers of drugs. What is important to know is that the government does not define the tiers, each drug plan decides which drugs will be in each tier and very often , they plans do not agree. So one plan may call what most people would consider a generic drug a tier 1 or tier 2. Another plan may call it a tier 3. that could be a big out of pocket difference.

Enter the discount cards. for most tier 1 or tier 2 drugs a discount card won't mean much but for the other tiers it can be huge saving. what many people don't realize is even though you have to "have" a drug plan, you don't have to use it. Cards like Goodrx or Singlecare are among the many discount cards that can save you money.

Another option is to get a "cash" price. Many local pharmacies get beat up by the drug industry middlemen, the"PBM'S ..PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS" who keep the saving from the customers an pharmacies. the next time you have to get a tier3 or 4 drug, just for fun ask about a cash price and see what the difference is

Answer: Lets start with what your coverage is.

If you don't have a supplement you are paying the 20% of what Medicare doesn't cover. Depending on what kind of specialist you are seeing and what services they are performing. that can be very expensive, and there is no annual cap on your costs.

If you do have a supplement, which plan is it? Besides the annual Medicare deductible, if you have a high deductible supplement plan to save money on premiums, you are picking up that front end expense.

Finally, does you provider participate with Medicare? Not all providers do. In that case you picking 100% of the bill.

Answer: This is a question I cannot answer in great detail, but let me offer some general information.

Medicare and employer plans: If you are a group of more than 20, and eligible for Medicare, the group plan is primary and Medicare is the secondary, meaning it will pay for things the group coverage doesn't cover, like co-pays and deductibles.

In groups under 20, it works the opposite way. Medicare is usually the primary payer, and the employer plan is secondary. However, it is not uncommon in small groups for the employer to require anyone eligible for Medicare to enroll in parts A and B, thereby eliminating any financial responsibility for the employer.

Medicare and the VA. These are separate systems. Medicare does not pay for care given at the VA, mainly because VA care is given at VA facilities and has nothing to do with Medicare. In the same vein (no pun intended), if you are a veteran with medicare A and B and go to a non-VA provider or facility, the provider will bill Medicare, not the VA.

Answer: You are correct, that is too simple. When people ask me what should I do there are several things to consider.

First what is your health like. That will be the initial guide.

Next comes your risk tolerance. You can go with the least expensive plan but depending on your state that could have serious financial consequences. For example in plan N, providers are allowed to charge YOU, 15% above what medicare allows for any specific service. In some states that is not allowed, in others it is. That could be a huge amount of money for a chemo treatment or a major surgery. Do you think you're healthy enough to risk that cost to save some money in premium?

The final thing is a three part question: What do you want, What do you need, What can you afford. You make that decision mutitple times every day. Lets face it you can get to the grocery in a Rolls Royce or a VW bug (you're old enough to know what that is) You will know the answer to that better than anyone else.

When you finish considering all those things you will have a better grip on what you want to do.

Answer: Well, you must be talking about Medicare supplements or Medicare advantage plans. As an agent I will not deny that some carriers offer "bonuses" for pushing their products but that does not limit me from selling the same products from other carriers. However there are carriers that will not work with independent agents. I cannot address the details of those arrangements as i have always been independent.

Answer: The answer is no, but... It depends! As of January 31 of this year, Telehealth for the general public stopped working EXCEPT, for people living in "rural" areas or people with specific health issues like end stage real disease, acute stroke and some mental or behavioral disorders. These specific issues might make it too difficult to see a physician in person so their access has been kept in order.

Answer: Medicare, the government health coverage, cannot drop you. However...

If you don't pay your Part B premium, you can lose your Part B coverage

Medicare supplements cannot drop you... unless you don't pay the premium

Medicare Advantage (or as I call it, disadvantage) can drop you by leaving the area it serves. This year, according to the Kaiser Foundation, about 2.6 million people will lose coverage because their Advantage plans left the market

Answer: The first issue that comes to mind is that your part B monthly premium is deducted from your social security payment. If you're delaying that benefit, you will receive a quarterly bill for that premium.

The next thing, is that if you choose to buy a medicare supplement, that social security payment would be helpful in paying for that premium

Answer: First, You will talk to an human not an AI voice.

Next, YOU are important to agents, they care about you. They want you to get the best correct information so you can make a the best decision that works for you. They will take the time to explain all your options and the pros and cons of each choice

Answer: 2 Quick things: Doctors are tired of being told that cannot treat their clients until they get"permission" from the insurance carrier

Second, The pay the carriers provide to providers is unsatisfactory