Gabriel Reinhardt, Medicare Insurance Broker
Gabriel Reinhardt
Strong River Insurance Agency
Medicare Broker Licensed in CO, KS, NC, TX, VA and WY
6+ Years of Experience
Contact Details
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Location
Parker, CO
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Phone
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Website
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About Me
Gabe Reinhardt is a Licensed Insurance Broker and owner of Strong River Insurance Agency, where he specializes in guiding individuals through their Medicare choices. Gabe offers clear, personalized support, and with appointments through all major carriers, can align you with the plan that offers the highest amount of what you want most.
What sets Gabe apart beyond offering plans from all major carriers is how he makes people feel—heard, understood, and taken care of. Clients often come to him feeling overwhelmed by Medicare’s complexity or sheer amount of choices. They leave with clarity, confidence, and a real sense of relief knowing they’ve made the right decision for their health and future.
An honorably discharged veteran, Gabe brings the same values he lived in the military—integrity, commitment, and service—into every client relationship. He takes the time to truly listen, explain every option without pressure, and ensure each plan fits the person.
With Gabe, you will feel secure and confident in your Medicare choices.
Q&A with Gabriel Reinhardt
I'm turning 65 in three months but still working with employer coverage. Do I need to sign up for Medicare right now or can I wait?
Answer: This question is the cause of much stress and indecision for many who are trying to figure out the right time to join Medicare. On the bright side, there are many different pathways to join Medicare, but unfortunately, having too many options can be confusing and opens the possibility of choosing a wrong path at the wrong time. Missteps may include missing time-specific guarantees, unexpected higher taxes, and lifetime penalties.
If you are contributing to an HSA (health savings account), you can no longer contribute pre-tax dollars when you join Medicare. So, if you want to continue building a pre-tax HSA, consider delaying your entry. If you are not contributing to an HSA and will be on a plan that is considered credible coverage for Medicare, you can take Part A at 65 as a secondary hospital coverage and join Part B when you leave the credible coverage.
If your credible coverage plan is better in terms of coverage and/or cost than Medicare, consider staying with the plan after 65. However, if Medicare is the better deal, consider joining at 65.
If you are not on credible coverage after 65, Medicare will impose a 10% per year Part B penalty and 1% per month Part D penalty. These are both lifetime penalties. Ensure your coverage is credible!
There is a 6-month Medigap Open Enrollment period when you first join Medicare Part B where you are guaranteed to be issued a Medigap policy with no questions asked about your health. If you are outside a Guaranteed Issue Rights window, you may have to pass medical underwriting to obtain a policy. Every situation is different! Make sure you get trusted advice on which path may best suit your needs.
I have Original Medicare, a Medigap Plan G, and a Part D plan, but I'm still facing high costs for my specialty medication. What options exist for someone in my situation?
Answer: Even though Part D prescription drug plans are regulated, the price one pays for those drugs can vary greatly based on many factors. Let's explore two of the main ways that prescriptions can cost more than have to.
CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) requires that all drug plans have at least two drugs in each therapeutic class, meaning you will have at least two drugs to choose from for your ailment. However, CMS does not tell the drug plans which drugs they have to cover. So, if a plan does not cover a particular specialty medication (or any medication), the full cost of that drug will be on the Medicare recipient with no cost sharing from the drug plan. In this case, the drug is considered "not covered" by the drug plan.
Another reason why a specialty medication (or any medication) cost may be high is if the drug was covered by the plan, but the Medicare recipient did not use an in-network pharmacy (or went to an in-network pharmacy but not preferred pharmacy). The same drug could be more expensive based solely on the pharmacy used to fill the prescription.
It's important to not only check that all prescriptions are covered by a plan, but to check pricing across many plans and across many pharmacies, to ensure you are getting your prescriptions at the lowest possible cost.
There are other factors that may play a part such as premiums, deductibles, and drug tiers. At Strong River Insurance, it is a standard practice to compare all drug plans available in your zip code, based on your prescriptions, and to find the lowest total annual cost at an acceptable pharmacy within a radius of your home.
Why are people leaving Medicare Advantage plans?
Answer: Medicare Advantage Plans continue their upward trajectory in percentage of people served and total people served, but there are many reasons why they may not be a good fit for everyone.
1. In some areas, an Advantage Plan may have a limited provider network. This could lead to a limitation of access or lack of choices for both primary and specialist care.
2. Out-of-pocket costs can be escalate quickly, especially with inpatient care or chronic condition care. While there are no hidden costs, being unaware of certain copayments or coverage limitations can leave unexpected bills. However, CMS regulation mandates that all Advantage Plans have a Max-Out-Of-Pocket (MOOP) where all covered services are paid by the carrier once the MOOP is met.
3. Prior authorizations and denied claims for medical procedures may have more of an impact on satisfaction level for those on Advantage Plans.
4. Annual Plan Changes can be confusing and hard to follow. Some plan changes include network, out of pocket costs, MOOP changes, and formulary changes.
There are other reasons why some may decide that Advantage are not a good fit. The alternative is returning to Original Medicare that can be supplemented with a Part D drug plan and Medigap Supplement plan. Just like with Advantage Plans, there are pros and cons to this approach as well. Happy to go into details!
What are the reasons why I should work with a Medicare agent?
Answer: Great question!. A Medicare agent (or broker) is a licensed professional who has experience looking at plan details and helping people see the differences between options that may not be so obvious. Agent support can be invaluable, especially for those who have questions about their situation that isn’t spelled out on plan material. Also, Medicare has specific regulations that can be easily overlooked or misunderstood, such as lifetime penalties and Guaranteed Issue Rights. Reviewing your unique circumstances with a trusted broker can greatly help avoid some of the most common pitfalls of Medicare.
Lastly, using a local broker has added benefits of high expertise in the plans available in your area. While a licensed agent servicing plans nation-wide may have access to all the information, someone who services a local community will have in-depth knowledge of local networks and comparison to other plans on the area.
As a senior, what should I know about the differences between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage before I choose?
Answer: Great question- there are many significant differences. When you are on Original Medicare you can see any doctor in the nation who accepts Medicare (and new patients). When you are on an Advantage plan, you choose a provider who accepts the plan. Some plans have large networks, and some plans do not.
Advantage plans do have many benefits one doesn’t get from original Medicare. They are called “extra benefits”. These may include things such as routine and major dental, eye exams and vision allowance, hearing exam and aids allowance, and gum memberships, to name a few. A great thing they offer is max out of pocket protection, similar to work group plans, if you’re familiar. In Original Medicare there is no max out of pocket protection. (Let me know if you want to talk about supplements which help with your out of pocket costs.)
Lastly, there are some advantage plans that reduce your part b premium payment. I advise anyone considering these options to carefully add up a typical year’s usage to see if it makes sense. There’s so much more, but these are a few things that so how different they can be. Please let me know if you’d like to go into more depth for your situation and needs. It’s unique for everyone!