Isaac Witham, Medicare Insurance Broker
Isaac Witham
American Senior Benefits
Medicare Broker Licensed in ME, AZ, NH, NV, SC, TN, TX and UT
Contact Details
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Location
Manchester, ME
About Me
I am a licensed insurance agent with nearly six years of experience helping seniors understand their Medicare options with confidence. I take pride in providing clear, honest guidance and making sure each client finds coverage that truly fits their needs. I am happy to meet in person and willing to travel to ensure you receive personalized, one-on-one support, or can always hold a conversation over the phone.
Q&A with Isaac Witham
Are Medicare Advantage plans really "free," or is that just clever marketing?
Answer: Advantage plans are not free. They often times use a cost-share structure that allows patients to pay lower premiums monthly, but may have higher copayments for other services, such as hospitalizations, surgeries, cancer treatments, and other services with high out of pocket co-payments. They are also not always 0 dollar premium plans. As of this year many programs are starting to introduce premiums to their plans. It may be however, a good option for individuals that are relatively healthy, and maybe see their pcp and a specialist every so often.
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: Copayments for specialty prescriptions can of course become very expensive. Because of this, it is important that you do a comparison to different programs that are available to you as each carrier may cover a prescription very different. There are some programs that you may qualify for(state dependent) that may help lower those cost depending on income. In other situations, there may be patients assistant programs offered by your hospital/provider, that may also be an opportunity to help with those high cost. In that case, it makes sense to check with providers to see if there may be any help available to patients. Lastly, GoodRx may offer high discount codes for that particular prescription. This doesn't always help with every prescription, but may be available for others.
Do Medicare Advantage plans save money?
Answer: How Medicare Advantage Can Save Money
1️⃣ Lower Monthly Premium
Most Medicare Advantage plans have:
$0 or low monthly premiums
Still must pay Part B premium
Compared to Medigap (which might cost $150–$250+ per month), this is a big upfront savings.
2️⃣ Built-In Maximum Out-of-Pocket
Advantage plans include an annual max out-of-pocket (MOOP).
Original Medicare + supplement:
No cap on Medicare alone
Supplement lowers costs but costs more monthly
Advantage:
Has a yearly cap (often $3,000–$7,500 depending on plan)
That protects against catastrophic costs.