Karen Manning, Medicare Insurance Broker
Karen Manning
Medicare Broker Licensed in VA and NC
7+ Years of Experience
Contact Details
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Location
Roanoke, VA
Karen Can Help With:
About Me
Licensed broker authorized to sell Medicare plans for the top 4 carriers in the Roanoke area. Worked at United Healthcare for 3 years beginning April of 2016; recognized as a top customer service advocate, who assisted Medicare beneficiaries and helped them understand and navigate their healthcare options. Licensed to sell Medicare plans since 2019.
My goal is to help you understand Medicare in general and to put you in the best plan that will meet your needs and be the best choice for your medical needs.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Q&A with Karen Manning
I thought I was covered during my snowbird months in Florida, but apparently not. What kind of plan do I actually need for that?
Answer: There are supplement plans that cover you across the country and Medicare advantage PPO plans that allow you to see doctors anywhere in the United States. It’s not a bad idea when you’re traveling to just let your insurance company know that you’re going to be traveling so that when they start receiving claims from other states, they know why they’re receiving them.
My mom is considering switching to a Medicare Advantage plan because her friends say it's better. She's scared of losing her current doctors. How can we check?
Answer: Any website that has Medicare advantage plans whether it’s amAnthem, Aetna, Humana or United Healthcare all have a look up to see if the doctor is in network with that particular plan so it’s an easy look up and as long as the doctor is in network, there shouldn’t be any issue changing over to that Medicare advantage plan and keeping that doctor as the primary care doctor or specialist.
What's the most misleading Medicare Advantage ad you've seen, and how do you explain the reality to clients?
Answer: I had a client tell me that she saw an ad stating that seniors could receive up to $900 in a food allowance and so she ended up calling the phone number because it was very enticing only to find out that she didn’t qualify for the plan and they ended up taking her and putting her in a different plan where she lost a lot of her benefits that she had initially in the plan that I had put her in.
Any plan that has major benefits with regards to food or over-the-counter credits or utilities and allowances towards those items usually requires that the patient has both Medicare and Medicaid.
What are Special Needs Plans (SNPs) in Medicare Advantage?
Answer: Special need plans are plans that basically mean that the person has special needs whether they are diabetic or have some sort of a chronic condition. So there are chronic plans and there are dual complete plans; the dual complete plans mean they normally qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. There are a lot of benefits in these plans, including prescription drug coverage, dental coverage, transportation to and from doctor visits and to the pharmacy and there’s also usually an over-the-counter credit to help with the cost of food or utilities.
Is occupational therapy covered by Medicare Advantage with UnitedHealth?
Answer: Occupational therapy is covered by most United Healthcare plans as long as the provider is in network and usually depending on the plan, it could be a co-pay as much as $25 per session.
If I move to a rural area, how might that limit my Medicare Advantage plan options?
Answer: All plans have a service area that they cover so depending on where you move to it would be important to check to see if the ZIP Code that you’re in has a plan or the plan that you’re in is still available in that particular area and this can be done very easily by just checking with the insurance company just to make sure that the plan that you’re in is still available in that area or find a plan that would be suitable for you because of the change of address. If you move to a rural area, though, you may want to consider being open to finding a new doctor unless you’re OK with traveling back to the area that you were once living in where your doctor is located.
Why are people unhappy with Medicare Advantage plans?
Answer: I am actually not sure why people would be not happy with a Medicare Advantage plan. I serviced these plans for four years as a customer service advocate at United Healthcare and found these plans to be all inclusive to include your medical, your prescription drug coverage, your vision and your dental; and I found them to be an excellent form of coverage.
For most Advantage plans, you don’t have to pay the $240 deductible for Original Medicare at the beginning of the year; you don’t have to have a separate prescription drug plan; you don’t have to have a separate dental plan and as long as your doctor is in network, for the most part, you have a zero dollar co-pay when you see your primary care physician and a lot of plans have Silver Sneakers included which give you a free or reduced membership at a local gym.
What are the reasons why I should work with a Medicare agent?
Answer: A Medicare agent is licensed to sell Medicare plans - they have been trained and completed numerous types of certifications that confirm that they understand Medicare. They are able to recommend suitable plans to an individual based on their needs - always making sure that they are in compliance with insurance regulations.