Krystal Hampton, Medicare Insurance Agent

Answer: Yes you can. You change your Medigap policy the month of your birthday and the following month only.

Answer: If you move to a rural area, you may not have a lot of Medicare Advantage policies to choose from.

If this happens to you, consider getting a Medigap policy instead which isn't location specific.

Answer: Doctors are able to enter and exit healthcare policies at will. They do not need to accept your policy.

To prevent not being able to see your doctor, consider enrolling in a PPO plan.

Answer: The most cost effective way for a health 65 year old to structure their Medicare coverage is to get a major policy and gap insurances to cover it.

Gap insurances could be for hospital and doctor's copays and coinsurances or for dental, vision and hearing copays and coinsurances.

So for a healthy 65 year old this could mean getting a Medicare Advantage policy with a gap insurance or getting a Medigap policy with a gap insurance.

They would need to speak to a licensed Medicare agent to learn more about what other savings there could be as well.

Answer: Yes you can apply for a Medigap policy during annual enrollment period, which is from October 15th through December 7th.

To do so, you would have to exchange your Medicare Advantage plan to a standalone prescription drug plan and then enroll into a guaranteed issue Medigap plan.

You can also enroll into a Medigap policy from January 1st through March 31st as well.

Answer: If your income drops after retirement, you could lower your Medicare part B premium by applying for state Medicaid.

If you are eligible for state Medicaid, apply, and then are approved for state Medicaid, your state will pay 100% of your Medicare part B premium.

If you are not eligible for state Medicaid, there are other ways to reduce your part B premium but that would require you to speak to a licensed medicare agent who can help you.

Answer: Orignal Medicare does cover asthma and other breathing conditions, but the cost may vary depending on the type of condition someone has.

Medicare part B only covers 80% of cost relating to durable medical equipment, like nebulizers but that's only after the deductible is met which is around $250.

Answer: The biggest misconception that people have about Medicare is people think that Original Medicare (part A and part B, with a prescription drug plan only not any other policy) covers everything without copays or deductibles, which couldn't be further from the truth.

Medicare part A, which covers hospital stays, has a medical deductible around $1600.

That means that the person will have to pay $1600 upfront before Medicare covers their hospital stay.

Medicare part B, which covers doctor's visits, has a medical deductible around $250 and a cost-share of around 20%.

That means that before Medicare can pay for a visit to the doctor's, the person would have to pay $250 of their bill upfront. Afterwards, the person would have to pay 20% of all costs.

So if a doctor's visit is around $1000, they would have to pay $200 every single time they visted the doctor.

Although Original Medicare covers some medical expenses, it has huge gaps and those gaps. Medicare doesn't cover all medical expenses, leaving the person with very little to pay. Medicare should be covered with additional insurance.

Not a lot of people know that and they are surprised when they learn about that!

Answer: If you are confused about if your cholesterol medication counts towards your coverage gap, check your current evidence of coverage document (also known as a member service agreement) and find the section labelled "prescription drugs".

Your evidence of coverage document will tell you whether or not covered prescriptions under your prescription drug plan count toward your coverage gap as well as other information you may not know about your prescription drug plan.

Answer: The one thing I like most about being a Medicare agent is the fact that I can help people. Whether it is fixing a current issue with their policy or finding a new policy, I'm happy when I can find an answer to someone's problem.