Paul Mercier, Medicare Insurance Broker

Answer: Doctors and Hospitals work under a contract with an Insurance company's advantage plan. When you first checked your Dr accepted your insurance company but apparently the contract negotiations broke down by the time you were to see you Dr and they are no longer accepting you particular Advantage plan

Answer: A medigap plan is not a Medicare plan. You get the Medigap plan from a private insurance company i.e. humana, united health, etc. Some states do not have guaranteed issue in which case you can look into a Medicare Advantage plan

Answer: Medicare Part B will cover the wheelchair cost as long as you have a prescription from a Dr. Stating that a wheelchair is medically necessary

Answer: It depends if you have a supplement plan or an Advantage plan. You can change your supplement plan every month if ypu want to but an Advantage plan is different. You have the Annual Enrollment Period or AEP from Oct. 15th - Dec 7th. Then you have the Open Enrollment Period or OEP and that is from Jan. 1st - March 31st in which time you can make one more change. Then there is the Special Election Period whic is anytime a major change occurs such as if you move out of your current location or if you change Drs or if a Dr stops using the plan that you are on and several other reasons such as those.

Answer: It is based on your income. It also matters if you are married and if you file seperately or jointly. If you are over the limit it will affect your Part B cost. The easiest way would be to all your local social security office and ask them

Answer: It depends on what type of plan that you were on. You may need to get a supplement plan. Each situation is different.

Answer: The benefit is huge. You will be having someone who is a licensed and certified broker who has your best interests in mind. Also, as a broker you will be working with someone who can offer and compare different plans from multiple companies with no bias towards any specific company

Answer: I have been helping people with Medicare for over 30 years and the one thing I tell everyone is that Medicare itself is complex so you csn start with that. But, to give a specific instense, I have a client that lives in N.H. but all of their Drs. are in Massachusetts and not onl that but where they live in N.H. does not have many companies that cover that area so it is a constant battle to get them coverage between Drs. and Hospitals changing who they except and the lack of options because of wgere they live.

Answer: Medicare does not coverot dental work. You would need to get either and advantage plan with some type of dental plan or a stand alone dental plan.

Answer: Most of the times that I hear Medicare Fraud it pertains to comsumers putting in a fraudulent claim. However there have been time when someone passing themselves off as working for Mediacre to obtain someones information. The best way to prevent this from happening is to never ever give you personal information such as credit cards, checking/savings account over the phone,text or email unless you know for sure who is at the other end. Also, get the person who is asking the questions information, is he or she licensed and certified. Medicare does not have any agents that will call you or visit with you, that is why there are licensed, certified agents,

Answer: No agaent should be pushing anything on you. The agent should always present some choices and explain to you the differences with each plan. At the end it should always be your choice. If this does not happen I would look for another licensed agent

Answer: Hospice care is a specific type of Palliative care and it depends on what stages the person is in that will dtermine what type of palliative care they recieve. While Hospice care is usually towrds the alter stages of oife. Medicare determines the each person oin a case by case situation

Answer: Most of my clients use the OTC card. How the OTC system works varies by each carrier. Most you can use over the phone or on line and some you can use in the specific store

Answer: Yes, in some cases Medicare will cover that cost. If it is deemed medically necessary. You need to check with Medicare to find out.

Answer: IRMAA does not go away automatically. You will need to contact Social Security and let them know that your income has droped.

Answer: The MOOP for the Advantage plans is the most that you will pay out of your pocket for co-pays. As an example without any specific plan in mind $45 co-pay to see a specialist or $350 per day for days 1-5 in a hospital admittance. I hope that helps

Answer: No one, especially agents should be pushing anything. In some cases an Advantage plan is the best plan and in some cases a Medicare Supplement/medigap plan is best. It all depends on your situation. I would skeptical if the agent cannot or will not explain why they are recommending that plan

Answer: The only way to truly tell is to sit down with a licensed agent and go over your current information and see what is important to you and see what options are available

Answer: Working with a Medicare Agent means that he or she is licensed as well as fully trained and certfied in helping people navigate through the sometimes confusing Medicare process. It also ensures that you will be given the best solutions and options to any concerns or needs that you have