Rick Boyd, Medicare Insurance Broker

Answer: Enroll into Medicare if 65 or older 3 months before the month you retire making the effective date your retirement month. Email me for more detailed information.

Answer: Medicare does not cover:

Dental Care

Eye Exams

Hearing Aids

Long-term care

Cosmetic Surgery

Massage Therapy

Concierge Care

Covered Items/Services you receive from an "opt-out" Doctor except in an emergency or urgent case

Answer: Medicare does not pay for assisted living. You will need to look towards long term care insurance, or other types of additional care coverage.

Answer: If you are referring to your initial deductible. If your medication is in your plans formulary, it will count for the deductible.

Answer: Medicare brokers work with multiple carriers and can better advise using your needs what plans could work best for you.

Answer: Often changing carriers while maintaining the same level of coverage can save you money on your premiums.

Answer: If your provider certifies that you need physical therapy, after your part B deductible, Medicare pays 80%, you pay the remaining 20%

Answer: Stay with standard Medicare A, and not enrolling into Medicare part B, and a part D medication plan.

Answer: Unless you qualify for a guaranteed issue enrollment if your state has a supplement birthday rule. You will have to answer health questions.

Answer: By not checking if your medications are on the plans formulary. Or deciding that you do not need a part D plan because you don’t currently take medications.

Answer: Doctors can move in or out of network often depending upon if they change groups or move out of the area. Doctors and facilities moving out of network is one of the many reasons I recommend an Advantage PPO over an HMO if one is available.

Answer: With the introduction of the reduced out of pocket cap, there has been an increase in the medication deductible. Max deductible currently is set at $590.00, although yours may be less. Once the deductible is met along with the $2000.00 maximum out of pocket, you pay zero for your in formulary medications for the rest of the year. Individuals who need expensive medications can realize a significant savings over the course of the year. Those who do not require expensive medications, may see their cost for medications increase due to higher deductibles and increased part D premiums.

Answer: Deciding that part A and B are all they need and do not need to enroll into a part D medication plan. This exposes the senior to 20% of the costs that Original Medicare does not pay. The second biggest mistake is for the senior to only consider cost of coverage. What may look attractive when only considering initial/monthly cost, could prove to be physically or financially disastrous. As brokers we help prospective clients make informed choices.

Answer: As of 2025 there are 9 states that have some form of the Medigap Birthday Rule. The states are California, idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Oregon. Each state has differences in the amount of time around your birthday, to apply with a different company. While most allow you to move to the same or a lower coverage, and change companies, other states allow only like coverage to like coverage with a different company. All of these scenarios come with no medical underwriting.

The best advice is before your birthday, speak with a licensed Medicare insurance specialist to see what your options are in your specific state.

Answer: Clients want information, yet do not take the brokers advice, and end up self enrolling into a plan that is not a good fit for them. When their actions do not work out and they come back for help, it's often too late to help them.