Shane and Tammy Carpenter, Medicare Insurance Broker
Shane and Tammy Carpenter
Your Choice Insurance Advisors
Medicare Broker Licensed in OK, AR, FL, GA, KS, OH, TN and TX
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Arkansas
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About Me
Hello!
We are Shane and Tammy Carpenter, licensed Medicare insurance brokers dedicated to serving our community.
We love working together helping our clients find the plans that are most suited to their personal situations. It is definitely not a "one size fits all" situation when choosing what is right for you. Medicare is our area of expertise, and we will thoroughly evaluate you circumstances and make sure you understand how Medicare works. We offer Medicare Supplement Plans, Prescription Drug Plans and Medicare Advantage Plans and are astutely familiar with all of your choices on a local level. We are also brokers and not just agents. This means that we work for you and not just a particular health insurance provider or call center that is just looking for volume of clients but have no follow-up support.
Reach out to us today to discuss your Medicare insurance possibilities, and remember to mention you found me here on Medicare Agents Hub!
Directions to My Office
My Google Reviews
42 Total Reviews (5.0)
May 27, 2025
Shane & Tammy truly are a blessing, do not hesitate to contact Shane, for advice on 65 & over. Tammy, under 65'ers. Truly made two amazing friends
May 21, 2025
Shane Carpenter is a sensitive and competent insurance professional. He is a great listener and skilled in interpreting the client’s needs and providing great counsel.
May 19, 2025
Extremely knowledgeable and always a pleasure to work with. Shane is very focused on finding the exact plan you need and Tammy makes the process effortless.
May 15, 2025
Your Choice Insurance Advisors will be our only choice for the foreseeable future. Shane and Tammy worked hard to help us navigate through the Health Insurance Marketplace. For our second year working with them, they helped us to see that we qualify for for a better plan that meets our needs and budget! They are very knowledgeable and hospitable. They will work hard to take care of your insurance needs needs!
May 13, 2025
We are very happy with service we received from Shane Carpenter and wife as our Advisors. He has been very helpful to us. We definitely recommend him to others.
Q&A with Shane and Tammy Carpenter
What do you enjoy most about working with Medicare clients?
Answer: We love working with Medicare clients because we feel less like insurance agents and more like problem-solvers. When we can help simplify a complicated experience and find a plan combination that works best for them after considering all of the options, we feel immense satisfaction and build great relationships with our clients, which is an extra bonus!
What is one of the the most common misconceptions people have about Medicare?
Answer: That it is "one size fits all." So many untruths are spread around without an actual understanding of the Medicare environment, such as "Never get a Medicare Advantage Plan" or "All Supplement/Medigap Plans are expensive." These statements are simply untrue and blanket statements can create a lot of stress and poor choices that can burden down so many without fully understanding the true reality of the situation. In addition, the "Never get a Medicare Advantage Plan" comments are often stated categorically by those that only hold life insurance licenses and not both health and life insurance licenses. Bottom line, they are unable to offer Medicare Advantage plans and therefore are pushing Supplement/Medigap plans. It is definitely a case by case evaluation of what is the appropriate choice when it comes to all of the options out there. This is why we encourage Medicare beneficiaries to only consult with those that are licensed in both health and life insurance. It costs nothing to use a broker's services, so it makes sense to have a good sit-down to understand ALL of your options.
What benefits are there to working with a Medicare Agent near me vs remote/virtual?
Answer: Local, in-person brokers are not "fly by night" call center agents that you will never be able to access after the enrollment. We are here for the follow-ups, questions and support that is often needed. We also, provide ongoing re-evaluation of your plans annually to ensure that you are continuing on with the plans that best meet your needs. Finally, we are LOCAL. This means that we are the most familiar with the plans that are offered in the area and are better equipped to find a plan that is more tailored to your needs.
What is the biggest disadvantage of Medicare Advantage?
Answer: The biggest disadvantage of Medicare Advantage is that you are often working within a network. This means that a doctor or medical institution could leave or join a plan throughout the year. Medicare Advantage plans that offer a PPO or Preferred Provider Organizations option offer more flexibility to see doctors or go to providers outside of the network for a higher cost or copay.
What demographic challenges will Medicare face in the coming years?
Answer: There are many aging into Medicare in the upcoming years and administration changes are still unknown. Having a professional guide you through these changes will be essential.
Do I have to answer health questions when switching from one Supplemental/Medigap plan to another?
Answer: This really depends. Will you be switching within the same company? Which company is it? Otherwise, you generally must answer health questions when switching between plans.
How does the Part D "catastrophic coverage" phase work once I hit the out-of-pocket max?
Answer: If you have met the "catastrophic coverage" phase, you will have no further responsibility towards drugs covered in your plan's formulary. However, if you are on medications not covered by your Part D prescription drug plan, you will still be responsible to pay those costs.
Is Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage better? Why do you recommend one over the other?
Answer: Simply put, it is not a "one size fits all" answer. For some, Original Medicare with a Supplement with/without a Prescription Drug plan is better and for others a Medicare Advantage Plan is better. Why do I say this? There are many factors to consider such as budget, flexibility, willingness to work with networks or not, health circumstances and more. Only when properly evaluating these circumstances can Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage plan be determined as the better choice.
How do Social Security and Medicare work together for people with disabilities?
Answer: If you qualify for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), then you will eventually qualify for Medicare. However, this doesn’t happen until 24 months after your first SSDI payment. At that point, you will be automatically enrolled into Medicare. Part A, which is the hospital insurance, is usually free. However, Part B is the medical insurance and it has a monthly premium. Generally speaking, once you qualify for Medicare you will want to add a prescription drug coverage, supplement, or Medicare Advantage plan. in fact, if you do not have qualified prescription drug coverage, you will be penalized for not enrolling in a prescription drug plan when you first become eligible for Medicare.
What do you like most about being a Medicare agent?
Answer: We often think of our major “job description” as “problem solvers.” Most individuals are not clear on what their options are when it comes to Medicare because of the many plans and paths available to them. So when we have the opportunity to really examine what our client’s real situation and needs are, we are able to assist them to find the plan that most appropriately suits them. Whether that would be a Medicare Supplement Plan with/without a Prescription Drug Plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan or, perhaps, a Special Needs Plan. We have, on many occasions, been able to save our clients money and/or headaches and removed the stress from a complicated process. The relief that our clients feel when we help them to work through this is definitely our favorite part of being a Medicare broker.