William Kravit, Medicare Insurance Agent
William Kravit
Medicare Agent Licensed in WI, AZ, CO, FL, IL, ME, NH, NM, NV, OH, TN and TX
Contact Details
-
Location
Milwaukee, WI
-
Phone
-
Website
William Can Help With:
About Me
For over a half-century, the experts at FHK Insurance have assisted thousands of seniors in finding the best health insurance that fits their needs. Whenever you call, you'll receive a personal response from one of our representatives.
Q&A with William Kravit
What's one Medicare decision that too many people regret later?
Answer: They are working and covered by a large group when they turn 65 and someone says: "You need to call Social Security and sign up for Medicare. They do that. Years later when they are retiring and referred to me, I see that they had enrolled in Medicare Part B and paying the premium all this time when they didn't have to because the group plan stays primary coverage and Part B is not necessary.
How do you educate clients who are completely new to Medicare?
Answer: We work with employers to hold a Medicare 101 educational seminar for their older employees so that person's experience that I outlined in the first question will not happen.
Am I eligible for a Special Enrollment Period if I lose employer coverage?
Answer: Generally yes. That is considered a life-changing event which creates an opportunity to enroll in Medicare without any late enrollment penalties, and cascading from Medicare enrollment is the guaranteed enrollment into any Medicare plan such as a supplement or Advantage plan.
How do I know if a Medigap policy is right for me, and what's the best time to buy one?
Answer: A Medigap policy is right for you for a number of reasons:
1. You are in the younger market like age 65 and that gives you a low premium.
2. You're health is not great, many doc visits, maybe a few chronic conditions requiring on going services.
3. Medigap policies follow Medicare's lead, and Medicare patients are treated everywhere. In other words, Medigap clients don't hear "no" when or if they want to go to a specialist locally or anywhere in the country.
What's the key difference in how Medicare Advantage and Medigap handle out-of-network providers?
Answer: Their are no networks with original Medicare, whereas Advantage plans have in-network and out of network providers. Under an Advantage plan, if the provider agrees to treat you, there is usually a bigger maximum out of pocket (moop). So if the provider accepts the Advantage plan, there should be no difference in medical services, just in how it's paid. With a Medigap, th eout of pockets are very limited, and with an Advantage plan the out of pocket can be significant like $8000 or thereabouts.
Will I be penalized if I do not enroll in Medicare when I turn 65?
Answer: It depends. If you are currently covered under an employer group health plan (EGHP) that's larger than 20 full-time employees or part time equivalents, then no you will not be penalized as long as when you lose that EGHP you then sign up for Medicare Parts A and B.
If you are covered under a small group less than 20 in size, or coming off an individual plan like Marketplace, then yes you may be penalized by not enrolling in Medicare during the time period that you have to do it.
Which Medicare Supplement plan (Medigap) offers the best value for most seniors, and why?
Answer: Each plan is actuarially equal. Most Medigap plans have a structure of plan A through H with the H plan being the most in benefits. Wisconsin and another State regulate Medigap benefit's by using up to five benefit riders that can be added to each Medigap policy.
We like Medigap plans offered by larger companies that would enjoy a significantly larger block of business. The bigger the block, the more likely unexpected large claims will be absorbed by the bigger blocks and rate increases can be better mitigated.
Is Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage better? Why do you recommend one over the other?
Answer: No one size fits all. With Medigaps, you pay a larger monthly premium, but virtually no out of pockets when incurring medical related service expenses. With an Advantage plan, you pay no monthly premium or an insignificant premium, yet when you incur medical related service expenses you'll pay copays.
Both are wonderful coverages and our recommendation involves many variables and therefore it becomes very personal.