Medicare: It's a topic clouded in controversy and complexity, yet most of us will have to navigate it someday. In short, Medicare is the federal insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities and people with End-Stage Renal Disease.  

Medicare has four main "Parts" that cover specific services. These are:

• Part A for hospital insurance. This is for inpatient hospital stays, care in a skilled nursing facility, hospice care and some health care services. 
• Part B for medical insurance. This covers certain doctor's services, outpatient care, medical supplies and preventative services.
• Part D for prescription drug coverage. Part D adds prescription drug coverage to original Medicare and Medicare-related plans.

You might be wondering, "Where is Medicare Part C?" Part C is often known as Medicare Advantage, which is essentially Medicare through a health care provider.

To help you navigate the journey through Medicare, AAA Western and Central New York now offers Medicare consultations free of charge. With so many questions surrounding Medicare, we spoke to our new in-house agent, Elizabeth Sciria about the ins and outs of signing up for Medicare.

Is the Medicare process difficult to navigate alone?

It can be difficult and it can be time consuming. So the benefit to coming to AAA is,  Number one: You're talking to somebody who's AHIP (America's Health Insurance Plans) licensed, gets recertified, and licensed every single year to understand Medicare plans. Unless the average consumer is doing that, they're not going to know as much as about insurance as someone who does it for a living.

And the second advantage is, we're licensed with all of the major carriers. So when (a customer) comes into a AAA appointment, (we're) going to find the right plan for them rather than just what an individual carrier is going to sell them. Because an individual carrier can't show them another carrier's plans, whereas we can show them all of them.

What are the first questions you ask someone when they come in for a Medicare consultation?

"When are you turning 65?" is the number one question.

The second question is, "Are you retiring when you turn 65?" Because, if somebody is not going to be retiring and they have credible coverage with their employer, there's no need for them to sign up for (Medicare) Part B as long as their employer has more than 20 employees on the plan.

Can you give me an example?

Somebody works for the school system. They're going to be working till they're 67. And if they've got health insurance, there's nothing for them to do. At the time that they go ahead to sign up for Part B, they will need to prove credible coverage, but until then, they're fine.

So then at that point, we would simply advise them of what their options are, what they need to do and what they can be penalized for. And then from there, if they are perfect candidate (and) they're turning 65 in three months, then we'll let them know that they need to go to the Social Security office to sign up for Part B, or they can do it online. And then after that, we schedule them a follow up appointment.

What's the most common concern people have about Medicare?

Probably the number one concern that I hear is, "Am I going to get penalized if I don't sign up?"

And the short answer is yes, you will face a penalty. If you are not going to be working, you're not going to have insurance coverage and you don't sign up for Part B, you're going to face a penalty for the rest of your life.

(The penalty) is going to vary depending on how long you go without signing up for Part B, but you're always going to pay that. If you wait five years to sign up for Part B, your premium is going to be much higher than what somebody at the age of 65 is going to pay.

So when they go off of their employer plan, then they're going to go into the same enrollment period of time. It'll be six months that they have to sign up for Part B

What are supplemental plans and how do they work in combination with Medicare?

The easiest way I can put it is a (Medicare) Advantage Plan is like having a carrier handle your Medicare whereas with a supplemental plan, you have Part A, Part B… traditional Medicare, and wherever they leave off paying, your supplement plan takes over.

What else should people keep in mind when they start the Medicare process?

The thing to keep in mind when they start the process is that it's always going to be easier to talk to a broker you can trust through AAA, (rather) than go to each one of the carriers and get a sales pitch from each one of them.

AAA is an independent third party. We're just going to show you the plan that is going to best fit your needs, not what is best going to best line a pocketbook. There's no fee for our services. If you would rather go talk to one person, one time a year, you should probably choose a broker. It's kind of a no brainer to just make one appointment.

Are you ready to learn more about Medicare? Make an appointment with Elizabeth today! 

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

You can also contact her at (716) 929-3643 or reach out by email at esciria@nyaaa.com.