Consider Other Coverage

When working with a client, you’re often trying to help them get into a new plan.

Although you’re looking ahead at a new plan, it can be helpful to look back and review and evaluate their current and previous coverage.

If they are currently enrolled in a health plan, are they keeping that coverage?

If they are keeping their current coverage, consider how that coverage works with Medicare.

Certain plans, like some employer plans, enable the beneficiary to delay Part A and/or Part B, while other coverage like TRICARE requires the beneficiary to enroll in Part A and B.

When considering additional Medicare options, like Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement, the client will want to work with the benefit administrator of their current plan to understand how a new plan will interact with their current coverage.

Alternatively, if your client is dropping their coverage, that changes the conversation.

In this scenario, you first want to try to avoid any gaps in coverage.

What steps does your client need to take to ensure that their new coverage will start as soon as possible once their old coverage ends?

Additionally, remember that special enrollment periods become available for your client when they drop their coverage.

You’ll want to pay attention to the time frame they have to make a change, as well as what kind of changes they can make.

While looking at previous coverage, be sure to ask what they liked and disliked about that plan and why.

This will help you better identify what type of plan might be a good fit based on what they valued in other plans.

You can also use this information to better pitch plans by relating the plan that suits them to a favored previous plan.

Of course, we can’t only look back during our assessment, we also want to review current coverage needs as well.

We’ll cover that topic in our next lesson!

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