Medicare Open Enrollment 101: Navigating Changes with Todd Morrissey and Craig Wear

Welcome to another edition of the what's Next Retirement podcast with Craig Weir. Life is full of transitions that have a financial impact now and in your future. When finances are affected, there are always questions to ask and choices to make. As an independent certified financial planner for well over 30 years, Craig has helped Americans make decisions that give them their best financial futures. The experiences with so many clients has given him a unique perspective to help with with what's next for you as you navigate the unknowns of your own life. What's next? Answers to the retirement issues on your mind.

Hey, welcome back to podcast, guys.

This is Craig.

We welcome to another exciting episode of what's Next in Retirement, where our objective is to try to help you anticipate what's next. What do you do next? What are the next things that you need to be thinking about? And since we just have embarked on this once every year season that comes around of Medicare open enrollment, I thought I would have somebody here that could actually talk knowledgeably to you instead of me on this subject. So if you will, welcome Todd Morrissey. Todd, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you so much, Greg. It's an honor to be.

Yeah, you bet. So Todd is the president of Medicare Solutions at a really special company in the United States. It's Advisors Excel. Advisors Excel is kind of a unique thing in this. If you're not in the financial planning business, you may have not heard of them. You could have. They're big enough that it's kind of become a big name out there. But what Advisors Excel really does is they put together the most successful advisors in the United States, and then they train them, they educate them, they teach them how to market. They do incredible things to help advisors build their business. And of course, one of those things that they provide are solutions for the things that have to happen to actually make a plan actually come to fruition. So Todd is head of that whole Medicare Solutions division for advisor sales. And how's it going? How is the Medicare Solutions division?

Well, I can tell you, Craig, it has grown exponentially.

So.

So real quick, I started at Advisors XL back in 2019. Really our philosophy for retirees is holistic planning. One of the biggest concerns that a lot of people as they approach retirement is Medicare. They're healthcare. So we not only do wealth care, but we also do healthcare. And we've had a number of advisors that we've worked with, trained, educated, so they can go out, guide their clients on the best decisions as they approach Medicare.

Well, no doubt you got what, some 11, 17,000, whatever the number is people hitting age 65 every day in the U.S. so I think you probably have a big job ahead of you.

We do. And some of the estimates right now say 14,000 a day. And we always call that the Silver.

Tsunami, if you want will.

But there is definitely a lot of people who have questions. They're confused about Medicare, as you mentioned, about the annual election period that's coming up. They're being bombarded with commercial radio mail and they just need to find somebody they can trust to get reliable.

Yeah, we've got a, we've got another podcast that Todd and I have done that is kind of the bigger picture of Medicare that you can click through, find the link here on the same page or whatever the case is. But if you're kind of new to the Medicare world, you maybe want to start with that podcast that we've done and kind of get up to speed on the whole world of Medicare. But today I want us to focus first and foremost on this whole Medicare. So, Todd, I'm brand new to Medicare. I'll admit that I'm, I'm, I'm actually old, right? This month is my first. I'm a card carrying member of Medicare. I've got all my supplement policies delivered to me. My insurance premiums drop significantly. You know, I'm, I'm saving a ton of money until they've, until they get to my tax returns and they start adjusting it. I'm going to be good. Right? But, so I've, I've just been through the process of my initial enrollment and in fact we did a podcast where the consultant that I hired to help me walk through that. We, I, we went through. What are you doing? And then we actually did an unveil her actually walking through me very personally based on my health and everything. What companies should I use? How should I look at that? How should I look? How should I do all that? So that's another podcast if you're interested in, you might look into it. But, but for today, why don't we just kind of talk about the things people need to know about when they're, when they're presented with this Medicare enrollment season. So let's just kind of start with, you know, the Vince Lombardi question. What is open enrollment? Right.

Great question. So every year from October 15th to December 7th, people have to make a decision as it pertains to their Medicare Advantage plans and Part D. So when somebody is basically in or on or looking to get on a Medicare Advantage or basically they're on a Medicare Advantage. If they're looking to get on a Part D, those kind of things, that's the opportunity for them to enroll. Now, if somebody is turning 65, let's say whenever they're turning 65, then they can enroll in it. But the Medicare annual election period, the aep, that is when they can make changes to their plans. And that's why some people think, well, if I'm on a Medicare supplement, do I have to make a change? And the answer is, no, you don't. But Medicare Advantage and Part D coverage, those. That is the time when you have to make a change or look into those.

So, Todd, you froze. As soon as I said, what is it? And you started talking, you froze on me. So let's just. We'll edit into that in case. In case the recording actually froze. Let me just ask the question. Why don't you just start. Pick it up with me asking the question. So what is it? And let's see how.

Let me ask you this, Craig, would you.

Okay.

Because I want to make sure that on your recording, as I'm looking at you right now, your recording is kind of blurry. Does mine look blurry?

Yeah, that's just part of the software. Yeah.

Oh, okay, cool. Okay, good.

All right.

I just. All right, perfect. Well, then we'll just take it up.

Go ahead. And I'm assuming that you froze in the recording. So let's start all over. As if I just said and so what is it? You can start with the whole great question thing again. So let's go with that. Go for it.

So every year, October 15th through December 7th, is what's called the annual election period. A lot of people, Craig, to your point, they call the open enrollment period. So there's different acronyms that people sometimes get confused with. But during that timeframe, if you are on a Medicare Advantage or a prescription drug, Part D, that is the time where you need to make a change. Look at your. Every year, clients are going to be getting what's called an annual notice of coverage change that will be coming from your carrier. You can review that. You can see maybe your premiums have gone up. There's maybe been some changes in your benefits. This time frame is when you can make a change to your Medicare Advantage for Part D plan.

So you can change carriers.

Correct.

This is what you mean by make a change? I can actually go from company A to company D if they have better rates and their coverage suits me better.

So that's correct. And.

Go ahead. And what?

Well, what I was going to say is what people don't understand is when you make these changes during this timeframe, your coverage becomes effective on January 1st. So you have this window of opportunity, October 15th through December 7th, to make this change. Your coverage goes into effect January 1st, and then you're on that plan for an entire year. So some people think, well, can I make any changes after January 1st? Yes, you can, but only in certain types of situations.

So you mentioned Medicare Advantage. If somebody is currently not in an Advantage plan, can they switch to an Advantage plan?

Absolutely. So that is also the time, if you're not on a Medicare Advantage plan, you've learned about it, maybe you think you'd like to try it out. That is also the window that you can enroll in a Medicare.

And then the other, just for listeners or watchers to know, in the other podcast that Todd and I did, we talk about Advantage plans versus the other plan. So you may want to check that out and kind of get up to speed on that. If you're not. So if they're in an Advantage plan, can they go to just a regular supplement? Can they go back to a regular supplement?

Well, so, yes. So if you're on a Medicare Advantage plan and you want to make a change to a Medicare supplement, by all means you can disenroll and get onto it. The one thing, and we'll talk about this in the other podcast, the only time you can get onto a Medicare Advantage, or, I'm sorry, to a Medicare supplement plan without underwriting is during your initial enrollment period, which is basically six months. When you sign up for Medicare, your Medicare part A and your Part B effective date. From your Part B effective date, six months, you can choose a Medicare supplement. The carrier can't ask you any health questions after that timeframe. In your example you use. Greg, if I was on a, you know, Medicare supplement, but then I switched to a Medicare Advantage plan, then I want to go back to a Medicare supplement. You're past that six months, then you have to have underwriting and carryable underwriting.

Okay, cool. So what do you. This is, we're here just, you know, the middle of October, and it's just started getting underway. What are you seeing going on in the marketplace right now? What do people need to be aware of in terms of the, the offer, the opportunities, you know, the marketing, all that kind of stuff. What do you, what do you see?

So right now, what I am telling a lot of our advisors to make sure their clients understand, if you are on a Medicare Advantage plan, please make sure that you're looking at your annual notice of coverage change for all of you that are watching and listening right now, you may be aware of what's called the Inflation Reduction Act. Now that basically was passed by the Biden administration back in 2022. But really this is coming into effect pertaining to Medicare people because of the max $2,000 cap on their Part D prescription drugs. And so unfortunately when these types of benefits, which is great for consumers, I mean people who are taking high cost drugs, they're being capped at $2,000. But with every reaction there's another and unfortunately the carriers, they have raised some of their premiums because of this. And so if you haven't shopped in the past, one of the things that we found is usually during the annual election period, probably around 20% of the consumers have looked to shop in the past, Craig, this year it is going upwards of 70% of the people are looking to because of the changes that are happening within their plans. Unfortunately, we've also seen a lot of the carriers who have made some hard decisions and pulled out of areas where people then if they're on a Medicare Advantage plan, they have to look for other coverage. So there's been a lot of disruption this annual election period. So our advisors are very busy guiding, helping, answering questions and trying to put them in the best plan.

Well, I mean, so that if I'm listening to this, I'm maybe looking at my statement and I'm going holy Toledo, I just had a 40% increase or whatever the number is. Yep. How do I, who do I go talk to? Do I just go right back to the same person that sold me this plan or, or kind of how do I evaluate what do I do next? Who do I talk to? How do I know whether that person is really, you know, the right person that can really help me in my area? Because as I've come to learn zip codes, I mean there's difference of the best carrier to use in a particular zip code. Right. So how do they find the right people?

Yeah, you know, one of the things that I would hopefully a lot of your listeners have somebody that they've worked with in the past, they've trusted. You know, one of the things that I always will tell just like if I'm talking to somebody, I talk to them like they're going to be my mother or father, grandmother, grand grandfather and they have to ask questions to that particular individual. I mean you can pick up the phone book, you can go out online and find some really great agents who are out there and will put your best interest in mind. You know, a lot of the questions I would ask the how long have you been doing this? Do you work both with Medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage plan? Because you want an advisor who's been working on both because not every size fits all. If somebody right now is on a Medicare Advantage plan but they want to look at a Medicare supplement, you want to make sure that that advisor is working with both carriers. How long have they been doing it? Those kind of things. You know, I, we have some trusted partners that I feel very strongly about. They help and guide individuals on a daily basis and have been doing it for a long time.

So yeah, well the, it kind of goes back to the old adage if the only tool in your toolkit is a hammer, then every problem is a nail. And so what you're, you're really saying is, look, find somebody who's got a complete toolkit that has got a lot of experience carrying that toolkit around and applying it and check them out. We have in the show notes to the podcast. We have a link that will take you to a special landing page where you put together a link to one of the resources that I've vetted, I've talked to that this is a good starting place for you to have that conversation. See if you hit it off with them. Full disclosure, we have no compensation arrangement. I don't earn any of their commissions. They don't pay me any anything to be able to make that available. At this point it's really just simply me trying to give you listener good place to go start if you're not happy with where you're starting before. So click that link and you'll be taken out and you can learn some more about that. They're, they're good folks. They know what they're doing and I think you can trust the information that they're going to give you. So Todd, we have, we've taken probably enough of people's time and attention space on this one. I appreciate what you're doing and we'll have you back again and we'll talk more Medicare, more supplements, all those kinds of things and more. So thanks, thanks so much for being here.

Thank you so much, Greg.

All right, you guys have a great rest of your day and like I said, go out and check out some of the other podcasts on this subject and just remember what's next is really important. So ask the question, get the answers. Take care.

Investment advisory services offered through Q3 Advisors. This presentation is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be individualized financial, tax or investment advice.