# Going to meet with medicare rep - what questions should I be asking



## fitnesswithcindy (Oct 1, 2018)

I will be eligible for Medicare in January and I am going to meet with one of their customer service reps on Thursday to try to understand what my premiums will be and what my coverage will look like. To put it plainly I am pretty overwhelmed by all of this. I have been self-employed for most of my life and paid for my own healthcare so I am sure anything will be an improvement, but I am lost about what questions I should be asking to make sure I am getting all of the benefits I qualify for. Any guidance on what I need to be looking out for?


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## Harold Hayden (Oct 1, 2018)

When you say "their customer service rep", is that a CMS customer service rep or 3rd party?


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## Harold Hayden (Oct 1, 2018)

Here is an of oldie with general information about Medicare...
From Medicare in 2015 (PDF)

Then there is the actual plan finder on the medicare website.. PLAN FINDER.

Remember that plan A and plan B are the only things administered by the government. There is currently no premium for Plan A and the Plan B _*standard*_ premium is $134 for 2018. (Single persons earning over 80K and couples over 180K, pay additional money over the standard premium. The hold harmless clause on Social Security or OASI, has 2017 and earlier S.S. enrollees paying less than the standard $134.)

Everything else is private insurance which generally adds premium costs on top of the part B premium. The lone exception would be some Part C (Medicare Advantage plans) that can be had for the standard part B premium, which could include drug benefits and some other coverages, etc.

A lot depends on your current health and expectations in the coming year, as well as current prescriptions, etc. 

As a general rule, whomever you are meeting with, will very likely have a format very similar to the medicare plan finder. As a note of caution, my out of pocket expenses are nowhere near what the plan finder estimates and I am not the picture of health, yet still have an advantage plan. 

You can always change each year, so don't feel trapped into one type of insurance.


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