Several of your clients are about to walk into a Medicare Open Enrollment season unlike anything they've experienced before — and this year, you may not be able to count on their insurance agent to see them through it.
Medicare rests on three legs: Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and Part D drug plans. Historically, when one leg got shaky, the other two held steady while an agent helped clients navigate around it. This year, all three legs are cracking at once — and many agents no longer have the tools to help.
That's what's happening in Medicare right now. What insurers expect to spend covering drug costs has climbed nearly 800% in four years. Medicare Advantage carriers are exiting markets across the country, causing millions of people to lose their plans — and in some counties, leaving zero plans behind. Medigap premiums are spiking at double-digit rates nationwide under the weight of it all. And Part D drug plans are disappearing altogether. Meanwhile, the agents who used to help your clients navigate Medicare's complexity can no longer even quote or enroll them in some of the largest drug plans in the country.
Join Melinda Caughill, one of the nation's leading educators on Medicare, for an essential update on what's new and what you need to know for this year's Medicare Open Enrollment season. Melinda will break down the key considerations that can save your clients thousands of dollars, reduce their healthcare-related stress, and strengthen your role as their go-to resource for retirement-related needs.
You'll learn:
- What's changing for 2027 Medicare premiums, deductibles, and plan options
- How the cost-shifting set in motion by IRA continues to reshape the Medicare market, now compounded by a wave of carrier and plan exits
- Why insurance agents have less ability to help clients this year