When sitting down to type this article, it is very early in July and very smoky in the sky. Although this will not come out until August, by then hopefully these fires will have subsided, we would like to give thanks to all the people who serve our communities and help to mitigate local wildfires.
It is not yet the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), but we as agents are starting our yearly training courses and beginning to gather as much information as possible. The 2026 Medicare Annual Enrollment Period was one of my most challenging experiences as an insurance agent. We had issues all over but especially in Montrose County. We lost a major in network provider, which in turn dramatically affected our health care options for individuals with Medicare. In comparison to prior years, our health insurance plans lost benefits, increased costs, and were more difficult to use in certain areas.
I hope that so far you have had a happy and healthy year and have not had any need to use your health insurance. Please, if you experience a need to use our local medical community, know what your liability will be, control the surprise.
I would like to recommend that you contact your health insurance agent with questions or concerns. If you are just turning 65, or do not have a regular insurance agent, find one that will be available to you all year long not just during the annual enrollment period.
We do not know yet what our options will be for the coming year, the 2027 AEP, but
these are some of the things that I would be on the lookout for;
- What insurance company(s) will be available to us
- What plans we will have
- Will there continue to be network issues here locally if so, what facilities will be available to us
- Will the medigap (supplement) plan be a more desirable option
- What will the medigap plans cost for various genders and age groups
- Should I look harder at supplementing the health plans with options like hospital indemnity plans
Because I have an opportunity to use this platform, I would like to discuss an issue that every one of us has to deal with — those numerous unsolicited phone calls. These calls are intrusive and can get confusing. In addition to the phone calls, are the excessive mail notices, and let us not forget the tv advertising that indicates everyone can get free money. The one thing I would recommend would be to screen your calls or don’t answer your phone to unknown numbers. Several informational outlets recommend modifying your welcome message to let someone know to leave a message. This will help to keep misinformation from reaching you. If they leave a message, you can decide whether to return the call or not. Many of these calls and notices sound important or urgent but are often advertising hooks. I have been contacted by individuals who may have inadvertently changed their plan because of the urgency of some of these calls. You can contact your agent if you receive one of these calls to make sure all is still okay with your plan.
We are here if you have questions, we are licensed agents and will be happy to help.
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