Medicare
Medicare help in Miami-Dade, Broward and the Palm Beaches
Turning 65, retiring, or unhappy with the plan you were put in last year? We are independent, so we are not paid to steer you to one company. We compare what is actually available at your address and explain the trade-offs in plain language.
The four parts, without the jargon
Most of the confusion around Medicare comes from the fact that the pieces are named after letters instead of what they do. Here is what each one actually covers.
- Part A — hospital stays, skilled nursing, hospice. Most people pay no premium because they paid in while working.
- Part B — doctors, outpatient care, tests, equipment. This one has a monthly premium.
- Part C (Medicare Advantage) — a private plan that replaces A and B and usually folds in drugs and extras.
- Part D — prescription drugs, either standalone or built into an Advantage plan.
- Medigap (Supplement) — not a part at all. It sits alongside Original Medicare and pays the share Medicare leaves you.
You are really choosing between two roads
Nearly every Medicare decision comes down to one fork. Neither road is the right answer for everyone, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
- Original Medicare + a Supplement + a Part D plan. Higher monthly cost, very predictable bills, and any doctor in the country who takes Medicare.
- A Medicare Advantage plan. Lower or zero premium, extras like dental and vision, but a network to stay inside and copays as you use care.
- The honest question is not which is cheaper this year. It is which one you can still afford in a bad year.
- Medigap has a one-time window when you cannot be turned down for health reasons. Miss it and you may be underwritten later.
- We will tell you when Original Medicare plus a Supplement is the better fit, even though it is not the easier sale.
What we check before you enroll, not after
This is the part that separates a real review from a brochure. It takes us a little longer and it is the reason people send us their families.
- Your doctors — each one, by name, in that plan's network for next year.
- Your hospital, which people forget until they need it.
- Every prescription you take, against that plan's formulary, with what it will actually cost you at your pharmacy.
- Whether the extras are usable near you — a dental allowance is worth nothing if no dentist nearby accepts it.
- What happens when you travel, which matters if you spend part of the year elsewhere.
The dates that actually matter
Miss a Medicare window and you can be stuck for a year, or pay a penalty for life. These are the ones worth putting in your calendar.
- Turning 65: your Initial Enrollment Period runs the three months before your birthday month, that month, and the three months after.
- October 15 – December 7: Annual Enrollment. Change your Advantage or Part D plan for January 1.
- January 1 – March 31: if you are already in an Advantage plan you get one switch.
- Still working past 65? Employer coverage can change the deadlines. Ask before you delay Part B.
- Moving, losing coverage, or a plan leaving your area opens a Special Enrollment Period outside all of the above.
Why our help costs you nothing
Agents are paid by the insurance company, and the amount is set by Medicare rather than by the plan. That means we earn the same whether you choose the plan with the biggest name or the small local one that happens to fit you better.
It also means the premium is identical whether you enroll through us, through a call center in another state, or by yourself online. You are not paying extra for having someone local who picks up the phone next February when something goes wrong.
We review your plan every year. Plans change their networks, their drug lists and their extras annually, and the plan that was right for you in one year is often not the right one in the next.
Questions we get asked most
I am turning 65 but still working. Do I have to do anything?
Often you can delay Part B without penalty if your employer coverage qualifies, but not every employer plan does, and the rules turn on the size of the employer. This is worth one phone call before your birthday rather than a penalty you carry for life.
Is a zero-premium plan really free?
The premium is genuinely zero. You still pay your Part B premium to Medicare, and you pay copays when you use care. A zero-premium plan can be an excellent choice or an expensive one depending on how much care you actually use.
My friend loves her plan. Should I just get that one?
Only if you share her doctors, her pharmacy and her prescriptions. Plans are local and personal. The same plan can be the best available option on one block and a poor one a few miles away.
Can I keep my own doctor?
With Original Medicare and a Supplement, effectively any doctor who accepts Medicare. With an Advantage plan, only if that doctor is in the network, which we check by name before you enroll.
What if I choose wrong?
You are not locked in forever. Annual Enrollment each fall lets you change for January 1, and there is a further switch window early in the year for Advantage members. Tell us early rather than living with it.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Luz and Claudia both work in Spanish and English every day, and nothing is lost in translation because you are talking to the agent directly, not to an interpreter.
Talk to a licensed agent
Call whichever number suits you, or send a note and we'll call you back — usually the same day. There is no charge for our help.
Or email TheHealthAgents@Gmail.com · Everything is handled by phone · Hablamos español