Signing Up for Medicare Advantage
Get help paying for the medical treatment you need: Levine Benjamin insurance advisors help you choose a Medicare Advantage Plan.
How to Sign Up For Medicare in Michigan
Becoming eligible for Medicare was supposed to make everything easier, right?
It’s true that Medicare provides a vital health care lifeline for many Americans, many times at little or no cost. It can make a major difference for your well-being and financial security.
You’re eligible for Medicare via a couple scenarios, including:
- You’re over 65.
- You’ve qualified for disability benefits, such as Social Security Disability benefits.
But the process can be difficult and baffling—from selecting the right plan for you to even just signing up.
The good news? The insurance advisors at Levine Benjamin are here to help. Our experts can guide you through the Medicare enrollment process, helping you avoid common mistakes that we often see.
If you’re in Detroit, Toledo, Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids or anywhere in Michigan and are confused about how to sign up for the right Medicare plan, give us a call today.
What would you like to do?
Your Medicare Enrollment Application: What Disability Recipients Should Know
People ask about how to sign up for Medicare all the time, wondering “what documents do I need to apply for Medicare?”
In one sense, if you’re already approved for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, the answer is simple. You don’t exactly have to “apply for Medicare.” The government will offer you Medicare automatically once you have passed a designated waiting period.
Medicare says they will, “mail you a welcome package with your Medicare card three months before your Medicare coverage starts.”
What’s not as simple is understanding the different kinds of Medicare coverage and deciding which plans are best for you. That’s partly because only one part of Medicare actually enrolls you automatically when you have disability benefits. The others, you have to choose.
This is the breakdown:
- Medicare Part A: This covers hospitalization. This is what you automatically get with Social Security Disability benefits.
- Medicare Part B: This covers doctor visits and other medical care outside of hospitalization. This one you do actually have to “sign up” for. You want to do it within three months of getting Part A, otherwise you could face a delay and pay a late fee.
- Medicare Part C: These are health insurance plans that look like what you might get from a job. They’re run by private insurance companies approved by Medicare. They include both Part A and Part B, plus they usually have coverage for prescriptions, too. These are the plans you’ll also hear referred to as “Medicare Advantage.”
- Medicare Part D: This is the prescription drug coverage part of Medicare. You have to choose to add it, or choose a Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) plan that has it.
If you think you want help navigating the choices and signing up for Medicare, you can start by talking to Levine Benjamin for free.
You don’t pay anything to have an initial conversation with us to see what you might need.
Medicare Part C: Where You Have Decisions to Make
Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) also has other options, such as vision, hearing and dental coverage.
So a Medicare Advantage plan that includes the parts you need most is probably the best choice for you.
Medicare will say that you can simply get online, call a toll-free phone number or contact your local Social Security office to sign up for benefits.
But Medicare Advantage is the complicated part of a Medicare enrollment application. If you’ve ever shopped for private health insurance, you’ll understand why.
Multiple insurance companies offer multiple combinations of coverage under Medicare Part C.
They are difficult to compare. The information you get on the internet or on the phone with Medicare often is not in plain language. It seems like it takes a health insurance expert to know what’s best.
And that’s exactly the service we provide at Levine Benjamin.
Our Medicare insurance advisors are experts at this.
They can take you through this process, explain everything in an understandable way, and give you confidence that you’re getting what’s right for you and your health.
When Am I Eligible for Medicare with Social Security Disability Benefits?
We often see this as a point of confusion, too: Just when can you start receiving Medicare after getting approved for SSD benefits?
Social Security’s normal standard for Medicare eligibility is 24 months after you qualify for disability benefits.
We know that seems like a long time. If you have health issues and need care, two years can feel like an eternity.
But if you went through the Social Security Disability system, you probably waited a while for your claim to be approved—and that time counts toward your Medicare eligibility. For many, that time is extended even more by the appeals process.
You could be eligible for benefits earlier than you thought.
What Can I Do if My Coverage Was Denied?
Unfortunately, we do see clients denied coverage from Medicare. It’s frustrating—you don’t know what went wrong.
The forms, the system, the whole process, it can all become a mess. At Levine Benjamin, we can help you sort out any mistakes you may have made and help you plot the right path forward for you and your family.
What we can do for you:
- Appeal a denial: If Medicare refused coverage for your treatment, we can help you file an appeal. There are five levels of appeal.
- Pick a new, better plan for you: If you’ve been denied coverage, it could also be simply because you’re under the wrong plan for your situation. And just because you’re under a certain plan doesn’t mean you can’t change it down the road. We can help you find the perfect Medicare coverage for you.
We know this can all be daunting and stressful. Let us ease your burden.
Call us today to get started. We’ll even evaluate your case for free.