What’s uP with those medicare ads?

STORY: ROBIN FELTMAN, 18TH STREET FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLP

Nearly every day, I educate clients about Medicare and supplemental coverage. And several times a week, I get calls like this:

I want to know how to get all the Medicare benefits I’m entitled to, like vision, hearing and dental.

Immediately I know the person has been watching TV, and I know which ads they are parroting. So, what are those celebrity-endorsed commercials really about, and should you call them? (Spoiler alert: No!)

In short, the advertisers are fishing for business. They want to sell you a Medicare insurance plan, and guess what? If you buy one from them, you must GIVE UP whatever plan you have now. That is the single most important thing to know about the ads. Once my callers understand that, they aren’t nearly as interested in whatever “extra benefits” the advertiser’s plans may (or may not) provide.

Aren’t the commercials from MEDICARE? No. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Medicare agency, has nothing to do with the commercials, apart from dictating what the ads can and can’t say. And most advertisers push that envelope as far as possible to entice you into calling.

The hotlines can’t offer you anything more than local agents can. They generally sell the same plans the rest of us sell. But a common tactic is to lure you with talk of “zero premium” plans that cover everything imaginable…all for free. Sounds too good to be true? Well, there’s a reason for that! Such plans do exist, but they are generally only available to Medicare beneficiaries with extremely low incomes and little savings. When you call, you will likely be told you don’t qualify for the “everything free” plan, but not to worry—they can sell you something else instead. To me, this is classic bait and switch. They lure you into calling with one plan, and often end up selling you another, less attractive option.

Medicare is complicated enough as it is, and these ads are not helpful. If you want to understand your options and make an informed choice, you can do better than calling the hotlines. Start by reading the Medicare & You book that Medicare sends out. Then talk with experts, like your local agency on aging, or any Medicare agent…for FREE. (If they try to charge you, get up and leave). A local meeting with a reputable agent, one that you can reach again if you need to, will almost certainly serve you better than calling a hotline and ending up in whatever plan some random, faceless phone representative feels like selling you.