Steger Client Messed His Medical Bills

On March 27, 2023, I learned how a client from Steger messed his own medical bills because he acted without consulting his insurance agent. The client might have to pay more money because he goofed up Medicare records.

The client bought a very good Medicare supplement policy through our agency. In fact, he bought the best kind of Medicare supplement policy – a Plan F which pays for any medical service that Medicare approves but does not pay entirely.

Then, he went online and bought a Medicare Advantage plan. That automatically killed his wonderful Medicare supplement policy because Medicare stopped paying for medical services. Instead, the Medicare Advantage plan took the claims and started paying only a portion of medical bills. Under the Medicare Advantage plan, the client was required to pay co-pays, deductibles, and other fees when he got medical services.

In the Medicare system, Medicare Advantage plans cancel the flow of medical claims information to Medicare supplement plans. He wanted extra help with medical bills. Instead, he got less help because he did not know what he was doing and he did not consult his insurance agent who works at our firm. If he had, our agent would have cautioned him not to buy a Medicare Advantage plan.

Because he bought a Medicare Advantage plan, his Medicare supplement plan will not be required to pay on any medical bills since he started the Medicare Advantage plan.

Here is a word of caution. Before you sign for any Medicare related medical insurance plan, consult an insurance agent near you. Medicare related insurance plans are complicated. They don’t all work the same way. The medications that you use or your health history can make different insurance plans treat you differently or cost more money. In this case, our client hurt himself financially. Don’t do the same to yourself.

Note: Woodrow Wilcox is the senior medical bill case worker at Senior Care Insurance Services in Merrillville, Indiana. He has saved clients over three million dollars by correcting medical bill errors. Also, Wilcox wrote the book SOLVING MEDICARE PROBLEM$ which is available through book stores or online.