Research shows that healthcare costs are the number one concern among retirees1. For older Americans, this cost is often driven by the 20% not covered by Medicare. And because Medicare is complex and confusing, it can be a lot easier for clients and advisors to ignore the elephant in the room. But it’s time for your clients who are Medicare eligible to get back into the driver’s seat to take control of their healthcare costs and coverage details.
Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs each year between October 15, 2022 and December 7, 2022 (HINT: it’s almost over for the year). While this is an excellent opportunity for Medicare beneficiaries to review their coverage, statistics tell us2 that about 70% of these people don’t take the time to review their current plan to check in on what may have changed for them during the year in terms of their health or what the next year will bring regarding coverage changes to their plan. Like employer and open market plans, coverage details change each year, and these changes can often be quite impactful.
As a financial advisor, you spend valuable time crafting financial plans with your clients so they can focus on enjoying their retirement and, ideally, not spend time worrying. Unfortunately, in the world we live in today, healthcare costs are skyrocketing at an unprecedented rate, making it hard not to worry. Clients look to their financial advisors for guidance around healthcare, specifically Medicare. Still, many of them find that their advisors may not feel comfortable talking about Medicare or often don’t have a solution to provide. Spectrum’s 2022 report3 showed that over 65% of clients seek guidance around health insurance from their advisors, but only 4% of advisors provide this support.
Here are a few tips to bring Medicare into your financial planning conversations.
Start with their financial goals.
As their trusted advisors, you likely know much about your client’s goals. Just as new parents want to save for college, seniors may want to retire, leave an inheritance, travel, or get the best care as they age. Discussing your client’s goals is a good time to bring up Medicare. Let your clients know that achieving their goals requires successfully managing their healthcare costs by finding the right Medicare plan.
Then, chat about their current insurance.
Americans spend hundreds of billions of dollars on Medicare plans every year4. No one wants to pay extra for insurance, but everyone wants to be properly covered.
Ask how they feel about their current healthcare coverage. Do they know how much they pay out of pocket for things like premiums, co-pays, and deductibles? Make it clear that you’re not asking about their medical history but simply gathering facts to better understand their annual healthcare costs, as you would with any other expense.
It’s all right if they don’t know details like their maximum out-of-pocket cost. You’re introducing healthcare and Medicare coverage as a topic to include in this and future conversations. As you continue your relationship, these discussions will increase their confidence in your ability to help them manage Medicare costs.
Lastly, introduce them to a new Medicare solution available through the Envestnet Healthcare Exchange powered by Healthpilot.
You don’t have to know Medicare through and through– you know your clients, and that’s enough. Healthpilot is an Envestnet | Tamarac trusted partner and can be the Medicare resource your client has been looking for. By introducing your client to Healthpilot, they can quickly see which Medicare plan fits their specific needs after answering just a few questions. Do they need easy-to-understand resources so they can learn more about Medicare (like what exactly is the difference between Medicare Supplement Insurance , Medicare Advantage Plans, and Part D Prescription Drug Plans)? Or maybe even take a step further back to get more comfortable with Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) and what it won’t cover.
Use Tamarac’s new Single Sign On feature to visit Healthpilot’s Financial Advisor Portal. You can easily send your clients a referral email to visit Healthpilot to run their Medicare checkup. By using the Financial Advisor Portal, you can also keep track of your client’s status with Healthpilot to see if they enroll and even how much they may expect to pay next year.
Sometimes we find that Financial Advisors would like a nice, clean link to send their clients and may not want to stay very involved with the Medicare decisions. If this speaks to you more, you can provide them with a direct link to Healthpilot: Healthpilot.com/Tamarac.
Here’s the last thing for today…
The Annual Enrollment Period is one of the few times all Medicare users can make essential adjustments to their coverage. This is over on December 7, 2022. So, whether you’d like to visit the Financial Advisor Portal or want to share that direct link—your clients need to be reminded of this important time of year and take control of their Medicare coverage. Share Healthpilot with your clients: Healthpilot.com/Tamarac.
If you’d like to chat with someone at Healthpilot, feel free to set up a quick meeting by Scheduling Now.
1 https://www.edwardjones.com/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2021-01/Edward-Jones-4-Pillars-US-report.pdf
2 https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/a-relatively-small-share-of-medicare-beneficiaries-compared-plans-during-a-recent-open-enrollment-period/
3 https://spectrem.com/Content_Product/Wealthy-Investor-Series-Sources-Investors-Go-To-For-Information.aspx
4 https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NHE-Fact-Sheet
Through a partnership with HealthPilot, Envestnet enables access to supplemental healthcare and Medicare education and enrollment solutions for Medicare eligible clients. Envestnet, Inc., has a financial interest in HealthPilot.
The information, analysis, and opinions expressed herein are for general information only. Nothing contained in this document is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities, or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, nor a solicitation of any type.
Neither Envestnet nor HealthPilot provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Healthpilot is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program. Healthpilot.com is owned and operated by Healthpilot Technologies LLC, a licensed health insurance agency, also doing business as Healthpilot Insurance Services in the state of California. 2022-180