Leanne Malone Explains Medicare Enrollment and Health Insurance Updates

To avoid expensive mistakes that can disrupt coverage, it helps to understand your Medicare and health insurance choices before enrollment decisions are locked in. Leanne Malone, founder of Cover My Assets Insurance Group, joins hosts Wayne Blair and Rick Hall to discuss the changing world of Medicare, Under-65 plans, and Marketplace health insurance. As major carriers pull out of key markets and deductibles continue to climb, ignoring open enrollment can lead to lost providers, reduced drug coverage, or significant out-of-pocket costs.

She also explains the difference between Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplements, how the size of an employer affects the timing of your move into Medicare, and how newer payment programs may help with expensive prescriptions. Malone outlines practical ways to review networks, sidestep automatic enrollment problems, and challenge high-income surcharges so retirement health coverage better fits your budget.

Key Takeaways:

• Pay Attention to Plan Termination Notices: If a plan is discontinued, you may qualify for a special guarantee-issue period that allows a switch to another plan type without medical underwriting.

• Address Rising Drug Deductibles: Learn how the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (MP3) can spread large prescription costs over a 12-month, interest-free payment schedule.

• Understand the High-Income Assessment Rule: Two-year lookback tax assessments can affect Part B and Part D premiums, and retirees may need to take steps to appeal them.

• Marketplace Fraud Protections: New identity authorization rules and carrier changes are shaping what Under-65 enrollees should expect during annual enrollment.

• Important Deadlines: The Medicare and Marketplace enrollment cutoffs are critical dates for securing coverage that begins smoothly at the start of the new year.