Junk mail, Junk mail, Junk mail, and confusing commercials on television! Put it in the trash and change the channel! Learn the true from the false, this week on 65 and Counting!
Welcome back everyone! Isn’t just such a pain having to open your mailbox and try to carry that big pile of mail all the way to the kitchen counter only to discover that it’s all trash! Or even worse, it’s trash that looks so convincing you give a company your personal information and permission to call you at all hours of the day! What about those annoying phone calls that come from robots? Spam emails that fill your inbox with annoying messages regarding medicare plans you really can’t even change to during most of the year? And don’t even get me started about a certain retired athlete's Medicare commercials! Let’s break down what’s legitimate and what’s just good fireplace kindling!
The long and short of it is that there are a whole lot of insurance carriers out there that would very much like to have your business! They’ll do whatever it takes to grab your attention and get you to share your information with them. The one thing I hear about the most is a piece of mail that’s going into mailboxes all over the country. There’s a bunch of different variations of this confusing mailer but the gist of the message they try to get across is that “if you don’t act now, you’ll get a penalty and lose medicare options!”. Well, it’s just a sneaky and slimy fear tactic that marketers use to get you in the door. Remember, if you’re going on to medicare you have a seven month window to enroll before you start incurring a penalty: three months prior to your 65th birth month, the month of your 65th birth month, and three months after your 65th birth month. And don’t forget, if your employer group insurance is creditable to medicare you can stay on that as long as you want! But the companies mailing you that material don’t want you to know that!
Usually, those mailers or emails will include a card for you to mail back. That card will ask for information like full name, address, phone number, email, etc. All the things they can use to inundate you with more JUNK. The fact of it is that these cards aren’t even from insurance carriers or a government office, as much as they try to deceive you into thinking they are. These cards are actually the tool of marketing companies. You fill the card out, send it back to them, and then the marketing company SELLS your information to agents around the country who in turn call you non-stop. So pay extra close attention to that junk mail before you put your name on anything!
What about those phone calls your getting from blocked numbers with no caller ID? Or maybe from out of state? Here is the magic line to use when you receive a call from what you believe to be a telemarketer: “Is this a sales call?” if the answer is yes, press that big red end call button and forget about it! These telemarketers are trained to answer that question in all kinds of creative ways, so if it sounds fishy it probably is! Make sure they aren’t signing you up for a new plan over the phone and always check with your advisor before making any changes!
There’s one more thing I want to discuss today because I get a LOT of phone calls about it. It doesn’t bother you from your mailbox, email, or cellphone. This one jumps at you while you’re simply relaxing at home after a long day. You’re watching the news, the newest episode of your favorite sitcom, or a movie, and BAM! Someones on the TV telling you you’re not getting the most out of your medicare!
They’re asking for you to call them to change plans so you can get in on these great benefits like dental, vision, hearing, transportation, and even money back for your part B payments! Wow! What a deal! Well, there are a few things I don’t like about that.
The first is that if you’re already over 65 and on Medicare, you’re probably outside of an enrollment period where you’d even be eligible to change plans! And the second is, if you’re on a Medicare Advantage plan, you probably already have most of the benefits they’re talking about in the commercial! If you work with our Certified Medicare Planners already or even if you don’t, remember that every year we take a look at every single one of your plans and help you get on to the most appropriate plan for specifically you for the following year during the Annual Election Period!
So when you get mailers, emails, phone calls, or see commercials put em in the trash, hang up your phone and change the channel! Give us a call, and we’ll help you make sense of it all! It’s all very very confusing but it doesn’t have to be! Don’t get stuck in the trap of endless phone calls and emails.
I hope this helps you feel more confident when you’re faced with all the aggressive marketing tactics out there these days. Don’t forget to like the video, follow our page so you get notified when new episodes come out, like and share with your friends and most importantly, have a great week!