Medicare Basics For Veterans

A Medicare card shows up in the mail and suddenly you’re staring down a seven‑month clock, an alphabet of Parts, and a lifetime penalty if you miss the mark. We brought in Michelle Williams, an independent Medicare and veteran benefits specialist, to make the path simple for veterans and their families. From the American Legion Midwinter Conference in Mississippi, we unpack how Medicare works alongside VA care and TRICARE without conflict, and why the right plan can add real value with dental, vision, and other extras many veterans don’t receive.

Michelle shares the clearest way to prepare: start three months before your 65th birthday, know exactly when your Initial Enrollment Period begins, and compare plans against your doctors, prescriptions, and clinics. We talk through the big pitfalls—like Part B late enrollment penalties that never go away—and show how independent agents, appointed with all major carriers, can narrow choices to a few strong fits. The goal isn’t more paperwork; it’s more options when you need a local specialist, shorter waits, or a benefit that fills a gap, without giving up anything you’ve earned from the VA.

You’ll hear straight answers to the top veteran question—“Why add Medicare if I already have VA or TRICARE?”—plus practical tips for spouses with different medical needs, small‑group Medicare 101 sessions, and simple ways to document coverage so billing is smooth. If you’re within a year of eligibility, or advising a parent who is, this conversation will save time, money, and stress by turning a confusing maze into a clear map.

If this helped you or someone you love, follow the show, share it with a veteran who’s approaching 65, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find it. Got a Medicare question we didn’t cover? Send it our way and we’ll tackle it next.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome From Midwinter Conference
• 0:21 Meet Michelle Williams, Medicare Specialist
• 0:56 Who She Serves And How
• 1:53 Medicare 101 And Getting Ready
• 2:48 When To Research And Enroll
• 3:29 Veterans, VA Care, And Medicare
• 4:25 Filling The Gaps Like Dental
• 5:35 One‑On‑Ones, Small Groups, And Avoiding Penalties
• 7:05 Lifetime Penalties Explained
• 8:06 Use Medicare.gov And An Independent Agent
• 9:19 Statewide Service And Travel
• 10:23 The One Piece Of Early Advice
• 11:18 How Her No‑Cost Service Works
• 12:28 Top Veteran Question: Why Add Medicare
• 13:36 Eligibility, Cards, And The Seven‑Month Window

Transcript

Jerry Allhands: 0:02

This is the Veterans Sound Off Podcast. I'm your host, Jerry Allhands, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army. On each episode, we will visit with veterans and hear their stories and experiences. This week, we recently attended the American Legion Department of Mississippi's Midwinter Conference in Camp Shelby, Mississippi. I have the distinct honor of sitting across from Michelle Williams, a licensed insurance agent. Good morning.

Michele Williams: 0:28

Good morning. How are you today?

Jerry Allhands: 0:30

I am so, so happy to be here today. So happy to be sitting across from me because you're going to answer all my questions this morning.

Michele Williams: 0:36

Okay. I'll do my best.

Jerry Allhands: 0:38

Let's start with uh where you're out of. Where is where's your office located?

Michele Williams: 0:41

My office is located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 601 East Pine Street, Hattiesburg. It's in the downtown area, but I do service the entire state of Mississippi, so I'm all over the place.

Jerry Allhands: 0:51

Wow. Um is there a specialty that that you service?

Michele Williams: 0:56

I do service veterans. I am a Medicare and a veteran benefit specialist. I like to work out in the community with our seniors, any group of seniors, just to let people know what their benefit options are and um how they can navigate through the Medicare world. Wow.

Jerry Allhands: 1:13

Um so with the Medicare world, and um I had to admit to you a little while ago that my my wife and I are knocking on that door. Yes. It's a very uncomfortable door to be knocking on.

Michele Williams: 1:24

It can be confusing, it seems confusing, but I like to, like I say, do presentations to any group organization that would like for me to come. Um and I just do what's called a little Medicare 101 class to explain to you how to navigate through that journey. Uh it's really great to be educated right before you become 65 or right before you become Medicare eligible so that you'll know what you need to do.

Jerry Allhands: 1:48

Okay. So when you're saying right before, how how much in advance are we talking about?

Michele Williams: 1:53

Well, you can go ahead and research benefits up to three months prior to your 65th birthday, or as soon as you become Medicare eligible and receive your Medicare card, that's the time when you need to start focusing in on what benefits are available for you.

Jerry Allhands: 2:08

Okay. Now, as as a veteran myself and uh a disabled veteran, is there receiving disability through the VA, should I go ahead and sign up for Medicare?

Michele Williams: 2:22

It is advisable that most veterans sign up for a Medicare plan because there are options on the table that might be lost. Uh so it's just an individual choice on what's needed for a household, and it's Medicare is such an individual uh option. A couple, you said you have a wife in a household, might have to sign up for two different plans. So it's all about your doctors, uh where you are medically, the medical challenges that you have, and what your individual needs are.

Jerry Allhands: 2:57

So if l like say if a disabled veteran, say he's getting 30, 40 percent disability, uh, would signing up for Medicare, would that cause a conflict with his VA benefits?

Michele Williams: 3:08

It will not. Uh every insurance carrier has a veteran plan that's built specifically for veterans so that it will not bother or interrupt anything that the veteran is given. And then these plans uh goal is to kind of fill in the holes where veterans need a little extra help. Uh for instance, most veteran plans may you may see heightened benefits in the dental area because sometimes some veterans are not given dental benefits. Um I'm one of those. Okay. Yeah. So yeah, so they what they what they try to do is fill in the gaps where uh veteran benefits kind of are a little lacking to help the veterans get everything that they need.

Jerry Allhands: 3:55

Okay. Um is there uh I know that you said you you give these these classes ahead of time. Should a should uh a veteran or his family should they contact contact you and and do a one-on-one?

Michele Williams: 4:05

Yes, they can contact me. Okay. Uh we can talk one-on-one over the phone, they can come in, we can meet somewhere, or like I say, if there's a small group, four or five people. Sometimes I've gone to someone's house and they have two or three veteran neighbors, and they just get together and they want to understand, you know, how to navigate, what to do, when to sign up, their timelines. You want to avoid any costly penalties or anything like that, you know, uh that might be associated with your sign up if you're not uh doing things in a timely manner.

Jerry Allhands: 4:38

Okay. And penalties. That's that's one of my wife's biggest worries right now. Making sure we get this done and don't get penalized. That's right. Can you give me an example?

Michele Williams: 4:47

Um if you do not sign up for uh part of your Medicare when it's time, when it's your turn and when it's time, and you have uh uh a good uh enrollment, initial enrollment period, if you don't sign up when it's time, then you could suffer a penalty.

Jerry Allhands: 5:09

Okay.

Michele Williams: 5:10

And there's a calculation, you know our government, there's a calculation how they how they address that penalty, but long story short, for every month you would pay. So let's say you were uh 12 months you didn't know, and you know, now you're 12 months in to when you should have enrolled, you would suffer that 12 month penalty for the rest of your life. The penalties never go away. Well they're gonna be able to do it. Kind of like taxes, yes. So it's important to know when to start, how to start, so that you know what your options are.

Jerry Allhands: 5:40

Okay. Is there a website or a a place somebody could go to to get educated before they sit down with you?

Michele Williams: 5:48

You can always go to Medicare.gov, they will explain everything. Is it in English? How to start, yeah, Medicare, Medicare.gov. But I always say get an independent agent.

Jerry Allhands: 5:59

Yeah.

Michele Williams: 5:59

Get an independent agent such as myself. I am appointed with all of the companies in the state that offer Medicare. So I'm not beholden it to any one company. I represent all of the companies. So when I actually sit down with you and say we're gonna find the package that fits your needs, I am researching everything that's available in the state for you. So and then we can see what's best.

Jerry Allhands: 6:22

Looking at your business card, I see you're in Hattiesburg. I'm in the Delta, I'm in the North Delta. Okay. I'm in the North Delta. I mean, we we talk funny up there.

Michele Williams: 6:30

That's all right. That's okay. So let me tell you, I just uh address the MRTSA group of veterans, uh Tri-State. MRTSA. MRTSA. Uh let me see. Don't make me say what the acronym is, but it's the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas veteran group in Memphis. Okay. So I recently drove to Memphis to address that group and to do a Medicare 101 and explain to them. So I don't mind traveling. I actually like traveling. Okay. Yes. All right.

Jerry Allhands: 7:03

Um if there was one piece of advice that you could give to somebody thinking about, and let's say they're two or three years out, what would you do? What would you tell them?

Michele Williams: 7:13

Call an independent agent such as myself. They call me Michelle for help.

Jerry Allhands: 7:17

And it is, it's on the back of her card. Michelle for help.

Michele Williams: 7:20

Michelle for help. Give me that phone number again. 601-852-1132.

Jerry Allhands: 7:26

That's 601-852-1132. Yes. Michelle for help, a Medicare specialist. That's right.

Michele Williams: 7:33

And always leave a message because, like, I'm out, I'm out here now at the Midwinter Conference, uh, address uh, you know, talking to uh our American Legion veterans. I work with the Elks, I work with any senior. Okay. And if you're approaching Medicare age, just call and find out, you know, what your options are, and that way you'll have some dates to work with, and you won't have to be so afraid of this world called Medicare. It seems it seems confusing, but I'm trained to help you.

Jerry Allhands: 8:01

I tell you the YouTube videos that I have watched, trying to understand ABC, and these are the different classes. Yeah, they like the alphabets. Oh man.

Michele Williams: 8:11

It should be ABC simple as ABC. It should be simple, but but it's not. It seems confusing, but I have a knack for breaking it down and helping people understand. And so that's what you need to do. Call Michelle for help. Uh just find out what your timeline is, when you need to be worried about getting started, how you get started. Basic information is free. There's never a charge for my service. Oh, really? Never a charge for my service, no. Okay. Never a charge for Michelle for help service.

Jerry Allhands: 8:38

So if somebody does how does somebody become your client then? I mean, do are you a your sales rep or you do you refer people?

Michele Williams: 8:45

Uh yeah, I I know. I sign people up for their Medicare packages. So I represent all the companies that offer Medicare. And once you talk to me, if you decide, if it's time for you to sign up and you decide uh what plan, you know, we'll sit down, we'll break it down to two or three different plans, we'll see what's best. I'll explain to you, you know, uh what the different options are and the plans, and you are is it's your plan. So you would make the decision on which plan you would like to enroll in, and then I help you with your enrollment.

Jerry Allhands: 9:15

ABC, right?

Michele Williams: 9:16

ABC. Michael Jackson coming out of second. That's right.

Jerry Allhands: 9:21

What's the what's the most common um I guess the most common question you get?

Michele Williams: 9:29

From a veteran standpoint, the most common question is why do I need Medicare if I have tri care or veteran benefits? And the most blanket answer I can give is because you're leaving benefits on the table that could benefit your family.

unknown: 9:45

Okay.

Michele Williams: 9:45

And so it's all about education. You know, we don't we like what we're doing, we know how that works, we don't want to change, and what we need to do is we need to be open-minded and just get the information. It is free. Free information.

Jerry Allhands: 10:02

I like I like the word free.

Michele Williams: 10:04

Yeah, I do too. Except on my Patreon. Well, yeah. Free information, and it gives you uh comfort in knowing what's coming and when it's coming. So I got a lot of people on my calendar. I've met a lot of veterans in the last 12 months, and it wasn't their time yet. Yeah, and so I log those on my into my calendar. Okay, and then the first of that month I call and say, hey, remember me? We talked six months ago, it's almost that time, you know. Have you made a decision?

Jerry Allhands: 10:33

Yeah, there you go. Six you said six months. When when um when does a veteran or an individual sign up for Medicare?

Michele Williams: 10:40

It depends on the individual. But as soon as you are Medicare eligible, which is which it depends on the individual. Some people, right? Some people uh have have veteran benefits but are not uh Medicare disabled disabled, are not deemed disabled by Medicare.

Jerry Allhands: 10:57

Okay.

Michele Williams: 10:57

But when you receive that, uh if you don't know anything, they're going to find you when it's almost your turn, and they're gonna send you a Medicare card with part A on it. The government's gonna do that just automatically. Yes, when it's your turn, when it's your time. And that's not to be ignored because you got the time to do it. I will, I mean, I'll we don't need to ignore that. That's when you need to pick up the phone and call it independent agent such as myself. Okay, and then I will guide you on what we need to do. Okay, because it's really individual, it's an individual situation. Or when you turn 65, you should receive a Medicare card with part A on it prior to your 65th birthday.

Jerry Allhands: 11:39

And how long do you have to sign up once you've you've received this card?

Michele Williams: 11:43

Three months before your birth month and three months after. So you have a seven-month period before they start the penalties. So that should be enough time for anybody to make a decision. Seven months.

Jerry Allhands: 11:54

You want to bet?

Michele Williams: 11:55

If if you understand that there's a time lapse. There you go. If you understand if you understand that there's a time lapse.

Jerry Allhands: 12:01

You have uh seven months, and then if you don't sign up or you totally ignore it, you get a penalty.

Michele Williams: 12:08

The penalty starts for life. Yes. Wow.

Jerry Allhands: 12:12

Is that fair?

Michele Williams: 12:15

It's a rule.

Jerry Allhands: 12:16

It's a rule. It's a rule. It's a rule, it's a rule.

Michele Williams: 12:18

I had to thought is it fair out there? And some veterans have a hard time with it, career veterans, especially, um, because they've never paid an insurance premium in their life. And now they're turning 65 and they've retired. Yeah. And now they've been told they gotta pay. Yes. They they've been told they gotta pay uh an insurance premium, and they're like, I've never paid one, you know, yeah. Wow.

Jerry Allhands: 12:44

So give me your phone number again.

Michele Williams: 12:46

601-852-1132. I also have a Facebook page, it's Michelle for help. That's spelt Michelle with one L, the number 4 H E L P on Facebook. And yeah, just give me a call and so um and you're in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Jerry Allhands: 13:06

You're willing to go anywhere in the state? Yes, I've been to Memphis. Been to Memphis. She says she's coming to Clarksdale.

Michele Williams: 13:11

Yeah, I am. I gotta get to Clarksdale and and see what Clarksdale. I have not been to Ground Zero and I want to see all of the historical sites. Yeah.

Jerry Allhands: 13:20

For those of you who are listening for the first time, I'm from Clarksdale in the North Mississippi Delta, Ground Zero Blues Club, Morgan Freeman's Hangout. He actually owns it, so I guess you could say he hangs out there. Um Delta Blues Museum, you've got to check that out, you know. And then of course visit with all of us veterans there and get us all signed up for Medicare.

Michele Williams: 13:38

That would be great.

Jerry Allhands: 13:39

Man, Michelle, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Michele Williams: 13:41

Anything else that you'd like to share with us before we That's all. Just please call. Make sure you call, get the information you need to know. Information does not cost, and then you'll know what you need to do and when. Oh, I like that. And avoid those penalties.

Jerry Allhands: 13:56

Definitely avoid those penalties.

Michele Williams: 13:58

Don't leave any benefits on the table.

Jerry Allhands: 14:00

Well, I tell you what we're gonna do. We're gonna talk off mic here, and I got a few places I'm gonna invite you to come to.

Michele Williams: 14:05

Okay.

Jerry Allhands: 14:05

And hopefully you'll be able to help some more veterans and their spouses. You know, because I'm telling you, I'm too tall to sleep on the couch. Just way too tall. Yes, sir. Michelle Williams, again, Michelle, for help. That's M-I-C-H-E-L-E, the number four help, H E L P. She's a licensed insurance agent. Her phone number is 601-852-1132. She is a Medicare specialist. I have enjoyed visiting with you so much today.

Michele Williams: 14:34

I've enjoyed it. Thank you. It's been my pleasure.

Jerry Allhands: 14:36

Thank you. This series is made possible through the financial gifts of people just like you. If you'd like to help us, please show your support simply by clicking on the dollar symbol in the upper right hand corner of this page and follow the instructions thereafter. Be sure to leave me a message when you do, and I'll give a shout out to you in an upcoming episode. Thanks for joining us on this episode of the Veterans Sound Doll Podcast with Jerry All Hands. It's a production of All Hands Media LLC, All Right Meto.