How to Protect Your Financial Plans for Senior Clients

To protect your financial plans for senior clients, you need to start talking about healthcare costs and offer solutions. Healthcare costs are the number one financial concern for retirees [1] . The average retiree spends 30% of their Social Security income on healthcare [2] . Medicare plans are a hundred-billion-dollar industry [3] . Senior clients who don’t feel they are being heard will look for a new financial advisor. Healthpilot finds the right Medicare plan for your clients for life, which could save them thousands every year. Your clients are worried. Every day your clients hear stories about rising healthcare costs. A patient is shocked to receive a $50,000 hospital bill. A drug that once cost $200 suddenly costs $3,000. These costs can threaten your clients’ wealth and prevent them from reaching their financial goals. To protect your financial plans for senior clients, you need to address these fears. If you won’t discuss them with your clients, another financial advisor will.

You can’t afford to have a Medicare blind spot. That’s why Healthpilot gives you a complete solution for your clients on Medicare. We do all the work of finding your clients the right Medicare plan. We even provide an estimate of plan savings and expenses for use in financial planning.

Medicare is key to managing healthcare costs. Seniors and some people under 65 with disabilities have Medicare to help protect them from rising healthcare costs. They can also buy additional protection beyond Original Medicare (Medicare Parts A and B). Approximately 14.1 million people have Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) [4] . And more than 26 million people have Medicare Advantage Plans [5] . In fact, only 17% of those with Original Medicare have no additional coverage [6] . Healthpilot offers your clients Medicare Advantage, Medigap and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans available in their area. All in one place. All online.,

Finding the right plan is a challenge. The average person on Medicare has a choice of 33 Medicare Advantage Plans and 30 Part D prescription drug plans [7] . Then plan marketers and Medicare brokers add to the confusion by bombarding your clients with phone calls, junk mail and spam. But no matter how many choices your clients have, Healthpilot will find them the right plan for their needs in minutes. Plus, they can enroll in their Medicare plan right on Healthpilot.

Make healthcare part of every client conversation. Good communication is essential. To protect your financial plans for senior clients, you need to make healthcare costs part of every conversation. Just as you guide new parents about saving for college, you should talk to Medicare-eligible clients about managing healthcare costs . Fortunately, you don’t have to be a Medicare expert to do this. Simply refer your clients to Healthpilot. Once they tell us a little about how they use healthcare, we’ll recommend the right plan.

Review Medicare coverage annually. The most important time to talk to clients about Medicare is before the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. Every fall, Medicare users have a seven-week window starting October 15 to review their current coverage and make changes. But too many clients pass up this opportunity. In fact, in 2020, 71% of Medicare users did not review their Medicare coverage at all during Medicare Annual Enrollment [8] . However, almost half of Medicare members who review their coverage during this period save money [9] . Additionally, many people qualify for Special Election Periods which will allow them to get a new Medicare Advantage or Prescription Drug plan outside of the Annual Enrollment Period. And your clients can enroll in Medicare Supplement Insurance or switch between Medicare Supplement Insurance plans any time of year. With Healthpilot, you can give your clients an easy way to take advantage of this opportunity.

What if your clients don’t review their coverage? Clients who don’t review their coverage may find that their Medicare plan has changed. For example, it may cost a lot more. Or a favorite doctor may no longer be in their network. This year, Medicare members face a 14.5% median increase in the cost of Medicare Part B premiums. This annual increase is the highest in the program’s history. But encouraging clients to review their coverage can save them from wasting money on the wrong Medicare plan. Fortunately, Healthpilot finds your clients the right Medicare plan for their needs and protects them from future changes, too. If we find a plan that could be better for their needs than their current plan, we’ll let them know.

Protect your financial plans for senior clients with Healthpilot. As always, it comes down to better service. Without a solution to Medicare, financial advisors risk pushing senior clients away. But advisors who can get their clients into the right Medicare plan will thrive. Healthpilot does all the work of finding your clients the right Medicare plan. So you can focus on your core services. And we keep them in the right plan for life, which could save them thousands. It’s free, easy and secure for both advisors and clients. All you have to do is send an online referral.

Learn more about Healthpilot for financial advisors and set up your account today.

Let’s talk about what partnering with Healthpilot can do for your business. Email our Healthpilot Partner Success Team at advisor@healthpilot.com .

[1] Edward Jones, The Four Pillars of the New Retirement , Jan., 2021. https://www.edwardjones.com/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2021-01/Edward-Jones-4-Pillars-US-report.pdf

[2] USA TODAY, The average retiree spends 30% of their Social Security income on health care. Feb., 2022. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/retirement/2022/02/06/health-care-eats-up-30-percent-of-social-security-income/49763823/

[3] Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare Advantage in 2021: Enrollment Update and Key Trends , June, 2021. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-advantage-in-2021-enrollment-update-and-key-trends/

[4] American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance, Medicare Supplement Insurance Statistics Data 2019, 2019, https://medicaresupp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Medicare-Supplement-Data-Page-1.pdf

[5] Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare Advantage in 2021: Enrollment Update and Key Trends , June, 2021. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-advantage-in-2021-enrollment-update-and-key-trends/

[6] Kaiser Family Foundation, A Snapshot of Sources of Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries in 2018, March, 2018, https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/a-snapshot-of-sources-of-coverage-among-medicare-beneficiaries-in-2018/

[7] Kaiser Family Foundation, 7 in 10 Medicare Beneficiaries Report That They Did Not Compare Their Coverage Options During a Recent Open Enrollment Period , Oct., 2021. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/seven-in-ten-medicare-beneficiaries-did-not-compare-plans-during-past-open-enrollment-period/

[8] Kaiser Family Foundation, 7 in 10 Medicare Beneficiaries Report That They Did Not Compare Their Coverage Options During a Recent Open Enrollment Period , October., 2021. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/seven-in-ten-medicare-beneficiaries-did-not-compare-plans-during-past-open-enrollment-period/

[9] Kaiser Family Foundation, To Switch of Not to Switch: Are Medicare Beneficiaries Switching Drug Plans To Save Money?, Oct., 2013. https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/to-switch-or-not-to-switch-are-medicare-beneficiaries-switching-drug-plans-to-save-money/

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