He came in walking stiff-legged, a thin little man with cloudy blue eyes devoid of lashes. His face was age-spotted, his hair white and thin. My last session had finished early. I heard someone say, “Let me see who can help you” and stuck my head around the corner.
“I have some free time,” I said, waving. “Come on over and
have a seat.”
Mr. G. sat down and placed a plastic bag full of insurance
papers on the desk. “I went to Social Security first. They sent me here, “he
said. “I didn't know what to do.”
I asked him what had happened. He began to tell me story I’d
heard too many times before.
“This lady came to my house,” he began. “She said she could
save me money. She asked me a bunch of questions, which I answered. Then she
wrote some things down and asked me for a cancelled check. I gave it to her –
but,” he added with a flourish, “I wrote ‘CANCELLED’ across it first!”
I carefully asked him questions to get a fuller picture of
what had occurred. Did she call you first and schedule an appointment? The law
requires salespeople do this – they may NOT just show up on your doorstep. “Yes,”
he admitted, “a lady called and said they’d have someone in my neighborhood.”
He rolled his eyes, realizing this was likely a ruse.
“They make nice commissions on sales,” I responded. “In this
case, what the salesperson did was unethical.”
“I want back in my old plan, the way it was,” he stated. “My
doctors don’t even take this. I just barely make it now on my income, I can’t
afford this plan.”
“Don’t worry,” I reassured him. “We can fix this. In fact, I
think we can get you out of this plan and into one very similar to the one you
had, except the new one will cost you even less.”
Mr. G. smiled and nodded. We both thought he had signed up
for a Medicare Advantage Plan that his doctors did not accept. On examination,
we discovered the plan was a type of supplement
that was unnecessary, costly and ineffective. I ran a plan-finder for him and we
signed him up with the same company he had before, but a plan that actually cost
him less and covered his medicines better.
The commission for an agent who sells a Medicare Advantage
(Health) Plan can be upwards of $300 each. Insurance is big business. To
protect themselves, Medicare recipients should know the rules agents/salespersons
are required to obey:
· They may not come to your home uninvited or without an
advance appointment.
· They may not approach prospective clients in parking lots,
hallways or lobbies.
· They may not offer gifts worth more than $15 to join their
plan.
· They may not provide meals at sales presentations.
· They may not try to sell you a plan at educational events.
I ran over a few of these rules with Mr.
G. and reminded him that while some salespeople are helpful, some can be unethical.
“The best thing to do,” I smiled, “is come see us. We’re not paid by the
insurance companies.” The last thing I did for this consumer was add him to the
government DO NOT CALL list. “That should cut back on the sales calls in a
couple of weeks.”
Mr. G. wobbled just a bit as he stood to
leave. “I have to wait a minute for the blood to flow back into my legs.” He
stuck out his hand. “I feel like a big weight has come off my shoulders. Thank
you so much!”
“No problem, “I answered. “That’s why
we’re here.”
Mr. G. was lucky. The staff at the local
branch of the Social Security Administration knew just where to send him. By
the time he left, he had accomplished more than he realized. Not only was his
situation resolved, but the agent who had sold him the unnecessary plan was now
on our radar.
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