Senior Educators: Employer Plans

Some individuals are fortunate enough to have health and/or drug insurance through their current or former employer. Everyone who is Medicare age, and who qualifies for Medicare, can choose to take their health insurance through Medicare, regardless of whether they have an employer plan. But choosing whether to continue to receive employer health insurance or purchase insurance in the individual Medicare market is not an easy or straightforward decision.

Is the employer plan better or worse than Medicare?

Employer health plans differ widely between companies. Some plans are excellent, covering all needed Medical services for a low cost. Other plans are not nearly as good, providing limited benefits at a high cost. Before dropping an employer plan or Medicare, the most important question to ask is whether that plan is better or worse than Medicare.

Do other family members rely on your employer health insurance?

Because of Medicare, nearly everyone over 65 qualifies for excellent health insurance. Unfortunately, the same is not true for individuals under 65. In most cases, people under 65 need to “health qualify” for health insurance, meaning they must be in fairly good health before an insurance company will accept them. Before anyone considers leaving an employer plan for Medicare, we always recommend they make sure no one in their family would be left stranded without appropriate coverage.

Why might I leave employer health insurance?

Many people find that leaving employer health insurance turns out to be a good deal financially and in terms of coverage. Still, before leaving your employer plan, give the benefits coordinator at your company a call and make sure you’re not forgetting anything. More often than not, once you leave a plan, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to get back in it.

Where does Senior Educators Insurance Services fit in?

Many people like help deciding which plan is a good choice for them. Plans vary widely from company to company and from place to place, and when comparing plans between companies it’s important to compare the fine print—not just the premiums. That’s what Senior Educators Insurance Services was created for—to provide free, unbiased assistance to Medicare recipients to help them choose appropriate coverage. To request help now, please fill out the short informational form here so a licensed representative can be well informed about your healthcare preferences. Or simply give us a call at 1-800-505-8575 and speak with a trained and licensed representative now!

If you prefer to do the research by yourself, we’ve created a number of tools to help you do so. First, we have created the Senior Educators Insurance Services’ Top 10 Tips for Navigating Medicare, which captures a very high-level perspective on what to consider based on our years of experience. Second, we have created a plan comparison engine that shows you a list of the plans available in your area. To access that tool, enter your zip code on the side of this page and click the “Find Plans” button. We hope that if you find a plan through our tools, you’ll enroll through our organization, as it’s how we can afford to provide excellent, unbiased information and help.