Annual Medicare Enrollment 2026: Meet Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
- 50Plus
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
In the last issue, we gave everyone “Homework” to evaluate their current Medicare choices and Discover their Options for 2026.
“Bob” is 74, mostly retired, and except for a couple of heart attacks in his early sixties, in good health. When Bob was first eligible for Medicare, there were no real choices beyond Medigap plans. As Advantage plans started to come into our area and got stronger and more robust, these plans now look increasingly attractive.
Especially as his Medigap premium was increasing every year, now at $245 a month. Bob did his research, crunched the numbers and worked with an experienced agent.
They found an Advantage plan with zero monthly premium, low copays for medical care, his doctors all in network, plus $2,000 extra for dental, vision and wellness benefits. Total savings & value of some $5,000.
“Carol” just went on Medicare last year with Charlie, her husband of 48 yrs. Both had serious health conditions. The Advantage plan they chose had strong medical coverage and more importantly, all the doctors were in-network.
Then tragedy struck, Charlie passed away suddenly, and Carol accepted her daughter’s invitation to move in with her family across the state to a more rural area, 3 hours away from Carol’s doctors.
She chose to return to original Medicare and purchased a guaranteed issue Medigap plan. Although there is a higher premium, Carol has peace of mind that any doctor she would work with in the future would accept the coverage.
“Ted” is 69 and has now been on Medicare for 4 years. The Medigap plan G he purchased when he was 65 had an attractive price of $120 but has increased to $187. While there are Advantage plans that might work, Ted likes the ease of a Medigap plan.
Working with his agent and reviewing the underwriting guidelines of 7 different companies, they found one where he would be able to answer all the questions as “NO” and therefore get a “YES” for acceptance. Ted chose Plan “N”, like Plan “G”, but with a low copay for doctors and ER visits. His new rate will be $133, a savings of $650 annually.
“Alice” is 68 and chose a Medicare Advantage Plan when she first enrolled. As she is healthy, her concerns are what would happen if something “big” happened…again. Alice had several expensive, but not overly serious procedures prior to Medicare, and she got slapped with that big deductible under her ACA plan.
With her Advantage plan, there is no deductible for medical treatments, rather copays or per day charges for primary care, specialist, outpatient surgery, labs and hospitalization. Alice has focused on the “Extras”, dental, vision, hearing, OTC and Part B Premium Give Back.
During the last two years, she took a plan with a generous dental benefit and got all that work done. Next year in 2026, the premium for Medicare Part B will increase from $185 to $206.50, so Alice is now looking for a plan which will offset this. The “Give Back” plan will pay $175 monthly, reducing this to a net cost of $31.50
Working together, we can evaluate what’s most important for your Medicare coverage.
Please contact us today.
Dave Trout
Trout Insurance
Full Service, Local, Independent
29 N Main St. Weaverville, NC
828-279-4681
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