How to answer questions about Medicare

You’re meeting with a client to discuss life insurance, or maybe something regarding retirement planning when they ask a question about something that everyone needs advice on sooner or later – Medicare.

If you’re not a Medicare agent, how do you answer their questions? A panel gave some ideas during the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors APEX 2024 conference.

There are two ways to deal with client questions about Medicare, said Carroll Golden, executive director of NAIFA’s Centers of Excellence. You can either become a Medicare specialist or you can figure out who to refer your client and how to go about referring them.

“We’ll dive into those two options,” she said. “Do you want to be a specialist? Or do you want to refer your client to someone else when they bring up Medicare?”

Medicare “is a truly complex system,” Golden said, which is why it is important for advisors to anticipate their clients’ questions about it.

“You might get a question from someone who’s on the brink of Medicare eligibility. Or you might get a question from a younger client whose parent is about to turn 65 but they’re still working so they don’t know whether they should sign up or stay on their employer’s plan.”

Issues in an advisor’s forming a relationship with a Medicare specialist include credibility and communication, she said.

“You don’t want someone talking to your client and not keeping you in the loop. And then there’s the issue of whether the person you refer them to gets paid and how do they get paid.”

If an advisor decides to become a Medicare specialist, there are other considerations, she said, such as getting the required training.

Golden is joined in the panel by Dan Mangus vice president of growth and development with Senior Marketing Specialists, and Tom Morgan, vice president of life development with American Senior Benefits.

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