In episode 21 of the Probate Podcast, Sherri Lund sits down with Annelies Van Schie, a healthcare agent specializing in Medicare insurance, to share tips on veteran healthcare and Medicare. Discover how to fill gaps in VA services, avoid duplicative spending with Medicare, and navigate long-term care and home healthcare services. Annelies sheds light on the coverage of long-term care and hospice care by Medicare, and shares actionable steps to get your healthcare insurance on track. Gain valuable insights into transitioning from marketplace medical insurance to Medicare, understanding the nuances of Medicare plans, and income planning for Medicare as you approach 65.
Episode Chapters: 0:00 Introducing Annelies Van Schie 7:27 Filling Gaps in VA Services in Veteran Healthcare 9:18 Avoiding Duplicative Spending from Overlapping Coverage with Medicare 10:27 Paying for Long-term Care and Home Healthcare Services for Parents 13:38 Does Medicare Cover Long-Term Care? How Much and For How Long? 17:28 Does Medicare Coverage Hospice Care? 18:42 How To Get Your Healthcare Insurance On Track 20:18 Changing from Marketplace Medical Insurance to Medicare 24:03 Changing Medicare Plans for Elective Surgeries, Relocations 26:13 Income Planning for Medicare As you Approach 65 30:45 The #1 Thing You Should Do Today To Prepare Your Plan
About Annelies Annelies Van Schie is a highly experienced healthcare agent and the founder of Health Insurance Benefit Consultants, specializing in Medicare insurance for veterans. With a strong focus on serving veterans and their unique healthcare needs, Annelies is dedicated to providing personalized plans that ensure comprehensive coverage and financial protection. Her expertise extends to assisting immigrants to the United States, offering guidance on navigating the American healthcare system.
Disclosure: The information shared on The Probate Podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. We strongly recommend consulting with a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you need help finding a professional, feel free to reach out to us at www.willowwoodsolutions.com/contact.
Please consider kindly rating this show so others can find it!
In episode 21 of the Probate Podcast, Sherri Lund sits down with Annelies Van Schie, a healthcare agent specializing in Medicare insurance, to share tips on veteran healthcare and Medicare. Discover how to fill gaps in VA services, avoid duplicative spending with Medicare, and navigate long-term care and home healthcare services. Annelies sheds light on the coverage of long-term care and hospice care by Medicare, and shares actionable steps to get your healthcare insurance on track. Gain valuable insights into transitioning from marketplace medical insurance to Medicare, understanding the nuances of Medicare plans, and income planning for Medicare as you approach 65.
Episode Chapters: 0:00 Introducing Annelies Van Schie 7:27 Filling Gaps in VA Services in Veteran Healthcare 9:18 Avoiding Duplicative Spending from Overlapping Coverage with Medicare 10:27 Paying for Long-term Care and Home Healthcare Services for Parents 13:38 Does Medicare Cover Long-Term Care? How Much and For How Long? 17:28 Does Medicare Coverage Hospice Care? 18:42 How To Get Your Healthcare Insurance On Track 20:18 Changing from Marketplace Medical Insurance to Medicare 24:03 Changing Medicare Plans for Elective Surgeries, Relocations 26:13 Income Planning for Medicare As you Approach 65 30:45 The #1 Thing You Should Do Today To Prepare Your Plan
About Annelies Annelies Van Schie is a highly experienced healthcare agent and the founder of Health Insurance Benefit Consultants, specializing in Medicare insurance for veterans. With a strong focus on serving veterans and their unique healthcare needs, Annelies is dedicated to providing personalized plans that ensure comprehensive coverage and financial protection. Her expertise extends to assisting immigrants to the United States, offering guidance on navigating the American healthcare system.
Disclosure: The information shared on The Probate Podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. We strongly recommend consulting with a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you need help finding a professional, feel free to reach out to us at www.willowwoodsolutions.com/contact.
Please consider kindly rating this show so others can find it!
Well, hello, today I am here with my new friend, Annelies Van Schie, and she is my guest. We're gonna be talking about insurance, and one of her specialties is Medicare insurance. Annelies Van Schie is a healthcare agent that truly cares about providing the right plans for her clients regardless of their financial situation or their health situation. Her knowledge and her dedication and her services cover the full range of health related insurance, including Medicare. She understands what people need. She's concerned about protecting their finances. She wants them to be able to maintain their independence when they retire. She specializes in serving people who come to the United States, who were not born here, and to help them understand the American healthcare system. And on the Medicare front, Annelies specializes in working with veterans, Medicare plans that provide services for them. Her goal is for you and your family to be in a good financial position when life throws a curve ball and you might end up, or someone that you care for has a critical illness, a need for more care, or in the event of their life coming to an end. She loves supporting local small businesses and veterans. She's a frequent visitor and socialite I hear at the American Legion near her home. She is there to answer questions and there are lots of Medicare questions in that situation. Annelies of Dutch heritage, but she's a Texan at heart. She loves music, life and outdoor activities, especially if water's involved. She's an energetic lady who has a dog named Beau and she likes to take him for walks in the area. Her core people in life are family and her Texan, American, and international friends. So please join me in welcoming Annelies Van Schie today. Annelies, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to chat with us a bit about insurance and especially Medicare. Good to be here. Yeah. So imagine Analise that you and I are in the dog park and we have been playing with our dogs and we're hot and sweaty and they're drooling and we're talking over a tumbler of water and I say Annelies, tell me about you. Tell me about you as a person. What would you say? Well, you already said it all. Actually. It was a very nice introduction. Sure. All it describes me to a tee. So I am born and raised in the Netherlands. I came here when, in my mid thirties with the oil and gas industry. So I got transferred here. But yeah, growing up in the Netherlands, I mean, it's definitely very different than than here, especially these days. I grew up playing on streets cycling to school. I have three older brothers, the oldest two are twins. That's a whole different element. Especially if even your parents sometimes make the mistake on who is who. But my family heritage are all farmers. That's one of the things that like I love about Houston, it's such a down to earth city compared maybe some other cities in Texas. So I, I love this area where it is down to earth. Love the hugs, the tend to hug. It's a handshake. It's more distant. So I just enjoy the culture here. It's very warm. So I'm, I'm really glad that I'm here. So I really felt more myself when I actually moved to Houston. How does your past influence what you do today in the insurance world? What did you bring from that into your farming background, your siblings and your parents, and your oil and gas experience? I think in general it's I'm very down to earth. I'm not pretend to be someone I'm not. I'm not a salesperson, so my business is called Health Insurance Benefit Consultants. It's about informing and let a person, guide a person through figuring out their decision making on which plans would actually well and with them, and then have that conversation to explain that. As well and what the options are and why I would recommend one thing versus the other. So, when you are a farmer, there's a lot of things going on right on the farm. So you may form decisions on, growing the business or what to do with with the cattle or seasons and the weather. But it's I love my jeans. I go to clients no matter how much money they have or how little I go on my jeans and then I stop, most of the time I wear flip flops to begin with. Um, Well we are in Houston, by the way. Yes. So, I, I keep that same kind of basic style, if you will. I think it helps to make them feel at ease as well. So I, I'm not coming into a suit and, yeah. Let's talk me will. So yeah, just very down to earth and uh, inquisitive. Just, it's just a conversation. It's just like a coffee meeting, but then the focus is on them and guide them through their questions and sorting out their decisions. So do they come to your office or how does that work when you meet with someone for the first time? So I work from home, especially after Covid that became so much more of the norm. I often go to people's houses themselves. It makes them more comfortable. Sometimes we need some information as well. If they're not comfortable with them or they wanna come to my area, I just tend to go to kind of a local coffee shop that is mm-hmm. Quiet. So smaller, local business, that's what I then prefer to meet people at. Yeah, because then you also help the, the community in the area. Now you mentioned the veterans. So I'm, yes, I'm a frequent socialite at the American Legion in my neighborhood which is in Garnot near the that particular American lead is open to the public. And I went there just to have a drink and just to socialize not to gain business. I never approach anyone deliberately to gain business or to talk about that. They find me people that work there, they all know me. I am the neighborhood kind of Medicare consultant for that area. Sometimes if I don't want to talk insurance, I should not go there anymore. I have several clients there and they do definitely want to talk to me about it. At times. There's always a question pops up when they have medical needs. For example Yeah, I don't shy away from it either, but it's, it's a pleasure. It's such a pleasure to help people especially from your neighborhood or that you see all the time. It gives them more of a bond as well. And they know that it's not just that my phone is available for them, which it always is, they text me as well. But also when they see me, they can ask me questions. Yeah, I've heard the couple of times that we've talked, and certainly today too, I hear the heart behind you and how much you want to help your clients and the length that you go to in order to help them. Tell me a little bit about the Medicare maze. I've heard it referred to as the Medicare Maze or Medicare puzzle, There's a lot there to walk through. Is there a difference for veterans? I'm assuming that there are if you wanna specifically talk to veterans about their options as compared to someone that has not been a veteran. So technically yes, there are two different options for veterans. But it really also depends on the veterans services that they have access to at the V.A. When it comes down to VA services and veterans part has to do with the level of disability to actually see what percentage of services they actually can get from the VA and how much it'll cost them. So people that are a hundred percent disabled, they get get a hundred percent coverage from va, especially for certain conditions that they have encountered during their deployments or military service. But if people are not fully disabled then they have to pay more for those services. They may not get all their medications free of charge. But the other thing is when you also look at people's financial situation and from a VA perspective, how far away they are from the V.A. One of my clients is in Crosby, Texas. Mm-hmm. But for her to go to the VA services mm-hmm. It takes her an hour and a half to go to the Belair location here in Houston has to make three stops. She has hard hearing and hard seeing. You want to provide other, some potential solutions that can help them in more local healthcare as well. They can still utilize the VA services, but that not, may longer be the preferred accessible route at that point. Right. Um, The other thing is their financial situation. So if they don't get all the services at the V.A. But they do have the funds to pay for Medicare, the premiums for Medicare then that's definitely a preferred route in my opinion. They can always add an advantage plan to it. Now, there are advantage plans that do not have prescription drug coverage. And they kind of promote that specifically for the veteran market because they can get their medications from the VA. But there's no real lot of additional benefits from that plan versus an advantage plan that already includes drugs as well, drug coverage. Technically yes, there are different solutions. But it's not always what I would recommend for them to, to utilize, if you will. Okay. Got it. So it's really beneficial then if you're a veteran to talk with someone that can go over the best plan that would be for them. One of the things that I saw on your website is that there can be duplication. You wanna make sure that. People get what they need, but they're not getting more than they need, that they're not paying for parts of the plan that they're doubling up on because that would be a poor use of funds. One of the things that we've talked about before too is long-term care and there may be some listeners that don't know what that is or that that's even a possibility because as we're living longer, our healthcare needs are increasing as we get older. This long-term care, I think, is an asset to help us if we have access to that insurance in our plan. Can you talk a little bit for those that might not know what long-term care insurance is and talk about what that might look like for them or someone that they care about? Yeah. So long-term care services, home healthcare services all comes into play when someone can no longer fully take care of themselves. So, for example there are six daily living activities: dressing yourself, going to the bathroom being able to eat your own food, stuff like that. So all the stuff we do on a daily basis, within our home or even transportation, being able to drive to a doctor's appointment. So the older we get, either we get more of illness like, heart disease or cancer or, whatever it is. At certain times we cannot fully take care of ourselves. Then also the older we are getting, we're getting more mental ailments, right? Dementia, hard time, remembering things Parkinson's. But with those kind of situations If you can't take care of yourself anymore, or it's a danger to live by yourself because not no longer, maybe your spouse is even still alive, Then there's different care needs. So can you stay to live in your own home? You may need more home healthcare, if you will. Mm-hmm. Or oftentimes you see as well, when it really gets bad that the parents move into their children's homes. But that places an extra burden on the child. Then as well then they become the real caretaker. When you have long-term care insurance, that can help therefore with getting home healthcare in your home so that they can live longer independently, either at their own home. Or when they're, for example, with their children, they moved into the children, that the children no longer have to take care of everything because it's, it's, it's hard on the body. If you need to shower or bathe a person to begin with, let alone if it's your parents, then it becomes also an additional emotional burden. And on top of that oftentimes they still have a job. They still need to make that income. And that is where long-term care insurance can help with both getting help that's paid for inside the home. But also if they later on need to move into a long-term care facility or assistant living, for example there are different, different homes where, where they can go as independent living or with assistant healthcare. And also there's some more units that help with dementia care. So really more mental care as well. It because it takes additional assistance when those situations arises. So long-term care insurance can help with some of that cost. With the way Medicare and all type of health insurance, the way I see it and describe it is set up is once you start to need to have skilled nursing care, that you need someone as a caretaker. Medicare, even if you're eligible for it stops after a hundred days. And you still, after 20 days, she has to actually pay a portion yourself. But after a hundred.. Wait, so a hundred days, are you referring to an incident, say in a rehab or in a hospital? so if you go, for example, to rehab and now that falls in the skilled nursing benefits represent the group right then, there is a maximum number of days and typically only around a hundred days, right? And then there is no coverage for it anymore. Right? But if someone has dementia, for example, can't live at home anymore, then there is consistent care needed for the rest of their lives. Right. But Medicare does not necessarily pay for that, right? And that is what's very disturbing for many of my clients as well. What I hear, they, they're struggling with that. But the way I describe it, very likely why Medicare does that or the how the system is billed. Now, mind you, this is my personal statement, right? I don't know what the thought process is, but what I see is health and insurance is all geared to get you back up to your feet healthy and be able to take care of yourself again. That's what health insurance, the basic health insurance, medical services are geared upon. For the younger community, like Blue Cross blue Shield, that's what you're referring to? In general health insurance in general. Yeah. Yeah, so, so whether you are young and you get into a car accident that you need some more care at some point. But also when you're older, it's all geared to get you back up on your feet healthy in that regard. Okay. And the, the long-term care services that you then need because of a condition has developed it just stops paying or there's less coverage for it. Okay. The fires that are going off in my head, the light bulbs that are going off to, to me in this conversation that I've not thought of before is it seems like Medicare is a category that takes care of your doctor visits your prescriptions and to some degree some care for your physical things like rehab or some, a short period of time in a hospital up to possibly a hundred days. But when it comes to more of the taking care of the physical body that would be where the long-term insurance. And also providing respite for an assistance to the caregiver who is who is kind of a secondary client there because they benefit from having this long-term care insurance in place as well. Because long-term care that does not get into the medicines or prescriptions or anything like that, right? It's just providing the skilled care givers that would come along and help bathe, help prepare the meals. It's also interesting that it can be across multiple environments, so it can be in home for some it can be in assisted living places or nursing homes perhaps, or some of the more skilled specific, like for dementia care. Correct. Now, Medicare does cover for physical and occupational therapy, and then oftentimes they come to people's homes. But again, when you do physical therapy, It's geared to, make your body stronger and be more mobile again. right. But yeah, so, And sometimes that's not where we're at anymore. We might have gone beyond that place. I see what you're saying. So there comes a time where we're not gonna get stronger , we're not gonna get our memory back. And so we still need care. And that's where the long-term care comes into play. Yeah. Now, one thing to do note is when it really has progressed that the health is so lacking that they are now considered to be in hospice, which means that they are diagnosed, that it's very likely a person passes away within the next six months. Right. Then you go into the hospice arena. And there is more coverage for hospice timeframe in Medicare? Yes. Okay. So then at that point, the long-term care kind of goes away and the Medicare picks up again. No, there's still the long-term care needs don't go away. Okay. But there is more availability to say, to bring someone into the home, have beds, doctor visits Other type of equipment to move people. Mm-hmm. From the bed into maybe a shower chair, for example. So there is more services during the hospice timeframe, but Still many of the Daily Care services, like long home care services, those needs still remain. There may be some more help during that timeframe and support and check-in, but typically that's still remains. Yeah. Okay. That's awesome. So now you're able to get a team of people together to provide the care that that person needs. Correct. So this is kind of a heavy topic, right? You and I work in a field that is kind of, kind of a Debbie Downer sometimes when, when people ask us what we do, but we're here for a reason. And so I'm curious, Annelies can you tell me what excites you about your job? To me, it's truly the care for people and trying to help them to connect with the services that they need and guide them to some solutions. So I don't only quote unquote sell Medicare plans. Yeah, I like to be there to answer their questions. Customer service. I don't have all the answers . But I do know quite a bit more than, the neighbor around the corner. And I just try to connect them as best as possible. First thing definitely what I always advise people to do is also have that conversation with your insurance company that they have, especially if they have an advantage plan. Call the insurance company and ask them what kind of services are there available? Have that conversation. Some insurance companies, they may have the answers, others are not because not all customer services is always provided with, with us home-based staff. So I, I've seen it as well where certain providers that's outside out of the US and if you don't understand how Medicare works, then you're just talking from a script. So.. The, and the other place where I recommend people to also ask to go to is um, Texas Health services as well as senior centers. There are several senior centers in the area that can provide some more help and guidance as well. Those are great ideas. Is there a question that is common? Maybe once a week you get asked this question. So if you know a little bit about Medicare, Medicare has different parts, part A, B, C, and D, and that con confuses people. Like what does Part A cover what Part B cover and all that stuff. And after I help people through the Medicare and we come up with what the best solutions are there plan selections they want to do. If it's the supplement part with with a drug plan or a Medicare advantage on top of part A and b, I just say, forget about the part. Just, just, this is how you should use your plans going forward, but forget about the part. Just make sure you pay different kind of premiums. It's, it's, I don't know why it's set up that way. Very confusing. It's very confusing. Yes. And, and a key thing, what people don't understand as well, and why it's so confusing is when you had insurance prior to getting on Medicare, you had one ID card, maybe you had a separate drug card, most often not, not even.. But you were dealing with one insurance company and it was just one plan. But then when you move to Medicare, you're dealing with Medicare directly to paying premiums. You're dealing with one, if not two different insurance companies as well. And then sometimes also additional insurance, like dental insurance stuff like that, but right. There are multiple plans and so I guide them, especially during the physician process as in pay this, set this up. Try to do it automatic, but then just forget about the parts and know how you need to use your plan. One other thing people have a hard time understanding is why Medicare drugs, especially the expensive drugs cost, the, the price to get them from the pharmacy is so much different than when you are on group insurance or prior to that, ok. So you can be pleasantly or not pleasantly, you can be surprised sometimes how much the drugs that somebody is using can cost when you're on Medicare. Is there a question that you wish people would ask that you think, they would be more knowledgeable or maybe more empowered if they would ask this question and maybe they don't ask it as much, that our listeners would kind of be one up on the information that you could share about that. So then let's talk about the ads that we see on tv. Oh, yes, let's do that. Yeah. So, when you have these ads on TV for Medicare and they tend to gear around Medicare advantage plans and say, oh, there are extra benefits, or, we can get you this and this, or we can get you some money back, the devil is in the detail. Many advantage plans do have some extra coverage for dental and vision and hearing, but there are big differences versus one plan and one insurance company and another one. How much of those benefits are actually available? So certain plans have higher benefits than others. If someone has contact with a local Medicare person like myself that helps people with their Medicare, I think it's better to talk to them as an individual because you don't, when you call any of these ads, you're now going to be on a call list. You may get a lot of phone calls. So yes, there typically are additional benefits, but each plan is very different. I would definitely recommend somebody to ask anyone, if they help 'em with Medicare which other insurance companies they can help with. Because there are agents, they're, only selling one insurance company. One of those plans that may not always be the right fit for you. Okay. Um, Yes, it's always important. Then when you look at plans is to understand, do your doctors that you go to accept that insurance plan, right? But what a lot of people not always look at is also, which hospitals in your area? Right. You want to actually be able to have elective surgery with do they accept those plans as well? Not all, every hospital accepts all these Medicare advantage plans. That would be a nightmare. So if you found out that the surgery that you need is not offered at the hospital that you want to go to, then you can't just change your insurance plan on a dime, right? Like you would end up going to a hospital or seeing a doctor that is maybe second choice or worse, but that's where you're at in that moment? Yes, somewhat So the first quarter of the year you can change advantage plans still for that same calendar year. Okay. There are at times what we call special enrollment periods. For example, when we had tornadoes or the big freeze coming through uhhuh, then there is an additional extended special enrollment plan where people can make changes. But if that's no longer available and the first quarter's over, then at the end of the year during the annual enrollment period from October till early December, you can change for next calendar year. But then it's always good to already talk to somebody. If I already had a conversation with someone prior to October, that helps me spend more time with them, make notes, and that when that period starts, they are actually high on the list. Actually take, the time and take a look at what plans for next should work. But there are some, some interesting surprises that certain hospitals, they accept an advantage HMO plan, but not the PPO plan. And with the PPO plan, you do have benefits by going to that hospital, but you just pay much more out of pocket. But those are then more in nitty gritty parts.. So there are times where you can change. So if somebody wants to change, just ask a local agent because you never know. Right, right. So if we knew that someone was listening and say that they're in their early sixties and Medicare is on the horizon for them, what would be something that you could say to them to help them start thinking about what decisions they need to be making? And maybe this is a good time to talk about the timeframe that they have around their 65th birthday and what needs to happen for them to avoid something unfortunate down the road? So a key thing planning wise if someone is not 65 yet and have a couple of years forward, is understand how, how Medicare premiums are calculated. I would not necessarily go into a lot of the details of the plans and, guide them through the whole decision making process. We can touch base on general cost, if you will, on on quotes, but that's not where my focus then would be. My focus would be more about, Hey, what's your income? These are currently the income ranges for Medicare Part B because part B is based on your gross modified adjusted income of about a year and a half or a year ago when you start to get on Medicare. So it's the last typically reported tax year that the Medicare Premium is based upon. And if people have higher incomes, then they, they're in a higher income bracket, and then they pay more premiums. Can more strategically look at their income planning and try to be in a lower income bracket to also lower their premiums, for example. Okay. Okay. One of my clients, he got on Medicare this year. I've been talking to him for the last three years. CPA by background. And so he is very much in budgeting and planning and all that stuff. So, I told him throughout that whole time, every year when the income ranges and premiums comes back, said, these are the ranges so that he could budget, therefore how much, at least the Part B premium would be. Right. And can you talk just a little bit about the enrollment period around the 65th birthday? Isn't there a window of time that someone needs to be aware of? Yes. When somebody turns 65. And what a lot of people don't always understand is depending on your situations, you don't necessarily have to apply for Medicare. If someone continues to work and has group insurance, and especially with a large company and they have the standard, let's say the Blue Cross type of insurance, they don't necessarily have to apply for Medicare or switch completely over to Medicare. You can still apply for Medicare Part A at that time, but when you are 65, you have from three months prior to 65, that's when you can start your Medicare application. The month that you're 65, up till three months after the month, you turn 65. So it's what we call the seven month initial enrollment window around the age of 65. If you're later than those three months after your 65th birthday and you do not have group insurance Then you are getting in the late enrollment timeframe, your coverage may not start until July the following calendar year, or it takes another of couple of months to have that coverage you're dealing with the government. So those processes are not always very quick. There are all these rules or regulations and it takes time. So when summary turns 65, they can always apply for Medicare Part A. It's definitely encouraged if people do not have any other type of insurance or they have the marketplace or private health insurance to then move fully on Medicare part A and B with the additional plans. But yes, the original timeframe is seven months, three months prior to your birthday, month of your birthday, and three months after. The funny little trick though is, and I'm working with a couple right now. She turned 65 in July. He turned 65, August one. If you're born on the first day of the month, your Medicare starts the month prior. Wow. So this couple are actually getting both on Medicare as of July one, and he is not one month later. So that's, Wow. Yeah, those little, that's interesting. Those little things. Interesting. Why would they do that? That's weird. I don't dunno. But it always starts on the first of the month, not starts on your birthday. It's always starts on the first of the month. Okay. that you turn 65. Okay. Yeah. So he didn't have a month before, so he starts in July. Okay, I get that. Mm-hmm. Okay. So Annelies I'm a coach and I'm an educator. And I really like helping people get into action and take steps to the next thing. It helps them get focused. So what is a simple, what's a simple little step that would be easy for someone to take to help them make a plan or make a call? Start to consider like what in your opinion would be for someone who's not yet. Steven thought about or looked into Medicare, what would be the next step for them to get educated and to take for their best interest? I think the easiest thing from a process wise is to find an agent that you connect with that's local. I like to prefer to deal with more local people to begin with. And have that conversation. If people call me or we meet and they explain or, or via email, they explain to me my situation. I lay out the timelines. This is when we do this, this is when you should be doing this. And then we already have a game plan on dates. And then it's easier to also determine when do we want to go in an in-depth conversation? I can give some preliminary quotes very early on, but you don't have to make the decisions months and months ahead of time. But what I mentioned earlier as well, like Medicare Part B is based on income. So, I always build that full total cost picture, how much we estimate, what they're paying for Medicare part A or B. A, most people don't have to pay for it. And B, based on income and what are the additional plans? So they have an nice cost picture more or less, and then that's a good starting point. Then they get more comfortable with, yes, I should be applying for Medicare, or Hey, I can actually wait until I retire from the company I work. Stuff like that. But talk to a local agent. Describe your situation, what you're thinking. I think that's the quickest course of action. I also deal with people that have done all their own research. They bought books on Amazon went through all the website. And then they still don't understand it because if you don't understand Medicare, it's, it's still very much a puzzle. I or someone else that helps people with the Medicare, we can simplify it and you learn everything in like an hour, an hour and a half, that otherwise will take you so much more time. And it's specific to your situation. Correct? Yes. Yeah. I never discourage people to talking to the neighbors and their friends and what they've done. But I also advise them to also talk to someone like myself who helps people with their Medicare, because their situation may be different than somebody else's. For sure. I had recently was asked through someone to help one customer to review the plans that they were having and someone else, another Medicare agent. Although we don't work for the government or Medicare but had said, no, no, no, this is the best plan, so you should stick with that plan. And said, I don't disagree that that plan is really good, and I would mostly recommend that plan, but that person could not afford it. Couldn't even buy groceries because so much of the premium went to that particular plan. So I said in your situation, that was just not financially the best situation to do. It may have been the best plan, but if you can't afford it, then that plan is no longer best for you. Right. Yeah, that's a really good point. So Annelies, how can people find you? Well, I do have a website at hibconsultants.com. That's h i b h, like, hello, I as in igloo, B as in boy. Consultants, is that right? Okay. For people that that might be listening. Okay. My company's name is Health Insurance Benefit Consultants. Okay. And I'm here in Houston, Texas. And are you on any social platforms? I'm on Next Door, Google Maps. So that's where they can find me. I just don't do a lot of the, the social media stuff. Sure. No, because you're in person at the American Legion.. That is post 560 Yes. In Garden Oaks. Yeah. And they always call me or text me at 7 13 4 1 2 3 1 7 3. But I'm sure you put that in the notes. But yes, I will put that in the show notes for sure. Okay. Analise, it's been a pleasure chatting with you today. Again, I appreciate your time and I've always learned something from you when I talk to you, so I appreciate that as well. I'm a lifelong learner, so I like the stories that you have to share. So thanks so much for joining me today. Thank you for for this lovely chat, Sherri, I enjoyed it. Good.