“We Can Breathe Easier”: How one couple got the help they needed when shopping for a Medicare plan
For roughly 40 years, Linda and Michael F. never needed to shop around for health insurance. Their insurance came through Michael's work. After he retired, they kept it.
But year after year, the price kept climbing.
“It went up so much we had to do something,” said Linda, of Falling Waters, West Virginia.
For the first time in decades, Linda started shopping.
What she found through eHealth seemed almost impossible to believe: A Medicare plan that could provide the coverage she and Michael needed while more closely aligning with their household budget.
“This has to be too good to be true,” Linda remembers thinking.
It wasn't.
Starting from scratch with Medicare
Michael had spent his career working for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, while she handled operations for a trucking company. The couple understood group health insurance.
Medicare plans were different.
“We didn't know about Medicare Advantage,” Linda said. “Would it cover prescriptions? For the first time, we knew nothing about it. Where do I start?”
Linda went online and found eHealth.
The website gave her a starting point, but Linda still had questions about what she was seeing. She wanted to make sure she understood the plan correctly before walking away from coverage she and Michael had relied on for most of their adult lives.
“This looks like a great plan”
She connected with Shemille Cribb, a licensed insurance agent with eHealth. For Linda, having a person available to explain the details made a big difference.
“She answered all the questions,” Linda said. “She understood what we were going through on this journey to figure out the right Medicare coverage for us.”
Shemille helped Linda and Michael evaluate their options and identify a plan that aligned with what they needed. She walked them through the plan options and coverage, including what additional offerings were available to them.
“She found this plan and said it was a great option for us,” Linda recalled. “This is what you would pay, this is what is covered and this is the money you'd get back.”
Linda had already seen some of the information online. Hearing it confirmed by an advisor was what she needed to feel comfortable making the change.
“What I had looked at online, I thought it was too good to be true,” she said. “But my advisor at eHealth confirmed it was true.”
After enrolling, they began seeing the difference.
Important coverage that matched their budget
The new plan provided important coverage for medical care while aligning with their household budget.
“It is a world of difference,” Linda said. “We can breathe easier.”
Their new plan also provides important additional offerings important to her, including helping improve access to care that contributed to her overall well-being.
Looking back, Linda recalls how skeptical she was when she first saw the numbers. But the promises have materialized.
“It has all come true,” Linda said.
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* This story reflects the customer’s actual experience. Individual experiences may vary. She was compensated for her time.
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