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#51 - Medicare Tips and Tricks with Traci Grover

Eric Blake: On today's episode of the Simply Retirement Podcast, we are gonna help you answer the question, now that I've chosen my Medicare plan, how do I maximize my benefits and avoid many of the Medicare mistakes that retirees make? Welcome to another episode of the Simply Retirement Podcast, where we want to educate and empower women to live your retirement on your terms.

I'm your host, Eric Blake. Back on episode 28, we discussed the ins and outs of choosing the right Medicare plan. On today's episode, we wanna share some tips and strategies on how you can most effectively utilize your Medicare coverage and get the most out of your benefits. Today I'm gonna be joined by Tracy Grover, a seasoned insurance broker with Vital Health Coverage, who brings a wealth of experience helping retirees avoid some of those common Medicare mistakes.

We're gonna be talking about enrollment tips, why working with an experienced broker really does matter. What those flashy TV ads aren't telling you, and Tracy's even gonna share. The one thing you should never say when your doctor office asks, what kind of insurance do you have? So if Medicare has felt confusing or overwhelming, you're gonna love this conversation.

And with that, Traci Grover, welcome to the Simply Retirement Podcast.

Traci Grover: Thanks Eric. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it and I love being here.

Eric Blake: Absolutely. Looking forward to it. And we, you and I have had had this on the radar for quite some time, and I'm glad finally got to make this happen. Sounds good.

Alright, so if you don't mind, I would love for you to share just a little bit about your background. What brought you into the Medicare space? I know you've got a story behind that as most as great, most great stories are. So if you'll just share a little bit about that and we'll go from there.

Traci Grover: Sure. It's actually a funny story how I got into insurance. So my background is anything from medical devices, medical equipment, I. At one point, I even owned a Pilates studio for about six years. But my, my last, I call it my last full-time employer job. I worked for a med device company. I ran a small division.

I was in charge of sales and operations, and I would train about a hundred sales reps across the country who were distributors. But even worked with a lot of the nurses down at MD Anderson, it was great, but I had a friend, I had two young kids and I wanted to find something part-time and a friend of mine said, I've got the perfect part-time job for you.

And I said, okay, what do you got anything but insurance? And we laughed about that and she said, why do you say that? And I said, it just sounds so confusing and so much to learn and it's boring. And I absolutely love what I do, and the reason I love what I do is because it's so confusing and it's hard to navigate, and I truly feel like I am helping the end user who are my clients on my insurance policies to help them navigate and alleviate some of that pain for them.

So it's a roundabout way, but I really, the more I'm in it, the longer I'm in any way. I really love it.

Eric Blake: I know you and I have known each other. I know what it is. A couple years now, probably. And we're part of the same networking groups. Yes. And I can definitely see the passion that you have for it at some of the different networking events and health health fairs and different things like that.

So I'm glad we've got a chance to get together and know each other a little bit. So let's start with that one, the one I brought up about your doctor's office. So I walk into my doctor's office. I need some type of procedure, I need some type of care. They ask me what kind of insurance do you have?

How should I respond to that?

Traci Grover: Sure. A lot of times people are calling also to make an appointment and before, let's say they're a new patient or they're calling to get into an urgent care and they wanna say, how long's the weight? I'm not feeling well. So before a doctor or an urgent care facility will even say, oh, the wait's only 30 minutes or two hours, or We want you to come in on Friday at two.

They're gonna say, what insurance do you have? And so it just depends on if you have an advantage plan or a Medicare supplement plan. But you always wanna lead with that supplement plan or that advantage plan. If you say, at an urgent care, I have Medicare. They're gonna say, I'm sorry, we don't take that.

And I've had many phone calls, like at 10 o'clock at night, someone's trying to get into a care now or another urgent care, and they're so frustrated, they'll say, no one's taking my insurance. And then my first question is, what are you saying? If you say you have Medicare, they're thinking just your red, white, and blue card.

And they do not take just original Medicare. They'll take original Medicare with a supplement, plan F, plan G, or any supplement or that MAPD, Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan. So you always wanna lead with your supplement plan and Medicare, or I have a BC company's advantage plan.

Eric Blake: So is that, did you hear this?

You hear these issues all the time of, Hey, this so and so doesn't take my coverage. Or they don't take Medicare doctor's office that no longer are taking Medicare. So how much of that when someone they, when the doctor's office hears, they ask you that question and they hear Medicare, I. Is it intentional?

Is it because they don't want to deal with it? Do you have any insight on what, what triggers that response?

Traci Grover: A lot of doctors don't take original Medicare. They'll take a Medicare with a supplement, Medicare with an advantage plan. But it really comes down to the billing process in my opinion.

When you billing just Medicare, you're billing the government to be reimbursed. When you're billing a supplement plan or an advantage plan, you're billing the carrier. So the carriers have to follow all the rules that Medicare guidelines are giving them.

Eric Blake: Okay?

Traci Grover: So it's, for instance, if you bill a Medicare Advantage plan, those physicians are being reimbursed within usually 45 to 60 days.

Eric Blake: Got it.

Traci Grover: If you bill, if you're billing the government, it's gonna be about six months.

Eric Blake: Wow. So one of the other things I wanted to ask you about and this is you've got, you've provided a list of, some of the tips and tricks that you talk about in different presentations and things like that, that you found have been valuable for your clients.

But one of the things I want you to share, what happens, we get into these different enrollment periods and there's all of a sudden seems to be this huge urgency around open enrollment or all these different timeframes that people do need to be aware of. It's often not as urgent as what it's made out to be, either in the news or on some of the TV commercials and things like that.

Can you talk about that a little bit?

Traci Grover: There's a lot of acronyms that we use for different election periods and it can become confusing for folks and I will, in my monthly seminars, I'll talk about those. One of the biggest things that people will get confused with. A EP, which is annual election period, which I know you guys talked about in your other episode.

It's October 15th through December 7th. The only folks that really need to look at a EP are your Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans or your PDPs, your prescription drug plans. But I have people that say, oh my gosh, I'm turning 65 in April, and it seems like I have to sign up between October and December.

No, you have your own special election or initial election period then, or I have a supplement and I wanted to change my supplement in April. You can change a supplement any month of the year, but you have to wait until specific election periods to change your prescription drug plan or your advantage plan.

Eric Blake: Because I know you, even you when we were talking about, booking this, the booking our time to do our podcast, that was one of the things you're incredibly busy. So what Dave, what is your time? Toward end that October to December timeframe, what is it that you're typically doing?

Traci Grover: So between October and December, I'm working with all my current clients.

We're doing Medicare reviews, we're looking at their drug plans, looking at their advantage plans. I always say if it's not broken, let's not fix it. If they're happy with what they have. But if they wanna say I really needed more of whatever the need is that they have, then we can look at other plans to see what's changing.

Every year, the advantage plans are tweaked a little bit by the carriers. And then I have my own go-tos, where some years I like one, two or three A, B, and C carriers. Another year I might like, just some different ones and it just depends on how their plans change. It also de depends on what those carriers are going through for the next year.

Eric Blake: Absolutely.

Traci Grover: That is my busy time of the year where I'm working about 12 hours a day, but it's really only for October 15th through December 7th. But also we're prepping for it, in September getting ready.

Eric Blake: So there's a couple things I would love you to dive deeper into related to what you just said.

And that is that you talked about during that window of time you're doing Medicare reviews. Can you talk a little bit about what that looks like? I think that's one of the things to the point of working with somebody who has the experience. It's not just, I buy my plan and that's it, and it's just, it definitely is not a set and forget it type situation.

Sure. When you talk about that review process, what does that look like and why, how important is that to, to individuals who you know, are in that Medicare phase of life?

Traci Grover: Absolutely. It's really important. So when I say Medicare reviews, I'm sending out correspondence to all my clients and I'm asking them, are you happy with your plan?

Has anything changed with your healthcare? Have you been had any new diagnosis? Have your medications changed? Have your doctors changed based on their feedback? So there, there's going to be clients I don't need to do a Medicare review for, but if someone was recently diagnosed with the heart disease or diabetes, or now they're in macular degeneration treatment or cancer treatment, whatever it may be, their meds have changed.

Now their meds are more expensive, their doctors changed. Depending on how their health has changed and their needs have changed, tells me if we need to look at another plan that might be better suited for them. But then we also need to make sure there's some chronic plans where I need to make sure that those doctors or new doctors are in those plans as well.

Or is there medication on the formulary with the current carrier that we have? So we need to check all that.

Eric Blake: Now, one of the, I'm sure you hear this objection. I know, I hear it. Is. In terms of cost, thinking about, okay, if I'm paying X amount from a Medicare plan, if I go to a broker, is that gonna cost me more?

How much more is it gonna cost me to use somebody like you again? Who has that experience? Can you talk about that to clarify exactly what the cost structure is when you're working with a broker versus not working with a broker?

Traci Grover: Sure. So I've been a captive agent with a carrier before and I'm a broker now, and as a broker or a captive agent, our cost to our clients should not be, it should not be anything because we're paid only by the carriers, so we're not charging a cost.

Do what we should be doing anyway. So the only way that I get paid is if I sign somebody up under me, then I'm assigned their agent of record. The carrier then pays me for being their agent of record.

Eric Blake: So there really is not much of a cost difference in terms of whether you do or don't use a broker.

Traci Grover: There should be zero cost difference. Correct.

Eric Blake: So for them, thinking about why you would not use one. I guess I'm not sure. Is there any reason why somebody wouldn't use a broker unless they just had the experience themselves?

Traci Grover: Even if they have the experience themselves, because I do have a couple clients that have a lot of experience, but they're not always abreast of what's new, what's coming down the line, where we're getting correspondence constantly from the carriers of new plans that are coming, new regulations that are coming.

It's just keeping us more abreast of everything. But the benefit of using a broker, in my opinion is, I have access to all the different carriers that provide. Different plans and possibilities here in whichever area they live. 'cause I'm in 19 different states, so it helps me to have a broader, gamut of options for them.

If I'm just with, if I'm not a broker and I'm just with one carrier, I'm very limited in what I can provide.

Eric Blake: So can you talk about that? One of the things that often happens is people are getting close to retirement. Maybe they're in their early sixties, they plan to retire 65 or 67, but one of the questions always comes up is, should I move, should I go to a different move to a different state?

Can you talk about how that works or how you navigate how clients navigate those types of decisions on going from one state to another? Even I talked about kinda went back and forth recently about a client that. She's currently in Florida, but she may be moving to Tennessee, both states, which you're licensed in.

But those are pretty important decisions, correct?

Traci Grover: Sure. A lot of times when people retire, some people, I've had people say, we're gonna buy an RV and travel the country, or we're gonna live half the year here and half week the year. And another state. 'cause we have children over there.

Or we've always been interested in whatever state they're interested in. So my motto and the reason I'm licensed in 19 different states now, soon to be 20, is I've always told my clients if you move or if you have a relative or a friend that wants to work with me, 'cause I'm a pretty hands on broker, I will then become licensed where you're going.

It's very easy for broker to get licensed in other states. It's just a matter of the upkeep. So as I have people saying I have a gentleman right now, he was living in Texas, he's moving to North Carolina, but he also has family in New Jersey and in Virginia. So he wants to know, will I be able to help him if I'm in those different states?

So that's like when you think about what am I gonna do when I retire? Some people say, we're not going anywhere. We're gonna stay right here. Our family's right here. Other people say, you know what? I wanna get up every day and see the mountains or walk on the beach, or whatever it may be. Or, I wanna travel in an rv.

And their lifestyle and their personality helps me determine what's gonna be the best plan for them. And the reason I say personality, I. I like to ask people, tell me about, when you go to the doctor, are you okay with choosing a doctor in a network? Or do you wanna find a doctor on your own because you've read reviews on them?

That is a personality trait, which I actually feel like I have too. I don't wanna be told I've gotta go to a B or C doctor. What if I wanna go to one of these other ones? So then it helps me figure out, do we need an H-M-O-A-P-P-O for advantage plans, or do we need a supplement plan?

Eric Blake: And again, that still comes back to me as though the value of a broker of understanding that, unfortunately so many people will look for the cheapest plan.

Regardless of what their circumstances are going to be today or what they think they're gonna be in the future. And then they end up getting maybe caught with a plan that just doesn't meet their needs within a short amount of time.

ProudMouth: Yes.

Eric Blake: And I think that's one of the things that, again, you could probably help with because the challenge of not having, whether it's the no underwriting.

Those types of things. Can you talk a little bit about that? What happens if I, all of a sudden, within a couple years I figure out that this wasn't the right plan and I need to think about changing. What are some of the key points or tips you would suggest in a case like that?

Traci Grover: It happens all the time and sometimes it is trial and error, but the good news is, if.

I'm working with you and we're staying on top of what's going on with your health and your needs and what you like, what you don't like. But I always joke with folks, when I'm doing a presentation, I always say, we're not gonna pick a plan because your neighbor down the street likes their plan. So you wanna look at their plan, or we're not gonna pick a plan because you and your spouse wanna be on the same plan where.

If one person's completely fine, goes to the doctor once a year and the other one has heart trouble and diabetes, we're not gonna probably put them on the same plan. And then, unless we're putting them on the same supplement plan, and that's a whole different story, so then we gotta figure out, okay, what's the lifestyle?

Tell me about where you're going. And then also affordability.

Eric Blake: Absolutely. Again, I think it's one of those things again that. You would love to get it right the first time, but it becomes so challenging, number one, because life simply happens and you just don't know what the future holds.

Traci Grover: Yes. And one of the things that I really like to talk about is I don't want people to, when you think about a plan when you're 65 versus a plan when you're 70, 75, 80, you know your needs are gonna change. It's not a one and done. So people, I, I always tell people, we're not gonna just sign up and then we're gonna be on that same plan until we pass away.

Yes, you could, especially if you sign up for a Plan F or Plan G Medicare supplement plan. But a lot of folks need to still tweak and change. They might need to change their dental or their vision and hearing plan. There's a lot of ancillary plans that we can look into, like a cancer heart attack or stroke plan, or a hospital indemnity or a max out of pocket.

So there's a whole bunch of different things that we can do, but it's really beneficial if you have a supplement plan, you wanna sit down and review that with a broker, usually every two to three years, in my opinion. If your rate is going up more than $25. A year. 'cause those plans do go up. And that's a monthly rate.

So if your monthly rate is now more than $25 from where you started, we wanna look at that and see if there's something that we can do. You can certainly change your supplement plans. You just have to answer medical questions after your past, your initial plan. The Advantage plans, they don't ever ask any medical questions so we can change them anytime in those plans.

We really wanna look at those every year. I. Some people say I don't need any dental this year, but next year I'm gonna need dentures. Does my plan help pay for that? So we just, and it could be next year, I need a shoulder replacement. I don't wanna spend a lot of money when I'm in the hospital.

All different things. There's a thousand different types of scenarios that we can look at.

Eric Blake: Awesome. One of the things I know that also confuses a lot of people is the prescription part of all this. Can you talk a little bit about that, in terms of whether you've got, Hey, this plan covers everything from A to Z, including prescriptions versus having a separate prescription plan.

Can you talk about the details there?

Traci Grover: So it's a little bit of a beast right now. The Inflation reduction Act just went into effect January of this year. So the good news is, nobody's gonna spend more than $2,000 on their medications, but it's no one. The big things I always, that's important to know is people just say I thought I didn't have to spend more than two grand.

It's two grand for your copays of your prescription. That doesn't include the premium of your prescription. And it's only $2,000 if your drugs are on that carrier's formulary. So a lot of times, it will not be $2,000 if you're suddenly put on a drug that's not on that formulary. All carriers change their formulary.

They typically, the good news, they're typically trying to add prescriptions to their, or drugs to their formulary. If you're suddenly put on a drug that is not on that formulary, you are gonna be paying out of pocket for it. So you're gonna definitely go over, or maybe you won't if it's an inexpensive prescription, but if you're on an expensive one, it's not even gonna be counted into that $2,000 max.

Prescriptions. Right now. Every year I am teaching my clients how to log on, not log on, but go into medicare.gov and actually help do their search for their prescriptions. It'd be very specific. I need the name of the drug, the dosage amount, how many pills a day, or injections or whatever it may be.

Also, if it's a brand versus a generic, and so we don't like to, we are not gonna list any over the counter. I had someone recently give me an entire list of drugs and 90% of them were over the counter. I can't do anything with those 'cause you're walking into Walmart and buying those. So we're just looking for the ones you're filling from the pharmacy.

I'm comparing if they are in that formulary, I. I'm also teaching my clients how to do that now. And there are a lot of folks, a lot of agents like myself or brokers that are moving away from working with the prescriptions. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out towards the end of the year, but I'm teaching a lot of folks how to look it up themselves as well, so they're staying abreast of it.

And then there's little tricks. Like I know, and this is silly, but I talk about this as well. I don't know why it's like this with eye drops, but sometimes I had one lady on an eye drop that was 0.5, milli, whatever it was, milligrams, milliliters, and it was maybe $3 a month. The doctor said, you know what?

You don't need the 0.5 anymore. We're gonna move you to the 0.25. When she went to fill that prescription, it was $104. So then she called me and she said, what's going on with this insurance? And I said, I think you're filling a drug that's probably not filled very often. Because it's more common to fill the 0.5.

So she called her doctor and he said, if it's that much, then yeah, just use the 0.5, but use it half the amount of time. Now I'm not a doctor, I'm not saying, I can't tell the clients what to do. They always gotta follow up with their physician. But it was just interesting how the difference in that same drug, but the different dosage amount was so much more costly.

Eric Blake: Are there any other thinking of thinking along those lines of these little tips and tricks as people just wouldn't think about normally? Yeah. That somebody like you can bring to the table? Are any of those little old things that might save some dollars, save some time

Traci Grover: staying with the prescriptions?

I always teach my clients when you go, this is a little tedious, but when you go to pick up your prescriptions at the pharmacy, ask him or her, the pharmacist. Three things. Okay, let's go over each one of my drugs that I'm picking up. How much is it on my, how much is it on my insurance? How much is it if I self-pay, and how much is it if we use one of these discount cards and even I'm on my husband's insurance, but even when I go pick them up, I'll say, okay, ring these two prescriptions up on my insurance.

I'll self-pay for this one, and then this other one I'm gonna pay with that prescription card. Just because it just, it can save you money. Great example is. A tier two with a prescrip with a company is usually, it could, anywhere from zero to $14, depending on the prescription, but maybe it's a, let's just say it's $14.

So you pick it up, it's a tier two, you're running it through your prescription, I mean through your carrier. You're gonna pay $14 for it, but maybe if you self-pay, it's only $8. So if you self-pay, it'll be a little bit less outta your pocket. Not many people wanna go through that. They're like, here's my card, let me bring it up for the people that want to, it's almost a little bit of clipping coupons, I always say, but it only takes 30 seconds to ask if you're, unless you're picking up like 45, prescriptions.

But if you're just picking up one or two. It's really easy to say, how much is it on my insurance? How much is it if I self pay, and how much is it on a discount card?

Eric Blake: I think that's hugely valuable. We always talk about, when you're talking about, especially when you're in your retirement years, if you, maybe you're on a limited income and you're just trying to maximize every dollar, it may be worth the extra, 30 seconds, 60 a minute to yeah, to go through that process and just to save a little bit of money.

I think that's great.

Traci Grover: It works. I've had, I have a lot of people doing it.

Eric Blake: Hey, that's a good thing. It means your message is being communicated effectively.

Traci Grover: I hope so. I don't know. I hope.

Eric Blake: Yeah, so if you would, I think it's always important when we're talking about Medicare to cover some of the key deadlines as far as, when you turn 65 or if you continue to work and there's so many that are now continuing to work beyond 65.

If you wouldn't mind just touch on some of those key deadlines. We touched on the open enrollment period already, if you want to go back and just quickly revisit that, but some of those important deadlines as to when I need to actually get my application in.

Traci Grover: So a lot of people get nervous. They think, oh my gosh, I'm turning 65.

I'm still working. I need to sign up for A and B. You do not need to do that. It would be great if you can sign up for a, if you're still working and you're turning 65, you're gonna stay. And let me just say this. If you're still working and you're going to stay on your employer insurance, then you can sign up for A and delay B.

If you lived in the us and worked here for 10 years, if you're a US citizen, A isn't gonna cost you anything. So you can sign up for a covers hospital and it lets the government know, hey, he or she is still working. Sign up for A and delay B if you need the link. I usually, people will call me and say, I'm getting ready to turn 65, what do I do?

And I always say, you don't even have to think about this. Just call me when you're getting close to that. I send you the government link to sign up for a. You're delaying B and you're gonna just keep going about working. When you're ready to retire, I'm gonna send you the link to sign up for Medicare part B as in boy, and then once you have B active, and then we're gonna put you on either a Medicare supplement plan with a drug plan, a dental vision and hearing plan possibly a cancer heart attack, or stroke plan if you need it, whatever else you may need.

And then, or that Medicare advantage plan with maybe a hospital indemnity plan. But, they don't really need to think about it as long as they're keeping in touch with me. So I'm working with several folks that say, Hey, Tracy, I'm getting ready to turn 65. I don't know yet if I'm gonna retire. So if I do, it'll be by the end of the year, but I'm turning 65 in May.

What do I do? So I'll say, let's just start with signing up for a, and then once you decide when you're ready to retire, then I'm gonna send you the link to sign up for B. Then I'm gonna follow you until we know it's active in the system. Then we're gonna get you set up on all the, specific plans that you may need.

So there isn't really like an acronym. So your initial election period, is when there is an acronym. When you sign up, there's always an acronym. There's always an acronym. You have technically seven months when you're turning 65 if you need it. But really if you're just gonna sign up for a, we're just signing up for a and we're going about our business.

Then once you retire you're gonna have eight months to sign up for part B. This is funny. You have eight months to sign up for B, but once your prescription drug plan ends, you only have 63 days to sign up for Part D as in drug. That's your drug plan. But as long as they're following up with me, I'm gonna keep them on track to that.

So we have deadlines, you have, when you're turning 65, sign up for A and B, or sign up for a delay B. And then once we get all that going, when your insurance is about to end with whatever you have. We're gonna get you to start what's gonna be seamless. You're gonna end one insurance at midnight on one night.

You're gonna begin the next one at 1201. That's, following day. With that drug plan is also, you only have 63 days and people always say, why do I need a drug plan? I don't take any prescriptions, which is fabulous, but the government believes that at some point after you turn 65, everyone's gonna need some sort of prescription, even if you're on a Z-pack.

For a sinus infection, you will need a prescription for something. So you have 63 days to sign up for a drug plan. Once you are, do not have a drug plan. If you have a valid drug plan, that's great. Another thing that's really important to know is COBRA is not considered credible coverage by Medicare. So I had a gentleman recently retire.

He said good news. I took an early retirement package. Me and several other people, this gentleman happened to be 68. Another person that took the early retirement happened to be 45. They both got a year and a half of Cobra covered by the company, and that's great for the 45-year-old. It's pretty good for the 68-year-old too.

However, if. He and his wife, who happen to both be over 65, they're going to be delay. They're gonna get a, what we call a late enrollment penalty. If they don't sign up now, it's not that much money. Some people say I'm fine with the late enrollment penalty because I have Cobra paying for me for 18 months and the late enrollment penalty is only gonna be, so much amount, but it's gonna be so much amount every month for the rest of their life,

ProudMouth: right?

Traci Grover: But it's just a matter of weighing the cost. And he was fine with that. So that worked out well. But for some people they're like, no, I don't even want a 50 cent, penalty 'cause it's 50 cents every month for the rest of my life.

Eric Blake: I'm so glad you brought that up. 'cause that is one of those big got yous that people don't really realize when you're, if you're gonna be retiring before 65, you gotta make sure, ideally you have a plan going into that so that you know what your strategy is gonna be around healthcare.

One other thing I was gonna touch on and you touched about you enrolling in part A at 65 if you're gonna continue to work, the only thing I would, just one caveat to this I would throw out there is HSAs. Yes. So if you're going to be continuing to contribute to your HSA, and that's one of the things we almost always encourage clients to do, you have to have access is if you're contributing to your HSA.

It is the. It is the triple whammy of tax planning, I call it, because you get pre-tax, tax deferred and tax free if you use it the correct way.

ProudMouth: Yes.

Eric Blake: But you cannot be contributing to an H, s, A and B and Medicare Part A even. So just one of those things that you wanna be prepared for. And it's what, six months prior to enrolling in Medicare that you need to stop.

Traci Grover: Yes. All

Eric Blake: HSA contributions. Anything else you would add to that?

Traci Grover: I'm glad you brought that up because I always tell folks in my presentations that I want them to refer back to their financial planners, back to their CPAs. If they do have an HSA especially follow up with your financial planner because isn't it, if you're asked, if it's, if you're older than 65, you actually need to stop that HSA six months before you sign up for A and B.

Right? And then if you're taking it at 65, you have to stop one month before 65. But if you wanna stay in that HSA plan, I. We'll tell them to, you need to talk to Eric before you work with me. So you're the specialist with the HSAs.

Eric Blake: I appreciate that. Tracy, this has been incredibly informative.

If someone listening today wanted to reach out to you, learn more about your services, how can they get in touch with you?

Traci Grover: Okay, great. So my website is vitalhealthcoverage.com and then my cell phone, which is directly to me, is 214-945-7359. And then you can also email me at TraciGrover@gmail.com.

Eric Blake: Perfect, Tracy, thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining today. Your insights on Medicare and some of these little tips and tricks. Our audience can use to more effectively manage their Medicare are invaluable. I know our listeners will benefit from everything that you've shared to our listeners.

If today's episode has resonated with you, I encourage you to check out Tracy's website, learn more about how she can help you navigate Medicare. As always, if you're looking for guidance on retirement planning, tax strategies, and making sure that your financial future is secure, feel free to reach out to us@blakewealthmanagement.com.

You can find more information about that on our website. For more resources and links to this episode, you can go to www.thesimplyretirementpodcast.com.

Until next time, please remember, retirement is not the end of the road. It is the start of a new journey.

Content here is for illustrative purposes and general information only. It is not legal, tax, or individualized financial advice; nor is it a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any specific security, or engage in any specific trading strategy.

All investing involves risk including loss of principal. Results will vary. Past performance is no indication of future results or success. Market conditions change continuously.

Information here is provided, in part, by third-party sources. These sources are generally deemed to be reliable; however, neither Blake Wealth Management nor RFG Advisory guarantee the accuracy of third-party sources. The views expressed here are those of Blake Wealth Management. They do not necessarily represent those of RFG Advisory, their employees, or their clients.

This commentary should not be regarded as a description of advisory services provided by Blake Wealth Management or RFG Advisory, or performance returns of any client. The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice.