Medicare 2027 & AEP Ready: Insider Strategies for Clients & Agents with Christian & Glen

0:00 We'll be right back. Attention individuals, families, and caregivers. It's Medicare Hour and more with Peter right here on K4HD Radio. This is the podcast for all types of insurance solutions while specializing in Medicare because we Medicare. Here's your host, Peter R.

0:49 Joseph. Good morning, good morning, good morning. I'm so glad to see you all. It's always hard. I was just talking to my engineer. It's always hard getting back after a three-day weekend. Hope you guys had a lovely Labor Day weekend. We actually got some much-needed rain out here in California. We had a hurricane off the coast, so. Some rain, and my wife and I actually went to a Dodger game on Sunday and got rained on a little bit, but it was nice. It was really nice. It was a great, great game, and excited that we were able to spend a few days off away from work. Anyways, we are glad you're here this morning. We've got a great show for you.

1:34 We don't know if both. Christian and Glenn are going to be both on the show, but one of them will definitely be on the show this morning. They are sponsors of ours. We are so thankful for them. We wouldn't be here today without them. They are co-owners of everything senior insurance and lead heroes. We'll learn a little bit more about them and kind of what's going on with Medicare. We've got open enrollment. Oh my goodness, it's like three and a half weeks away. I can't believe it. So we'll kind of hone in on that and talk about strategies for agents and then things for beneficiaries to look out for. Anyways, we are live on quite a few places, K4HD radio. You can download K4HD on your smartphones, k4hd. com. You can also see us on our Facebook business page, Joseph Insurance Broker LLC, as well as our YouTube channel at Medicare Minute with Peter.

2:32 My phone number is right there. We've had audiences in the past text me questions in real time. We will answer them in real time. So if you have any pressing questions during our broadcast, Please text me at 909-217-2630, and I will definitely get back to you. So a few things are happening this fall. If you've heard in the news, Costco and Medicare. Costco probably sells everything under the sun. And of course, I'm not surprised that they're getting into the Medicare space again. Now, they're not really selling Medicare under their umbrella. They are actually kind of sponsoring, putting their stamp, their company on a Medicare plan with scan.

3:18 It's been out in the news. But let's see this commercial to kind of give us a preview of what's going on. On August 18th, it was announced that SCAN Health Plan and Costco Wholesale had entered into a strategic partnership, the first comprehensive partnership Costco has ever gone into with a Medicare health plan. What does it mean for SCAN benefits and members? What does it mean for agents that might be representing these plans? And what does it mean as a whole? In this video, I'm gonna break down all of the details. Now let's get a couple of things straight right off the bat. Costco is not becoming an insurer.

3:58 ScanHealthPlan will underwrite all of these plans and administer all of the insurance benefits. Costco's name simply will appear on the plan names to signal the value and brand trust that they're providing to Scamp. This is looked at very similarly to the AARP UnitedHealthcare partnership, to where AARP actually does not provide any insurance benefits, but they act more so as a sponsor that brands onto all of UnitedHealthcare Medicare products, or the vast majority of them anyway, on the Medicare supplement side and the Medicare Advantage side, such as WillBeTrue.com. on the Costco and Scan partnership. The thought process here is that millions of Americans recognize and trust the brand of Costco. So this brings social proof to the Scan Medicare plans that they previously may not have been able to have on their own, just like how AARP, people that like AARP, gravitate towards UnitedHealthcare plans because they're endorsed by AARP. Now in AARP's case, sometimes it works the other way because AARP over the years has become such a politicized organization that depending on which side of the aisle somebody falls politically, it could help or hurt the actual positive or negative recognition of that brand partnership.

5:17 But if you look at the success. That UnitedHealthcare has been able to have broadly, I don't think you can call it anything other than a big success for them. All right. So. And Christian is going to be on later today to explain a little bit more about Costco and their Medicare plans and how that's going to look like. Obviously, like we had said, Costco is just putting their marketing brand on there. Scan is the one that's underwriting all the insurance plans for them. And if you don't know, Scan is a Medicare Advantage plan. It's huge out here in California. They are out in quite a few other states like the state of Washington, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada.

6:06 So they are expanding. They were based out here in Long Beach long ago in the 70s, and now they're expanding. They're one of the great, great Medicare insurance companies out there. And so they're doing this new endeavor with Costco this year. And like Christian had mentioned in his video, AARP is one of the brands that we do sell quite a bit. And they are actually. Part of UnitedHealthcare in terms of backing the AARP brand. So they, of course, are not the insurance company. UnitedHealthcare is. But again, they've put their stamp on the product. So we're seeing that happen now with Costco. Like I said, I'm not surprised. Costco gets their hands in everything. It seems like, um, they've got travel plans. They've got, uh, car tires. They've got, I mean, everything you could think of.

7:02 So, uh, definitely. And they're in the insurance game as well with, um, auto and home insurance. So anyways, we'll hear a little bit more about that later on. But the most important thing that's happening, like I said, we are about four weeks away from open enrollment with Medicare. A lot of you this month are getting what's called annual notices of change. What that means is that your plan is either leaving the market, which I hope to God it's not, but if it is, we've got a plan in place and experts like myself can help you through that journey. Or your benefits are changing. They're either getting more or less, and most likely they are getting cut for next year. And so you want to make sure that you're on the proper plan. This is your opportunity to change plans if you need to.

7:51 So we're going to see this next commercial to kind of give us an idea about that. We all know that Medicare plans can change from year to year. Benefits can increase or decrease. Premiums and co-pays often increase. It's common and even expected for Part D plans, formularies, and out-of-pocket prescription costs to change. But what happens when the Medicare plan that you've been using for a couple of years or maybe even several years decides to pull that plan completely off the market, meaning it's been terminated and no longer available for you to use next year? Now, the doctors you see are the same. Your hospital choices are the same. The medications you take didn't change. But nevertheless, you receive a letter from your insurance company stating that your Medicare plan will no longer be available beginning January the 1st. It's expected that millions of people will receive that devastating news for 2027. In this video, I will explain why this is happening to so many people right now, and if by chance you receive such a notice from your insurance company this year, what you can do about it.

8:53 We know that in 2026, almost 3 million people lost their plans. We don't know for sure exactly how many millions are going to lose in 2027, but we know it's going to happen. So let's go through some of the details and talk about how people are being forced out. First of all, I think it's very clear to understand this. Medicare is not disappearing. Okay, it's not going away. So please don't fear that. But your plan might be going away eventually. in 2027. Okay, so that is a fact. Now, let's talk about Medicare A and B. This is, of course, the system began in 1965. And so when you enroll in A and B, you have lifetime benefits, okay? All you have to do, of course, is pay your Part B premium, and you'll forever have your Medicare A and B, and of course, you pass away.

9:37 So it truly is lifetime. All right, now when it comes to Medigap plans, which about 40, 45% of all people have, then that also is lifetime. Lifetime coverage. So if you have a G plan or an F plan or an N plan, that coverage is going to be the same. Now the premiums can change, but the coverage cannot. All right. So it truly is lifetime. Again, what are you responsible to do? Whatever that premium is, you have to pay that. All right. So you could see that, you know, these annual notices have changed, especially, you know, for a lot of years, people tend to kind of gloss over them, throw them away in the you know, concern themselves with it this year. It's really important that if you get one of those notices from your insurance carrier, you definitely want to pay attention. Uh, there is going to be disruption this year. You know, obviously, you know, the rule of thumb is us as agents, our brokers can't talk to you until October 1st, specifically about the benefits for next year or what plans are actually leaving, but we are getting word, um, You know, we're doing the research and we're seeing plans left and right that are going to be potentially leaving the market, which is going to impact you guys. And so we want to make sure that you are taken care of, that you, you know, obviously we reach out to you guys.

10:58 But if you don't hear from us, you know, reach back out to us. If you especially get that annual notice of change where your plan is leaving us, you don't want to be stuck with no plan for next year. We want to make sure you get on the right plan. There will be options for you. For example, if you're ever on a Medicare Advantage plan and it leaves the market, you're actually able to go on to a Medicare supplement guaranteed issue because of that. Transition. And if you budget-wise can't afford that, then there's obviously other options for you on the Medicare Advantage sphere. So You're not helpless. There are solutions for you, and we will figure out those solutions together. But again, do not ignore those notices. It's really, really important. I'm excited, too, because we are doing a Medicare 101 seminar tonight for those turning 65 here in Chino and Chino Hills. We're going to be at the Holiday Inn lobby right off Pomona-Racone, off the 71 freeway. And we're excited about that. not only having a free meal and breaking bread with people that come, but also just teaching them the ins and outs about Medicare, how to sign up, what to look for, what journeys there are in terms of Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement, how to sign up with Social Security, whether

12:33 you need to sign up if you're if you've got a health insurance plan with your employer, all those scenarios are going to be talked about in our educational seminar tonight. So I'm excited about that. We're going to actually do this on a regular basis. We've done it in the past and we're hoping to do quite a few during open enrollment this fall. So definitely if you live close by by Chino and Chino Hills, look on Facebook for our ads and RSVP, we'd love to see you there. But again, again, Medicare can be very confusing, and so we're going to take this funny look at John Oliver's clip on what Medicare Advantage looks like. Now, don't look at the commercial as a gag.

13:16 It's definitely not real, but enjoy this clip. And I'm Joe Namath. If you're on Medicare, this is important information. Hi, William Shatner here with a new message about Medicare benefits. Hi, I'm Jimmy J.J. Walker. If you're on Medicare, listen to this. I'm Meredith Vieira. What's complicated and confusing that many people over 65 deal with each year? Medicare. Okay, this isn't the point, but the question, what's complicated and confusing that people over 65 deal with each year is just too broad, given that the answer is everything. Everything confuses them. Have you ever seen. Al, did you make the call? What call?

13:57 The Feldman said we may be able to get additional benefits with Medicare Advantage right here. In our own zip code. Our zip code? Yeah, the zip code we live in. It covers the 8.6 square miles of our neighborhood. Yeah, I know what a zip code is. But honey, we already have Medicare, so we don't need to call anyone. Al, do you listen? I said Medicare Advantage. It has all the letters of the word Medicare, but none of the actual Medicare. Wait a minute. It's not regular Medicare? No, that's why we need to call. The Feldman said their Medicare Advantage plan has dirt cheap premiums.

14:41 Did you say dirt cheap? Yes, Al, of course I did. What is wrong with you today? With Medicare Advantage, you'll get free membership, a grocery allowance, and a nurse will come to our house. For a threesome? Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you, Al? No, not for a threesome. The nurse will come to our house so that she or. He can diagnose us with a bunch of diseases that we don't have and that our doctors don't even know anything about. But what about conditions I actually have, like my diabetes? Not only will they cover it, but I will suddenly have diabetes, too. Why? Because it's romantic, Al.

15:23 Kiss me. Hold on. What? Do we at least get to keep our doctors? Well, we get to choose from a list of doctors, but they're mostly just grocery stores, local middle schools, a JCPenney, and an abandoned Chuck E. Cheese. Did you say Chuck E. Cheese? And if you find a doctor that's covered well, you'd better hope that the building that he or she works in is too. Otherwise, you might be getting your prostate checked out in the parking lot and not in the front way. This is starting to sound like a bad idea. No! No! It isn't!

16:03 I want a Medicare Advantage Plan L. Plus, the premiums are so low. Just think of all the money we could save. Sure, the care might be worse, but that's okay, because we're not sick right now. In this very moment. But what if we get sick later? Well, then we're fucked, Al. But that's a later problem. Right now, we're active. You golf, and I play pickleball with Paul Feldman twice a week. I didn't know you played pickleball with Paul Feldman. Oh, yeah. I've been playing with Paul for years. He is great. In fact, I think I'm in love with him. Wait, did you.

16:44 Did you say you're in love with him? Yes, Al. He fucks like a Toyota and loves like a Subaru. Now, please, call the number and get. Us a doctor so that he can treat our herpes. Herpes? Is that one of these fake diagnoses? No, Al. We both have herpes now. Don't call this or any other number on your screen. Medicare Advantage is not traditional Medicare. It's administered by private insurance. Your doctor may or may not be covered. And if you or your wife is playing pickleball with Paul Feldman, seek medical attention immediately because you have herpes now. Paul Feldman gave you both herpes. Oh, I love that clip. Anyways, yes, you guys have probably seen all these commercials, especially around this time of year. Thank God that Joe Namath commercial does not show up anymore. Um, but that used to be prevalent. Same with William Shatner, um, Mary Vera, you saw that commercial and they all skewed you.

17:47 Guys the wrong way. You know, obviously, um, if you guys don't know, you know, benefits are different for different counties, different states. They don't apply to everyone. You know, there are special needs plans. There's chronic special needs plans. There's just regular Medicare Advantage. There's Medicare Supplement. Not everyone's going to get all those benefits that people talk about. And yet, They do this broad, you know, announcement and then everyone calls in and they end up changing your plan without you really even agreeing to it. You think you know what's going on, but you don't. And then I get a call later from my client saying, oh my gosh, I can't believe my plan changed. I don't know what I did. You know, someone called me to just give me more information. I just wanted more benefits.

18:35 I didn't want to change my plan. And so they get into that rut. And so it's really important, you know, you see these commercials don't call those numbers honestly you want to get with an expert either like myself or um someone else that's um well versed in medicare space um whether it's like christian brindle glenn shelton those people coming on um people we've had on our past shows uh you know um Elena Schofield, Medicare Misty, those kind of folks who really know the ins and outs of Medicare who are going to steer you in the right direction and not going to give you wrong information like these commercials do.

19:18 I hope you enjoyed that little comedy piece, though. It is a hoot. It's almost like these commercials are nuts. They throw everything at you. in the kitchen sink and they promise you the world and then you figure out you can't really get these benefits because you don't live in that certain state or you don't have a certain qualifying condition like diabetes or heart condition that allows you to get those benefits. And so, again, be cautious out there. You want to make sure that you're getting on the right plan, that it's really providing for you for your doctor networks that you want, that it's providing coverage for your prescriptions that you have, that you're taking, all those things we.

20:05 Walk you through. So Like I said, though, there are a couple avenues, and we've shared this before in previous shows, where there is an avenue of taking a Medicare supplement option or there's an avenue of taking a Medicare Advantage. So I'm going to share my screen real quick and see if I can grab this. So I'm going to show us kind of the difference between Medicare and Advantage and then Medicare. Supplement. So while that file is loading, there we go.

20:48 Perfect. So your Medicare decision guide, we've already shared kind of this PowerPoint on our show before. But as you can see, one of the most important things, first of all, is to show that Medicare does not cover a lot of these things. Dental care, routine vision, eyewear, hearing aids, prescription drugs, care outside the U.S., long-term care, fitness. Custodial care. And this is if you have. Original Medicare when you turn 65. So that's why people get onto either Medicare Advantage, which could include some of these benefits, or a Medicare Supplement. So path one, you've got the Medigap or the Medicare supplement and a Part D.

21:36 And for people who want a freedom to see any Medicare accepting provider nationwide, no or low cost when you receive services, coverage that travels, obviously travels with you across the United States, predictable monthly premium payments. Again, you know, Medicare supplements do go up rate-wise the older you get, but but they are locked in every year. And then path two is Medicare Advantage Part C. So again, original Medicare and Medigap, Medigap's going to cover 20% that Medicare doesn't cover. Medicare covers 80%, like we have said before. Medigap covers 20%. Medicare Advantage Part C is for people who want a low or $ 0 monthly premium. Like out here in California, a lot of our plans are $ 0 premium-wise. Now, that doesn't happen across the U.S., But here in California, it's very competitive, and you're going to find most of the plans with a zero monthly premium. And then, you know, a lot of these plans include extra benefits like dental, vision, hearing, over-the-counter allowance, gym membership, medical and drug coverage. So Part D is included in that Part C. And then you have predictable out-of-pocket costs and simple plan experience.

22:49 So. Again, just clearly Medigap plans, they help pay the cost that original Medicare doesn't. So the Part A and B deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, unexpected medical bills. And again, Why people choose a Medicare supplement, it's use it any provider who accepts Medicare. So 98% of the country, you're going to be able to see a doctor because they're going to accept Medicare. They're going to accept your Medicare supplement. So it's excellent coverage for major medical events, predictable annual expenses, great for travelers or snowbirds. And then you have to add, of course, it's like an a la carte system. You have to add a standalone prescription, Part D plan, and then optional dental vision and hearing. So again, the Medicare supplements, a la carte, everything's separate. So things do add up. And if you don't have the budget for it, Medicare Advantage sometimes is the way to go because everything's all in one. It's all inclusive. So hopefully that makes sense. Medicare supplement, separate.

23:47 Medicare Advantage, all in one. All right. So again, what's included in Medicare Advantage? Well, your Part A, your Part B, usually Part D prescription drug coverage, extra benefits, dental, vision, hearing, gym memberships, over-the-counter. And then people choose it, like I said, because it's low or zero monthly premium. But here are the pitfalls with Medicare Advantage. Network limitations may apply. So you are usually in an HMO network. There are PPO plans still out there, but you are stuck either in an HMO or PPO network. With a Medigap or Medicare supplement, it's really called a no-network plan because you're not in any network.

24:30 You can go see any doctor without authorizations except for physical therapy, and you can call a specialist's office and make an appointment and walk right in without seeing your primary doctor for an authorization. So that's the freedom of a Medicare supplement. Medicare Advantage, you have to go through your primary doctor and get an authorization to see specialists. And then again, you may have co-pays and co-insurance. And then plans, again, vary by zip code. All right. So that's the major difference there. And again, we've talked about this. But again, you want to talk with an expert. There are plans like cost protection options, especially outside of California. You'll see the out-of-pocket costs can go all the way up to $ 9, 000 on a Medicare Advantage plan. So hospital indemnity plans are plans that help cover that gap. Um, there's cancer and critical illness plans. And then of course, you know, dental vision and hearing plans. So if you're on a Medicare supplement or a Medicare advantage, um, you know, you might want to look at a hospital indemnity plan to cover the gap or cancer and critical illness plan. Um, and again, again, if you're on a Medicare supplement, you don't get that dental vision and hearing.

25:40 So you have to get that plan separate as well. All right. So I'm going to stop sharing this. Oops. There we go. All right. So, um, I'm excited about having, uh, Christian and Glenn again, they are big sponsors of our show. Uh, they're one of our. Many sponsors, but again, they've taught me all that. I know. Uh, I, like I said, in earlier broadcasts, I was in a bad situation before I got to them. Um, usually have in the insurance line an upline, someone who's on top of you, that you get your counsel from, your resources, your support. And so the person I was with was not a good person. She lied about the contracts that were offered by the insurance carriers. I think if I had left her a long time ago, my business would have grown even substantially more to this day.

26:44 But, you know, at least. Now I'm in a good place. I love the support that I get from Everything Senior Insurance. The resources they give us are astounding, brilliant, and their training is amazing. by far one of the best and I love the knowledge that they hand down to us, resources they give to not only myself, but my agency and my agents in my agency. They are outstanding. Definitely, if you're an agent listening in, we've talked about this, but you want to get with the right FMO. You don't want to be stuck with someone who isn't transparent, isn't giving you the right scoop, isn't giving you the right contracts, isn't giving you the right resources, isn't giving you the right support. You don't want to be stuck in that situation because you're not going to grow and your business might get worse, believe it or not. So definitely ask the right questions to your upline if you're in that situation. Make sure that you are getting what you need and growing in the right direction.

27:52 So let's see. I don't think they're on yet. So I'm going to wait and see. I don't think they're on. Are they on? So we'll wait a couple more minutes here. Nope, they're not on. Okay. So just to let you know, with Medicare space, it works a little bit differently than the auto insurance PNC space or the life insurance space. And what I mean by that is that usually with Medicare, insurance carriers want you to contract with what's called a FMO, which is a marketing organization, a national marketing organization, NMO, FMO, IMO, they're named different, different.

28:37 Abbreviations, obviously. But so our FMO is everything senior insurance. They actually deal directly with the insurance carriers and they set the contracts. They give us, you know, resources like marketing dollars, insurance, training videos, ways to conduct our presentations for Medicare 101s. They give us resources to platforms like a CRM system. And that, for our agency, keeps our clients in one location. And so we're able to see what plans you guys are on, possibly if plans are changing for you for next year, your dates of birth. All that information is stored in what's called a CRM. And that's provided free to us by our FMO. We also have access to Seven Figure University platform that gives us all the training videos you'd ever want as an agent.

29:38 And I love that platform. And so if in that FEMO is not providing those kinds of resources for you, you got to ask yourself, am I in the right place? Am I really getting the support that I need to grow? So, um, I love the fact that we have those, those tools, um, for us. They also teach us how to do Facebook ads for whether they're for people turning 65 or for those wanting to attend a Medicare 101 seminar. And so we just did a Facebook ad that has been very successful. We've got 27 people coming out this evening, like I said, to the Holiday Inn. And so that's exciting to see that plan come to fruition. And so we've got people who are turning 65 who really have a need because they're confused by the Medicare space and they want someone like myself to explain the ins and outs of Medicare 101.

30:34 So I'm excited that Christian has given us those kind of tools. So Christian is in the green room. Hey, buddy. Peter, what's up, my friend? How are you today? I'm good. I'm good. How are you, man? Doing good, man. Doing good. Appreciate you having me. Yeah. How's your Labor Day weekend? It was good. It was good. Traveling for the most part. Yeah, we We went out to beautiful Hilton Head, South Carolina for about four days last week and then coming back over the weekend. Nice, nice. That's awesome. That's very cool. Hey, so I kind of shared a little bit about you and Glenn and what you guys are about. Obviously, open enrollment is, what, three weeks away?

31:19 So a couple of things. First, we did show a clip from your show about Costco, right? So do you want to give us a little bit of snippet of what's going on with Costco and Medicare? Are they selling Medicare? What's going on there? Yes, yes. Happy to talk about it a little bit. It's been one of those things that we have gotten more questions about than probably anything over the past couple of weeks, which has been kind of funny because when you really get down into the weeds on what's actually happening, it's kind of fairly mundane, right? And there's a lot more things going on that probably are a little bit more effective to a beneficiary's day-to-day life. But with Costco, the best way I can kind of frame it is they've gone into a strategic partnership with ScanHealth, which you know very well. They're one of our partners, great partner with us, an insurance company that provides Medicare Advantage plans for the most part. And Currently, they operate in a handful of states, California being one, Texas being one. There's a handful of areas that they operate and have plans in. But them and Costco have gone into this kind of co-branding relationship is the best way to kind of think about it.

32:37 So what will be happening over the next couple of years is they're going to be putting Costco branding on And it's a little unclear if it's going to be all of their plans or a select amount of their plans, not all the details publicly available yet. But it'll be kind of very similar to the AARP UnitedHealthcare co-branding that everybody has kind of come to know over the years. This upcoming open enrollment, what my understanding is, there is two plans that they will do it as kind of like a test run. And so it won't even be something that's broadly felt on a mass scale. But I do think it's something as time goes on that, you know, Costco and Scan will kind of become, you know, like two peas in a pod, similar to UHC and NAARP.

33:28 Okay, very cool. Well, thank you for that tidbit because, you know, it's been in the news lately. So I want to make sure people are aware of what's going on. But thank you for that. So with AEP around the corner, we've got both agents listening in as well as some of my clients. So let's start with agents first. Are there certain things? Obviously, they should be getting ready from months ago, right, with open enrollment. What are some of the things that they should be looking at for the next few weeks before open enrollment starts? Yeah, I mean, I think, and hopefully, right? That's always the hope, right? That they've done some preparation up until now. But let's say they haven't. Let's just hypothetically say that there hasn't been any prep done yet. Well, I think the biggest thing that an agent can be doing right now is getting yourself familiarized with what is changing in your market for next year. A lot of that information, while it might not all be available yet, there's a lot of things that are available. Some insurance companies have already made they're a Knox available for the agent's use.

34:33 They're not allowed to share them with clients yet, but, um, to be able to kind of get an idea of what's changing on the plans from this year, next year, pretty much every insurance company has put out first looks to the agents to get an idea of what's changing. You should be able to get a pretty good idea of plans that are terminating. Um, we have in the ballpark of 2 million beneficiaries, um, will be terminating this upcoming AEP, which sounds like a lot, but last AEP, there was about 3 million in the ballpark of 3 million. So it's even a little bit less than what we had last year, but it's still a big number. And so understanding which plans are terminating and then kind of getting your ducks in a row and making sure that you have a detailed plan to make sure that you're making sure that all of your clients are getting taken care of during AEP. That's something that our office is we've been doing, but we're doing a lot of work this week in particular on to make sure that we're ready because there's been a lot of new information in the last week that's come out that we weren't privy to yet on plan terminations and specific plans and areas and things like that.

35:31 Right. Oh, Glenn's in the green room. Come on on Glenn. Hello, Mr. Peter Joseph. Thanks for having me. Yeah. Good. How was your labor day by the way? It was good. It was kind of non-eventful. We had just been out of town. We got to go to Glacier National Park in Yellowstone. So we were getting back from a trip of seeing nature, seeing the animals. So yeah. It was awesome. We took an RV trip there. That's right. You were the trailblazer. I just followed in your footsteps, Peter.

36:17 That's awesome. That's awesome. Well, I'm glad you guys had a great trip. I know Christian and Sandy went to Hilton Head too, so that's awesome. So we were talking about right before it came on, Glenn, about AAP and what agents can do if they haven't pressed yet up to this point. Obviously, you guys also have lead heroes. Is it too late for agents to access those leads for AAP? Yeah, you know, that's a great question. And we're seeing that question come in our inbox almost every day right now. You know, is it too late? Is it too late? And it's not. It's not too late. You know, there's still enough time where you can still get an order into lead heroes if you're looking for preset appointments, if you're looking for leads. We have enough time, especially if you're not taking it till like mid to late October.

37:06 There's definitely enough time. If you're trying to get something started October 1st, we are probably under the gun a bit for that timeline. And hire heroes really the same way. You know, if you're looking for a virtual assistant, if you need help with staffing, if you're getting bogged down with low revenue, no revenue generating activities, there is still time. You know, we just saw a post in the Facebook group last week. I think it was Saturday, actually, just a few days ago, and someone was saying, you know, I really need an assistant before AAP. Is it too late? And there is still time. So, you know, there's no time like the present. If you have procrastinated, Christian and I have been beating the drum of get prepared, get prepared, get prepared, I think for probably two or three months now.

37:50 So if you procrastinated... You know, I know some of you are like just now doing certs. I'm seeing some of you post about that. So if you procrastinate, you're like just now getting ready. It's not too late. You know, obviously it would have been better two months ago, but now it's better than never. For sure. For sure. All right. So changing gears here. What about for beneficiaries? What are some of the things our clients should be on the lookout for in the next couple of weeks? Yeah, I mean, I think for me, what I would tell any beneficiary and what I would tell our own clients is be on the lookout for your ANOCs.

38:30 They will be coming. They're coming. They'll come in the mail. Depending on how you get your communication from the insurance company that covers you, if you have a Medicare Advantage plan, if you have an individual standalone Part D prescription drug plan, you will get an ANOC, which stands for an annual notice of change. On your plan. And it will essentially side-by-side, it's a really good document. It will show you 2026, these were your benefits, and this is what they'll look like in comparison. 2027, it's a really good snapshot to see what your plan looks like in comparison in a nutshell. And then in addition to that, it kind of gives you an idea if your plan is still viable for you for the upcoming year.

39:15 If you have a Medicare supplement plan, Medigap plan, you will not receive an ANOC for that plan. So just keep that in mind. There are more for uh, standalone drug plans and Medicare advantage plans, but watch for that a knock. Um, if you have an agent and, and, you know, if Peter's clients are listening, you're in good hands with Peter, you have a great agent with Peter. Um, but you know, follow your agent's lead. If your agent says, you know, look this over, look your a knock over and then, you know, let's get together or we'll be reaching out to you, you know, follow the lead of your agent and they'll take good care of you. If you don't have an agent, you might want to find one because it's just so much extra time that it takes to kind of figure this stuff out on your own.

40:01 And even then, so. You're probably left without factoring in a couple of details that you really want to be thinking about than an agent might think about because an agent is licensed, certified, trained, experienced. They know what to look for and their services are free. So make sure you have an agent. Yeah. Awesome. So I don't want to, I guess I'll throw this question in, put you guys on the spot. With, you know, all these Medicare changes, obviously it matters with the administration that's in. So just tidbit of what you guys think of Oz and what he's doing for our space. I know that's a lot there, but.

40:43 Yeah, go for it. Yeah, I know it is. I took the last one. I'd be happy to chime in my thoughts. Glenn, why don't you go first and I'll fill in. So, you know, it's one of those things where as much as us as humans and being simple-minded creatures, I think a lot of us want things like, you know, is odds good or bad, right? Like, I think a lot of us want this, like, singular answer, but I think it's a more convoluted answer than that because there are things that Mehmet Oz, the current CMS administrator, there are things that he has accomplished that are beneficial to Medicare beneficiaries and agents, both. And the 48-hour rule is a great example of that. The 48-hour rule was a hindrance to both beneficiaries and agents, and that is officially going away here in just a few weeks. And I couldn't be more excited about that. I know most agents and probably the beneficiaries who even understand, a lot of beneficiaries probably don't even understand, like, what is the 48-hour rule? Or, you know, I signed a scope about this, but I don't even understand what it is. You know, so there's things like that where we have seen a move towards deregulation when we were being strangled by regulation, I think, with the previous administration. So that's the positive. But then the negative is we have also seen a lot of kind of candor and word choice around, you know, agents being,

42:15 it started with at his hearing when he was being sworn in, you know, he was talking about bad agents or bad brokers, you know, and while yes, I think we all agree there might be some bad agents and bad brokers out there to try to generalize and start to make some almost sweeping accusations in a lot of ways. I think that can be dangerous for the entire industry. So it's good and bad. I'm trying to kind of hold final judgment until he gets more time under his belt because we are still pretty early. But I'm hoping another year and we'll see more positive than negative. That's my hope.

42:58 Mr. Brendel, what do you think? Yeah, I mean, well said on all of that. I'd say, what I'd add to that is, let's be honest about something when we're having this conversation, and that is, nobody could have been worse than Shaquita Brooks-Lashore. There's nobody on earth that would have done a worse job than her. So it was only up from there. I would have taken anyone. I would have taken anyone in, in replacement of her. So I was ecstatic when Oz did get sworn in because it wasn't her, um, to Glenn's point, the previous CMS administration really, um, did a thorough job of strangling the agent in the form of compliance and not, not that I'm against compliance when it's practical, but unnecessary, unpractical compliance is what their specialty was. Things that didn't make sense, things that didn't really help anybody, um, You know, insurance companies couldn't understand the rules they were trying to pass.

44:04 Insurance agents couldn't understand the rules they were trying to pass. When it comes to Oz, though, I think, like Glenn said, I like the push towards deregulation. At times, he feels like a mouthpiece. for propaganda a bit. And I don't like that. I mean, you know, he was on the record probably within the last 30 or 45 days now saying that PDP premiums would go up only an average of $ 10 once the subsidy goes away. We're seeing some information on that. That's not going to be the case at all. Like that is just, that is, that's just not the case whatsoever. Um, and so, you know, And I think his messaging when it comes to bad agents and bad brokers, I think it goes in line because he's repeating the talking points that the administration is repeating.

44:54 He wants to be a good soldier. And whether you're a supporter of the administration or not, that's not what I'm trying to get at here. I think if you look at everything, every stance the administration has taken when it comes to insurance, big insurance, health insurance, insurance companies, he's repeated that. And followed that type of thought process. And some of that hasn't been great. You know, I think there's a very long convoluted discussion we could have here about, you know, the complexity of the ACA, you know, all of these things going on, the Inflation Reduction Act, impact on Medicare, all of those things. But the administration has clearly tried to point blame at the insurance companies and not so much at legislation. that's maybe caused some of this stuff. And so I think a lot of what's happened in terms of what they've done at CMS follows a bit of, of dancing to the drum. It's, it's all politics, if that makes sense. And so, um, now that being said, I like him way more than who he had before. Um, I like the deregulation. I like no 48 hour scope of apartment rule. I like cutting some of these unnecessary red tapes that were unnecessary, but, um, yeah, it's, it's a bit of a mixed bag. There's, there's, there's some things that I like and there's some things that I just frankly hate that he's done, but yeah.

46:19 Yeah. Well, thank you both for that. Um, you guys have the number one podcast in the insurance business, uh, seven figures or bus. So I encourage you guys, they've got a wealth of knowledge and information that they share. Um, is it three times a week, right? For you guys, somewhere between two to three a week, depending on the week. That's awesome. That's awesome. Well, before I let you guys go, I know Glenn likes talking about basketball. So I want your take on what's going on with the Clippers because that's crazy, man. That's insane. Oh, here we go. We need another hour for that.

47:00 I mean, for the California audience, this is this is actually very timely. Christian, why don't you start us off on this one? It's so bananas to me. And, you know, I think Steve Ballmer thought that he was untouchable and, and, and that, and that he could, you know, with, with his, with his influence and his wealth and, you know, he's the richest owner by a mile in the NBA. I think he thought he, the rules didn't apply to him and he could wave a magic wand and make problems go away. And this is such a bad look. Here's my biggest problem though, that Kawhi comes out of this basically unscathed.

47:43 Right. And he kind of threw the Clippers under the bus and just was like, peace, I'm going to Canada. So that part of it is crazy to me. But how stupid can you be? That's the biggest thing I walk away from this with. Like, if you're the Clippers, if you're Lawrence Frank, if you're Steve Ballmer, how could you be so dumb? Like, I don't know if, if, if some reporter can in Pablo Torre can pull all this stuff out and research and find this stuff out. That's really what broke this story. Right. And that's what caused a lot of this investigation. Like you didn't cover your tracks for a while. And then Lawrence Frank taking notes on everything and they find the notes.

48:28 Like, what are we doing here? Oh my gosh. It's insane. So crazy situation. Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of guys. Glenn, we got like one minute left. What do you got? Well, I'm glad that the league did take a strong stance. I was mostly fearful that they were going to sweep it under the rug and just try to look the other way, which it seemed like at first that's what was going to happen. And then it seemed like a 180 happened. And I don't know if Adam Silver just got pissed behind the scenes and was like, nope, we're going to rug pull this. You know, one thing I really wanted to ask you about, too, Peter was what's going on with the Dodgers ownership.

49:10 Yeah, I'm a little worried about that. I heard I heard Pablo's is aiming for them right now. So I don't know what's going on. But I think, he's got the FBI after him. Yeah, and it's insurance related. He's taking funds from his insurance businesses, not disclosing where those funds are going. He's funneling it in. There's rumors that Magic Johnson... could be facing jail time based on how the finance yeah it could. Be sensational they're they're acting like there could be jail time for dodgers ownership over how the money is being manipulated behind. The scenes dang dang that's it could.

49:52 All be sensationalized but that is that i've read i. Wouldn't be surprised i wouldn't be surprised that's insane though yeah that's crazy Well, hey, you guys, I appreciate both of you so much on that note. I love it. But yeah, you guys are great. I thank you so much. Like I said before you guys came on, you're the reason I'm here. And so thank you so much for all that you've given us. And thank you for making the time this morning. Absolutely. Appreciate you, brother. Appreciate it. Yes. All right, you guys. Take care. Bye-bye. Thanks for listening. Tune into Medicare Hour and more with Peter every Tuesday at 9 a.m. Pacific Time right here on K4HD Radio at K4HD. com for more real-life stories from experts who care about you and protecting your health, your finances, and your future. See you next week.