Medicare AEP & Life Insurance Solutions: Elena Schofield & Lisa Rehburg Return

0:01 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 guys all bright and early this morning. We've got a great show for you, like always, right? So we've got a returning guest, Elena Schofield. She'll be joining us a little bit later on in our show. She has 26 years experience in the Medicare field. A good friend of mine. She's been on the show a couple times. This will be her third and final appearance for this year. So we're excited to have her. Just to give you a heads up, we've got a few places where we show ourselves live. K4HD Radio, K4HD. com. You can also see us on Facebook Live. I've got my phone number now up.

1:36 So if you're watching and you see that number, you can text me any question and we'll answer it in real time. That's what we're here for. And then the other place you can watch us is on YouTube at Medicare Minute with Peter. That's our channel at Medicare Minute with Peter. And then you can find all our resources at josephinsurancebroker.com. That is our website. So we've got a lot to talk about. We've got open enrollment coming up in about six weeks, guys. It's crazy for us agents, but also for our clients, because they're going to start ramping up with phone calls. Unfortunately, people get like 50 calls a day. There's going to be mailers. There's going to be commercials. It's just a crazy time. And we are probably going to have another disruptive open enrollment for Medicare because, unfortunately, a lot of plans are leaving the market, which is going to affect some of our current clients and some of you prospects out there listening in for the first time about Medicare. So that's what we're here for.

2:43 We're here to help you through and navigate all that chaos and It's going to be kind of a bumpy road. We did talk about briefly too last week how Part D is going to be affecting all our plans for next year. That's our prescription drug plans. The government has stopped their subsidies with Part D, which means we'll probably see an increase in premiums. I know. It's just bad news. But we do have some great news to share with you guys, too. It's not all doom and gloom. But I want to show you this video. It's great. It's really spot on. The commercials are out there that are really misleading you guys. there's a difference between what open enrollment really is about and what it's not about. So watch this clip and then we'll come back.

3:30 In today's video, we will discuss the only three plans that Medicare's open enrollment applies to. Which ads are misleading you and why? And also stay tuned to the end where we will discuss which plan absolutely does not apply to Medicare's open enrollment and is never addressed in any of these ads. Let's first talk about how you are bombarded with all the phone calls and mailers filling up your mailbox daily from insurance companies and insurance agents. You are overwhelmed with information telling you, now is the time to switch plans and choose a coverage that better suits your needs, which then causes FOMO. Yes, the fear of missing out.

4:10 Why do we say it's misleading? Because only three of the four primary Medicare plans does the Medicare annual enrollment apply to? And we have not seen really any of the ads where they make that so clear. So let's first discuss the only three plans that Medicare's open enrollment does apply to. Original Medicare, Parts A and B, Medicare Advantage or Part C, and Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, also called Part D. Now listen very carefully. To feel confident with open enrollment each year, you must clearly understand the differences between Original Medicare with a Medigap, also called a Supplemental Plan, and a Medicare Advantage Plan.

4:55 If you aren't sure, check out our channel and look for our other videos where we will discuss the difference in detail. The critical point for this video is, if you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, called Part C, you do not have Original Medicare as your primary. Here's another key takeaway. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you must still be enrolled and pay for Original Medicare Parts A and B. Why? Medicare subsidizes Medicare Advantage plans by funding them around $ 12, 000 per year. That's a lot of money. Why so much money? Simply put, Medicare does not want the responsibility to pay any of your claims if you are sick. Not one penny.

5:36 The Medicare Advantage plans are entirely responsible and override or replace your original Medicare plan. So are we saying to stay away from these plans? No. Now, other YouTubers will clearly say why they would never buy a Medicare Advantage plan. Well, watch out for our other videos where we will discuss why they are excellent for some, like my mom. And why others should stay clear from them, like my mom. Knowing that you either have original Medicare or Medicare Advantage plan and cannot have both at the same time, here are the changes you can make. you can change from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan. If you don't like your Medicare Advantage and want to return to Original Medicare, you can drop your Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare. If you don't like your current Medicare Advantage Part C plan, you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage Part C plan. You can also switch, add, or drop your Part D drug plan each year during this open enrollment period.

6:37 Confused? Just pause this. Video, rewind, and rewatch. What should you do if you have one of these plans? We'll give you a three-point checklist here in a bit. But first, did you notice which plan Anne did not mention this period applies to? Yes, Medigap plans. They're also called Medicare supplement plans. Medigap or supplemental plans are the traditional secondary plans to original Medicare. These plans are where Medicare is the primary, and Medicare is paying the 80%, and the Medigap is paying the 20%. That's why they call it Medigap. You also know that you have a Medigap if your plan has a letter. For example, Plan N, Plan G, Plan F. So what's so misleading about these ads? Well, we have not seen one ad, one mailer, or even a TV commercial from the insurance companies, agents, or I hate to say it, even Medicare make this clear in writing.

7:35 Please note this 30-second commercial from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. An official message from Medicare. Mary and I just compared Medicare plans. Found one that's going to save us money all next year. Dang, I told you it was open enrollment. Yes, you did. But we used the plan finder at Medicare.gov. Oh, I see what you mean. Makes it easier to compare health and prescription plans. They sure can change year to year. Compare plans now at Medicare.gov. Open enrollment ends December 7th. Hey honey, let's take a look. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Now, did you notice any disclosures saying this does not apply to Medigap or Medicare supplement plans?

8:18 Where's that guy with the deep voice in those commercials like the drug commercials? Medicare open enrollment does not apply to Medigaps. Think about it. The definition of open enrollment means that you can switch or join a plan with no health questions and no need for a special event. However, to join a Medigap, you must answer health questions. And if you cannot pass health questions, you must have an IEP or an SEP. Your IEP is your initial enrollment period, which lasts for only six months from the time that you turn 65 or are new to Part B. A special enrollment period or SEP is, for example, you move outside the coverage area.

9:00 Alright, so, you know, it goes on and on and I don't want to bore you guys but it was a very helpful video of colleagues of ours and you know It shows that everyone freaks out because if you have a Medicare supplement people think oh wait I got to change my plan because they hear all these ads No, your Medicare supplement is totally different from Medicare Advantage so if you're on a Medicare supplement and you actually don't change unless you're in what's called a birthday rule state, which is California. So on your birthday month, you can change your Medicare supplement without any underwriting if you change to a different carrier with the same plan letter. So you go from G to G, from like UnitedHealthcare to Anthem Blue Cross. You would do that without any underwriting.

9:47 But It does not apply to you for open enrollment. The only time open enrollment applies to you is if you have a Medicare Advantage plan or part d plan and you can change that yearly okay so i know it gets confusing but that's again that's why we're here that's why they pay us the big bucks right to help you um get educated on the different medicare journeys make sure that you're going on the right path so um I encourage you guys to keep watching that video. You know, you can pause it and rewind it and watch it again. You know, obviously we're on Apple podcasts, so it clearly lays out what open enrollment looks like and who it applies to. So I encourage you guys to do that. All right. So we've got Elena Schofield.

10:37 She is here. Hi there, Peter. Thanks for having me. Hey, how are you? I am great. I just got back from Boston, actually Sonoma first, then Napa, then to Boston to speak at a ladies conference. So I'm doing great. That's awesome. What kind of ladies conference was it? Insurance. Awesome. So yeah, I was on stage talking about Medicare tips to thrive. and survive. Oh, I love it. I love that title. Very cool. Well, hey, you've been on several times. Thank you so much for making the time again for us this morning.

11:21 Thanks for having me. Yeah. So for those who don't know who you are, do you want to just give a background of where you're from and what you do? Okay. So I'm currently in Connecticut and I've been a Medicare for specialist or expert for the last 26 years in and out of the business, but primarily in the business. I worked for many big carriers such as Aetna, worked at WellCare, worked at for Connecticut for a short time, and Kaiser back in my early days. So now I'm independent. I have a pretty, well, I'm in 14 states, so it's not a big brokerage, but I do it boutique style where I really personalize my service to my clients, and they like that. So it's completely referral-based. I don't buy leads. Yeah. So I have great relationships within the community, and so I get referrals mainly from my clients and other agents, PNC financial advisors, And my ladies groups that I've collaborated with.

12:41 Awesome. That is very cool. Well, that's a way to have a thriving business, right? Is based on referral. Yeah, that's very cool. Well, you know, obviously, you know, let's not talk about the doom and gloom of Medicare. It's, you know, it's everywhere right now. It's the headlines. But is there anything about Medicare that surprises you in the 26 years you've been doing this? Not at all. Not at all. Change is inevitable. It's going to happen, right? So we're going to see highs and lows. And, you know, 2027, we're going to see a lot of changes, a lot of disruption, especially in Connecticut and northeastern states. I think mainly due to the cost of care in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts. So a lot of the carriers have scaled back.

13:37 on benefits because they have to. I'm no longer seeing the OTCs, the dental's been cut back, the vision and co-pays go up. And I'm not sure if they're still going to have lots of zero premium plans, a lot of HMOs, but not too many PPOs. Yeah, we're even seeing that in California this next year. I think there's, I mean, we're notorious for having zero premium and zero everything and we're starting to see premiums on some of these plans. So it's unfortunate, but you know, that's what we're here for, Elena and I, and we're here to guide you to the best options for you guys.

14:21 So obviously, you know, me and you, we met online, we've built a relationship that way. What kind of things have you learned about the Medicare community through relationships you've built through people online or through conferences? What's one of the key things that you've learned? What I find is that the people like you and I that like to collaborate rather than compete with each other, we win because we can refer to each other, right? And we steer clients in the right direction. Maybe you know a friend here in Connecticut or New York or Mass, and you could pick up the phone and say, Elena, can you help my friend out? This is the beauty of collaborating. I don't like it when we get too competitive because nobody wins. Clients need more of us, not less of us.

15:21 Yeah, no, for sure. I mean, there's already a shortage of doctors out there that our clients have to deal with. Why are we going to start having a shortage of brokers, right? Why not all of us work together for the good of our clients, right? And I love that. That's awesome. Yeah. There is trying to steer people to their website. So why don't we do a better job and steer clients to each other? Yeah, I agree. I agree. Well, you kind of alluded to what 2027 might look like for our clients. Are there any Any words that, like, let's say you had to pick three words to describe what 2027 is going to look like. What three words would you use?

16:10 Disruption, disruption, disruption. However, disruption equals opportunity. Amen. Amen. Yeah. I agree. No, that's right on. And, you know, there are some agents who are new out there who freak out and think, you know, oh my gosh, what am I going to do? I'm going to lose all these clients. Well, you got to stay on top of it, right? And we do the research. We know, you know, ahead of time what plans are leaving the market. And that's where we step in, right? Yeah. We have to be on top of everything because the Medicare rules keep changing. The carriers keep changing. In Connecticut, carriers are dropping out. So we're seeing less and less PPOs.

16:56 So we need to be the best we can be, the most knowledgeable for our clients and prospects. Yeah, for sure. The senior centers, they don't know. They rely upon us. Yeah, I agree. I agree. So we know the biggest thing going on in the news right now is the government letting go of the subsidies for Part D. So, obviously, we don't know everything going into next year. I mean, we're hearing snippets here and there. We're seeing the first looks. You know, the insurance companies are rolling out what plans are coming out. But what do you think our beneficiaries should be aware of or should start preparing for for next year?

17:44 Well, you know, I put out my letter. Actually, it's an email. stating that this year is critical, you must do a plan review. Don't assume that your plan is staying the same because the Part D is going to change. I think significantly the carriers may be dropping some drugs that are too expensive or placing them on Tiers 4. Who knows? We don't know everything, but The writing is on the wall. We see it coming because these drugs are so expensive. The carriers cannot afford to keep all of them in their formulary. So that's the first thing.

18:32 I'm telling my clients, check your formulary. I can help you do that, but that's very important. What if you have an appointment with one of your clients or a prospect and they say, you know, Lena, I want the plan with the lowest premium. I mean, how would you respond to that? Like, is that necessarily the best option for them? It depends, right? Absolutely not. Yeah. I mean, I would never, ever tell my client, let's shop by price only because The networks changed. Doctors have dropped out.

19:15 Hospitals. We're seeing a lot of hospital disruption in Connecticut. And that's very important. So first check our doctors. Check your medications. So we'll check the formulary. We'll check the hospitals. If everything checks off and we still have a zero premium plan, PPO preferably in place, then let's do it. If not, If let's say one of the carriers like Aetna perhaps is no longer zero because of all these changes, then perhaps that might be the best option if it's $ 15, $ 20.

19:56 I don't know. I'm going to just throw that out there, but I would never shop by just premiums. That's why you're a quality broker, right? Because you know what's what and you do what's best for your client. I do. Elena is one of the best out there, folks. Keep that in mind whenever you need some help out there on the East Coast. She's the perfect person to reach out to. The other thing that's changing for next year, we know CMS is putting a lot of emphasis on star ratings and making it about clinical quality, health outcomes.

20:38 Do we think our clients really know what star ratings are about? No. No. They have no clue. So when I do my educational events, I have a slide and it shows the star ratings, one through five. In Connecticut, it's mostly four stars or some are four and a half star rating. A lot of the parties are three stars or three and a half stars So they'll ask me, oh, what's that mean? And then the slide shows whether it's provider experience or quality or, I don't know, I think there's one about customer complaints. So these, it may or may not mean a lot, but I always say if it's three and a half stars or less, you kind of want to steer away from that plan. That's or three stars or less.

21:36 Yeah. Yeah. I agree. One year, a PDP plan had two and a half stars. I'm not going to mention. Right. But you know who they are. Yeah. So I'm like, well, I don't think you want to go at that plan just based upon the star ratings. Yeah. No. I want to have a good customer experience because if I'm going to advise you properly, I don't want you to come back to me and say, this was horrible. I hated it. It reflects upon me. It does. It does. Yeah, for sure. So that, I mean, that's why we care so much about, you know, what plans you're on because it's our reputation on the line as well. Right. You know, we want to make sure that you've got the great customer service on your side.

22:24 So we do all that research, you know, obviously we've been around the block, so we know what's what. But I think, thanks Selena for mentioning it. That's really important. Um, what's, what's a mistake that you've seen beneficiaries make every AP or open air moment? Okay. So I am, I cannot stand the fact that the call centers continue to call, you know, this started back when the, um, Joe Namath, right. That was like six years ago. And so you know, they dangle the carrot and those calls keep coming. My clients get them and they'll call me and they'll say, Lena, I was offered all these free food benefits and OTC benefits over the counter, et cetera. And I said, you have to qualify for that.

23:21 You do not qualify for that. So do not assume. I recommend do not take those calls. And I ask my clients, to just, you know, go to the do not call registry, even though that doesn't work. Right. I mean, they have to not answer those phone calls because I've had bad experience where a lot of clients have picked up the phone, 94 year old lady crying, calling me saying, somebody sent me a supplement and she had everything in place. And she's, She's in an assisted living and they switched her and didn't check her drugs, didn't check her doctors. So I had to scramble and fix that. So that's my pet peeve.

24:13 Yeah. I wish they would not pick up the phone from these, you know, you know, these callers. I don't know. I mean, cause they don't even realize sometimes that they're switching their plans. They're just saying, yes, they want these benefits. Right. But they don't realize like everything's going to change. Yeah, it's bad out there. It is. I know the FTC is starting to crack down a little bit more, but obviously we want them to do more, right? It's pretty ugly. It's pretty ugly. I get calls constantly. Elena, is this a scam? I'm like, well, kind of. They're not supposed to do that. I know, right? Yeah. They're not supposed to call you. So just hang up.

24:55 Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, you've got vast experience. So let's turn the tables around and say, what mistakes do agents make that you've seen every year that they should not be making? Well, I'm a big ethical person, huge on ethics and doing the right thing. So I see agents out there. that misrepresent benefits just because they want the sale. I'd rather them walk away from the sale than get in trouble. Don't check the doctors, check the hospitals, check their drugs.

25:38 Don't misrepresent anything because it's going to come back to bite you. It's not worth it. It's not, you know, the worst thing I've seen is, and I'm sure you've seen this too. Some of my clients who are on Medicaid or Medi-Cal getting switched to plans like that, give back money. And I'm like, it doesn't work that way. I don't even know how they got into that situation, but. Yeah, the plans. Yeah. It's the dual plans are the best for them. So why switch them? I know. But there's, you know. Yeah. Yeah. We're ethical, you and I. Yes, exactly. Not everybody is. So for your audience, make sure you have a trusted advisor.

26:26 Is there ways that people can check that? Because there's so much information out there. We're in a world of overload. There's Facebook, TikTok. I mean, it's crazy. And there's all these ads. So where should a person turn or how should they really see if that person's a trustworthy person? you know, agent? Well, you make a good point. I'm overwhelmed with everything because I'm always checking my phone, you know, who's on the latest YouTube for Medicare advice. It's way too much. So I always tell my clients, you know, if you don't want to use me, that's fine, but do your research, go on that advisor's website, check their credentials to see if they're legit Because there are millions of brokers out there, but not everybody has a website. Or if they do, check to see how many years of experience. See if you kind of jive with that person. Give them a call.

27:33 People call me all the time and just want to ask me questions. I welcome it. Yeah. So I don't think it's a good idea just to go strictly by a TikTok video or a YouTube video. I agree. I don't think that's the way to go. Yeah, for sure. I mean, and like we– before you came on, we shared about how there's misleading ads, and you already named Joe Namath as one of them. You know, obviously– The good thing is that I don't think that's showing up anymore. I haven't seen it in a long time. I think it got shut down. Yeah, but I mean, that's the thing is that they dangle those carrots and people don't realize plans are different in every state, in every county. It doesn't always apply to you. So those commercials always like overgeneralize, right? They make it seem like everyone can get this.

28:29 Yeah, and it sounds fair. I see them every day, you know, and it's terrible, especially during AEP. We're going to be overloaded with all these ads. And it's always get your food card, get your over-the-counter benefits. But no, not everybody qualifies. Here in Connecticut, that's just for duels. Yeah. It's not for everybody. It's not. It's not. All right, so we're going to kind of go into this rapid fire. This could be fun. But before we do that, do you want to tell the audience, like, anything special to you, any awards you just recently got or anything you're working on for this next year?

29:13 Well, I just recently received– let me see if I– I'll just send it to you. Okay. Woman of the Year in healthcare. Oh, that's so awesome. Yeah. Top 100 registry of healthcare professionals, 2026. So when I got back from my vacation, it was sitting on my doorstep. So that was fun. That's awesome. That is very cool. Yeah. And then are there any things you're doing this next year to, to further your business? Are you kind of doing the same things? Like what kind of any, any. So because of all of the there's certain plants that are leaving, I'm focusing on my book of business. I'm focused on, really zeroing in on what my clients' needs are.

30:05 So ancillary benefits, a lot of them don't have that. That's very important. Whether it's dental vision, hospital indemnity, et cetera. So I'm really focused on my book and maintaining my clients. And I am doing a few things like at my church, I am going to be doing a presentation for people because the seniors don't really know what they're up against in 2027. And I have another radio show coming up at a Christian radio show because I'm also offering health sharing plans. So that's something new to my portfolio. And people out there need to know about it because these plans are through the roof. They can't afford it. Deductibles are too high. So I'm offering that.

31:03 Yeah, I just, you know, that's funny because we were just talking last week on our show. I just did a family of three out here. They wanted a quote for an ACA plan and their max out of pocket was going to. Be $ 19, 600. I mean, that's ridiculous. It is. I mean, who can afford that in this day and age, right? I mean, that's, yeah. Nobody. It's crazy. And I see that only continuing to rise, those maps out of pockets. I know. Deductibles. So I'm glad that I have the self-sharing as an option in my toolkit because it's great also for the seniors. For T65, it's only $ 96. Oh, wow.

31:50 Okay. And there's no underwriting. Well, that's awesome. Yeah, it's really good. It's similar to a Plan G. Okay. It's a $ 1, 000 deductible. Medicare is first payer and health sharing is secondary and they pay all their claims. All right. Well, if you're listening to this, that's a great alternative, Elena. So reach out to her about that. I've never heard of that. That's very cool. I'll send you some info. Yeah, that's awesome. All right. Well, that's a little bit about Elena and what she's doing for this next year. So we're going to have a little fun time, a rapid fire. So I'm going to just ask some questions and you answer the best that you feel like is going to answer that question.

32:35 Okay. All right. So the one word you never want to hear from a client during open enrollment. The one word is... Oh, boy. Oh, the one word is. Is that move the same as the deductible? Oh, okay. That's a good one. That's a good one. They think that it's the same. Yeah. And I think it's because people in this world are so used to deductibles, right? From when they're under 65 and it's different. Yeah. No, that's a good one. All right. What's the most, well, this kind of is the same thing, but what's the most misunderstood Medicare term?

33:18 The most misunderstood term. That's a good question. Well, the Mac's out of pocket. Yeah, I agree. Yeah. Yeah. All right. What's one thing every agent should have on their desk during open enrollment? Well, here's what I do. I prepare a cheat sheet of all the plans in Connecticut, and it's all the plans with the premium, the co-pays, et cetera. Wow. Okay. And that cheat sheet helps me. If I'm doing it by phone, it's very helpful. I think that it'll save the agents lots of time. Yeah. It's a quick little cheat sheet, and it works great.

34:06 That's very cool. All right. What is the most overrated Medicare marketing tactic? Oh, gosh. There's so many, Peter. Okay. I think you already alluded to one earlier in our conversation, but I'll let you handle this. Yeah. I think that, you know, that some agents just misrepresent by saying, yeah, all your doctors are in network. Agents also say, yeah, your drugs are covered and they assume that everything is staying the same. So that is a tactic that should stop.

34:47 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's good. That's good. All right. Last one. If you could change one thing about Medicare tomorrow, what would it be? Oh, boy. So many things need to be changed, but Rome was not built in one day. So changes to Medicare. The rules and regulations each year are pretty dramatic. And I think that There are thousands of pages need to be, you know, with all of the legalese needs to be somehow condensed so that you and I could read it in five minutes.

35:31 Exactly. I don't think it's necessary to have, you know, 300 pages. I agree. I agree. So, you know, they just need to condense it. Yeah. Kind of dumb it down too, right? I mean, it's, yeah, it's a lot of jargon. Yeah, yeah, I agree. I agree. All right, Elena. Well, where can people find you and how can they learn more about you? So you could go to my website, gofieldinsureconsulting.com. Again, I am in 14 states, but locally here in Connecticut, and I am 175 Capitol Boulevard, Rocky Hill, Connecticut. That's where you'll find me.

36:19 Awesome. Awesome. Elena, thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate you so much. I appreciate you. You're the best. And you're doing great work out there. Of course. Thank you. And you have a wonderful week. Again, if you need Elena, she's out in Connecticut, East Coast. I will send my clients over to you if they ever move out to the East Coast, because you're going to know the market better than I do out there. So Thank you, Elena, for everything. Thank you for having me. All right. Have a good one. Bye-bye. Bye. All right. So that was our guest, Elena. Great friend of mine, like I said, and she's doing amazing work.

37:00 I mean, you can already tell in her answers, she's a solid person, great ethics, cares immensely about her clients and wants to do what's right and best by them. So Obviously, there's just a lot of things going on with Medicare this next year. And we already, in our video, showed what open enrollment applies to, who it applies to. And again, those dates are October 15th through December 7th. Obviously, we can't talk to you about the plans for next year until October 1st. That's just kind of the rule of thumb that CMS has put out there. So if you ask an agent a specific question and they can't answer it, that's the reason why. So it's not that they don't want to tell you. It's that, you know, we kind of have our hands tied until that day.

37:54 So again, You know, any questions that you have, any concerns, you're going to be bombarded like we were talking about earlier by call centers, marketing employees. You know, try to not answer those calls or just hang up. and direct any questions to a expert like myself or Elena. There's many of us in the industry who do right by what's important to you and what makes sense to you. So again, make sure that you're having that person in your back pocket. And then when the time comes that you've got questions or concerns or you need to change your plan, that's the person you go to during those times.

38:42 And hopefully that person is accessible and available. If not, then you got to find someone else who is. So, you know, for my team and my agents and my clients, we're always accessible and available. We get back to people pretty quickly. You know, obviously I've got a team in place, an admin who does the appointments for me. If you can't get ahold of me directly, we've got agents stationed all over the United States as well. So, We are ready and willing to help you wherever you're at here in the US. We want to make sure you're on the right Medicare plan. And again, you're going to be bombarded.

39:22 You're also going to hear from your own insurance company that they might be leaving the market. And in those cases, you definitely want to get with someone. so that you switch your plan out. You'll always suck with no plan for next year, right? You want to make sure you've got coverage and the right coverage. All right. So I'm going to kind of transition here a little bit. I like to make things fun. I'm a big sports nut. And so I always do a little update on what's going on in the sports world and the sports industry. And so I'm excited that football is starting up a couple of weeks. My Rams are opening up in Australia against the 49ers. So I'm excited about that. Looks like a lot of good things happening with my Rams team.

40:10 If you guys haven't heard, Aaron Donalds came out of retirement. So that's huge. That's kind of scary for the rest of the league. So it'll be exciting to see how our defense hones in this season. Obviously, I'm excited, too, about just the competition that's out there and Looking forward to having friends over for Super Bowl Sunday. That's always a big day everywhere. It's almost like a holiday in and of itself, right? So excited about that. Excited about the weather starting to cool down finally and fall coming around the corner. I've got two little ones. So the holidays are always big in our household. And so I'm excited about that as well. But obviously, it's hard to enjoy the holidays for me myself because... I've got open enrollment, which is around the holidays, right? October 15th through December 7th, that collides right into Halloween and preps for Christmas. So, and Thanksgiving. So it's, that's my job though. And I love my job. I've been doing this for 10 years and yeah, it can be overwhelming, but I'm excited that I'm able to have time with my family as well as help my clients out through this crazy disruptive year. So, definitely looking forward to that. Um, the other thing I wanted to share with you guys is, um, I love new talent. And when I see shows like America's Got Talent and stuff like that, it's exciting to see like these new up and coming youngsters, uh, come on the

41:44 scene and, and really entertain us and, um, show their skillset. And, and so, um, I wanted to share kind of a clip of this person who is a rock star, has been on AGT a few times. She's already in the quarterfinals. And I just want to share because I'm a big music person. We go to concerts left and right, my wife and I. We just went and saw counting crows at the Hollywood bowl. We're going to go see Gracie Abrams. Yep. Yep. I'm going to be a lot of teenage girls there. I know, but I love Gracie Abrams. I love her, her songwriting. So she's going to be at the Kia forum this fall. We're who else did we see? We saw blue October. We're going to see the bleachers. It's another big band out here in LA. So we, Just a lot of exciting talent coming out and a lot of great bands. And so I wanted to show you this clip because this girl is amazing. And I want you to hear her and see what you guys think too.

42:49 So I'm going to share my screen here. All right. So I'm just going to show a little bit of a clip here. In my eyes, in this pose, in this guy's face, no one knows. High's the face, light's the snake, and sun in my disgrace.

43:40 Put it in here. The summer stage. Need the black, the sky looks dead. Hold my knee through the grave. And I'll hear you scream again. Black hole sun, won't you come and wash away the rain? What? That's incredible. Oh, my goodness. That voice. So, yeah, that's Nisei. And then she was on AGT. She's going to be coming up. So if you really want to see her, she's going to be up on upcoming shows.

44:36 She is awesome. unbelievably talented. And so I can't, that rendition of Black Hole Sun was amazing. So just wanted to share that. I was blown away by that and hope you guys were too. Definitely catch her up in the upcoming shows. Amazing, amazing talent. And I'm going to transition into this. This show is not just for our beneficiaries and our clients. It's also for agents that want to join someone who knows talent, who knows how to build you up in this industry, to give you the right resources and tools. You can't come to a better place than us. Our FMO is Everything Senior Insurance by Christian Brindle. We're an integrity company that we work with, we partner with, and Agent Pipeline is that company. So Why not come to an agency where you do get all the support you need? You get great leads from lead heroes that are quality. And you get the support and the training that you need weekly from myself and from Christian Brindle weekly. He is one of our sponsors, just like many of our other sponsors are. But again, if you're frustrated by the lack of support you're getting from your agency, you feel like the person is just inaccessible, you're not getting your questions answered in a timely manner,

46:09 maybe you've been told something that. Was not true. I was part of an agency before Christian where I was told certain contracts weren't available to us. And lo and behold, I found out that person lied to me and was holding me back. Unfortunately, I probably would have been a lot further in my business growth if I found that information out a lot sooner. And so you want to ask those questions to your what's called an upline, the person above you in your agency or in your FMO and let them know, you know, hey, what's the commission rate for agents? How can I grow?

46:50 I've heard that there's places to grow, like a general agent contract, an MGA contract. What are those? And if your agency isn't straight up with you, then maybe it's time for you to find someone else. We do have openings. I've got over 30 agents now all over the U.S., and we're looking for more. We're people who might think that they're intimidated and don't know the industry. You come to us and we will show you the ins and outs and get you geared up and ready to sell and ready to educate our clients on Medicare because we are about educating first, not sales. And so, you know, we teach you right and we give you the right foundation.

47:33 I encourage you guys to reach out to us. So Text me, call me at 909-217-2630. There's also a place on our website where it says join Peter's team. You just put in that information. That information will come to me and we'll get you set up and going. So I encourage you guys to always scrutinize where you're at. Make sure you're happy and you're getting the things that you deserve. All right. Um, so on that note, I do want to share real quick. We've got our sponsors at the end of the show broadcast. Um, we've got Johnny Alanya, who's a local realtor out here. He sponsors us everything. Senior insurance. Uh, Elena Schofield is one of our sponsors who just came on as a guest. Um, Medicare Misty, uh, Gray's and Cray's, which is out here.

48:27 They've got two places, a charcuterie catering place out here in Ontario and also one out in Corona. So thank you. Thank you to all our sponsors. We wouldn't be here without you. We appreciate you. And we want to wish all our listeners a great, wonderful week, a blessed week. Stay safe out there. And we do this show for you because we Medicare. 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 Medicare about you and protecting your health, your finances, and your future. See you next week.