July 22, 2020

Making Sense of Medicare – Dan Petkevich

22 minutes

At some point, you'll become eligible for Medicare. And you'll be faced with a number of options. But how do you know which choices are the right ones for you? There are a number of misconceptions about how Medicare works, so it's important to do your homework.

Today we talk with Dan Petkevich about Medicare 101 and discuss:

What makes Medicare complicated

What people are most surprised by when they begin to look into Medicare

Common mistakes to avoid

How far in advance people should begin to look into Medicare

Options for people who work for a corporate employer, and will be eligible for Medicare, but have a spouse who’s younger than 65

Dan's advice for listeners who want to get their Medicare options right

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Bio

Dan Petkevich is the CEO of Fair Square Medicare, a company he started when he saw his own parents struggle to understand their health care insurance options when they turned 65. Prior to founding Fair Square Medicare, Dan founded Trim, a financial health company that’s generated over 40 million in cost savings for its customers. Previously, Daniel co-founded Octane Lending, a venture-backed financial technology company. He graduated from Yale with a degree in Physics.

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Wise Quotes

On Why Medicare Can Be Complicated

"I think it's why the system is the way it is, I would say, is probably this dynamic between public and private partnership. Where you have Medicare Parts A and B, which are provided directly from the government from Medicare - and Medicare is the payer there. And that' what a consumer needs to figure out when you enroll in Parts A and B what do they cover? And then there are all the supplement plans. So that's hard for the consumer because they need to choose one out of maybe 37 plans available to them. And when I say supplement, I mean that in the generic terms, meaning Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans. But I think like there's complexity from that because all those plans are actually provided by private carriers. And so there's just like a lot of complexity derived from the interaction between the public part of Medicare, which is Parts A and B and the private part, which is a Medigap or a Medicare Advantage plan."

On a Common Mistake to Avoid

"Many people will sign up for a plan with a low sticker price. And then it turns out that plan doesn't cover their Doctors, which is obviously no good - or it's a PPO. And there's some Doctor you need to see and he or she is out of network, and now you have to pay an exorbitant price to see him or her."

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How to Build a Non-Profit Encore Career – Betsy Werley

The Joy of Movement - Kelly McGonigal

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