Medicare FAQs for St. Louis Seniors

No. The insurance company pays the agent. Your premium is the same whether you enroll with us or on your own.

Your Initial Enrollment Period lasts seven months. It covers the three months before the month you turn 65, the birthday month itself, and the three months after. If you sign up in that window, your coverage starts without a gap. If you wait past it, you may owe a late penalty. See turning 65 in St. Louis.

With Original Medicare and a Medigap policy, yes. You can see any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare. With Medicare Advantage, it depends on the plan's network. St. Louis has several large systems, including BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Luke's, and a plan may include some of them and not others. Before you sign, we look up your own doctors in each plan's current directory.

It depends on the person. Medigap costs more each month, but it pays most of what Original Medicare leaves behind and has no network. Advantage plans usually cost less each month, charge copays, use a network, and often add dental, vision or a gym membership. Your doctors, your drugs and the monthly premium you're comfortable with point to the right one. See Advantage vs. Medigap.

Unless you had coverage from a job you (or your spouse) still work at, Medicare adds 10% of the standard Part B premium for each full 12-month period you went without it. In most cases you pay that extra for as long as you have Part B. Try our Part B penalty calculator for an estimate before you decide.

In most cases, yes. If you go 63 days or more without creditable drug coverage after you become eligible, Medicare adds a late penalty to your Part D premium, and it stays for as long as you have drug coverage. A low-cost plan you hardly use almost always costs less than that penalty would later. See Part D drug plans.

No, but check your plan each fall. Networks, drug tiers and copays can change every January 1. A short phone review usually tells you whether your plan still includes your doctors and covers your drugs at the price you expect. See Annual Open Enrollment.

It varies by plan. Large hospitals in the area include Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Missouri Baptist Medical Center (both BJC HealthCare), Mercy Hospital St. Louis, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, and St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield. Many people pick a plan based on where their longtime doctor practices. Contracts change from year to year, so we check the current one before you enroll.

Yes. In Missouri, people under 65 who have Medicare because of a disability get a six-month Medigap open enrollment window, the same as people turning 65. Premiums for under-65 buyers often run higher, so we'll price what's open to you. Missouri SHIP, the state's free Medicare counseling program, can also help at 800-390-3330.

Missouri has a yearly anniversary rule. Within 30 days of your policy's anniversary date, you can drop your Medigap policy and buy the same plan letter, say Plan G for Plan G, from any company that sells it, without answering health questions. To move to a different letter, you usually have to pass underwriting. See Medicare Supplement plans.

Yes. We work across St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County, including Kirkwood, Webster Groves, South County, Chesterfield, Florissant and St. Charles. If you spend part of the year in another state, we'll plan around that. See all service areas.