Medicare is a health care program for senior citizens and people with certain disabilities. People who apply for Medicare have to make decisions about the type and amount of coverage they need.

If retirement is on your mind, or if you want to continue working but want Medicare coverage, there are numerous options to consider when applying for Medicare coverage. Think about the following Medicare basics when you submit your application or update your coverage:

1. Research the Medicare program options so you can apply for the coverage you need.

2. Compare Medicare supplemental insurance plans side by side so you can pick the plans that give you the coverage you need.

3. Save money on prescriptions by choosing a Medicare Part D plan that covers all your medications.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn Medicare basics

The Medicare program has numerous requirements. Determining if you are eligible for Medicare is a challenge. Once you determine you are eligible for basic Medicare, you have to decide the programs you need to look into. In most cases, you should sign up for all of the coverage you need at all once because signing up for programs or parts later may result in coverage delays.

I recommend: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offers detailed information about the Medicare program, including Medicare benefits and coverage information. The US Department of Health and Human Services has information about the qualifying criteria for the Medicare program. This website also offers an online application for coverage.

Decipher your Medicare benefits

The Medicare program has different levels or parts. Each of these parts offers different coverage. Choosing the parts that you need takes a lot of thought. Reading detailed information about all of the options ensures that you will get the coverage you need.

I recommend: Today's Seniors offers detailed information, including the link to a chart, to help you decide what Medigap or Medicare supplemental insurance coverage is right for you. The Center for Medicare Advocacy offers numerous articles, some of which include legal advice, to help ensure you choose the most appropriate Medicare insurance for your needs.

Get the Medicare drug plan that covers your medications

The Medicare Part D program is prescription drug coverage. Participating in the Part D program means that you have to commit to using one company to fill your prescriptions. Because each of the programs varies slightly, you should research a variety of plans to ensure that all of the prescriptions you take on a regular basis are covered.

I recommend: Get the details on Medicare Part D from the official source, the Department of Health and Human Services. The American Academy of Family Physicians has information to help you decipher the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, including answers to basic questions.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Print out Medicare information sheets to make it easier for you to compare the coverage options provided by various companies.

A Medicare insurance business has a variety of options available when it comes to generating quality leads. With more and more baby boomers reaching retirement age, there is no shortage of people seeking Medicare insurance plans. Now obviously not everyone over the age of 65 will be eligible for Medicare, so it helps to have a way to reach eligible Medicare candidates.

Regardless of the way you chose to sell or market your services, your bottom line is finding customers and making the sale. There are lots of ways to access qualified Medicare supplemental insurance leads, increasing your chances of closing the deal. This guide will help you:

1. Find prequalified Medicare candidates.

2. Use the most cost effective techniques to generate Medicare leads.

3. Market your own insurance services to generate more leads.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find prequalified Medicare leads

One of the best ways to find sales opportunities is through leads listing consumers that could potentially become your customers. Finding quality lead lists on your own can be a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. But Medicare supplement insurance leads can be found through lists of people who have already been approved to receive Medicare benefits. These are the people most likely to need the services you provide. Some of these leads are available on websites like www.medicare.com or www.medicare.gov.

I recommend: Thankfully it's not that hard to find Medicare leads. You don't have to rely solely on websites like www.medicare.com or www.medicare.gov where countless other insurance companies turn to for lead information. There are an abundance of websites that create lists of prequalified leads including Net Quote.

Use a lead generation service

A lead generation service can produce quality leads faster than you could on your own. A firm can also provide you with prequalified Medicare leads that have been confirmed eligible for Medicare benefits before you begin contacting your prospects. You should also inquire with the lead generation firm to find out if you can have a filter to keep out nonqualified leads. Request that your Medicare leads be delivered in real time to ensure that they are fresh increasing your potential to make sales.

I recommend: Zip Search and Most Choice are top quality Medicare insurance lead generation firms.

Market your services directly to your target audience

Your own sales and marketing techniques can bring quality leads to you. Building an informative and effective Medicare insurance website that appeals to Medicare customers with questions about topics concerning Medicare Part D and the benefits of Medicare supplement insurance. Make sure your website is easy to use without a lot of useless clutter, providing specific detail about what you can do for your customers as well as clearly positioned contact buttons so you can be reached to provide more detailed information. You can also use other marketing methods like direct mail to encourage more sales.

I recommend: Use a professional company that specializes in website design like Website Pros to help you create a site that is appealing to your target audience.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Use your expertise to conduct information seminars in your community to explain to eligible candidates about Medicare Part D and other common questions and concerns. Make sure to pass out plenty of brochures and business cards to attendees.

The Medicare insurance program can be tricky to navigate and can require special training to keep up with changes. Knowing who qualifies and for what can be confusing and requires extra training, especially for Medicare workers.

Medical insurance workers need to learn about the four types of Medicare benefits. Medicare A covers hospitalization, and Medicare B primarily covers outpatient services not covered under Medicare A. Medicare C, otherwise known as Medicare Advantage Plans, includes health maintenance organization plans (HMO), preferred provider organization plans (PPO), private fee for service plans (PFFS) plans, special needs plans and Medicare medical savings account plans. Finally, Medicare part D covers prescriptions. Luckily, training is available for Medicare workers to learn the intricacies of these programs so they can effectively serve their clients.

To help your staff receive the training they need to fully understand and implement Medicare program rules, consider the following:

1. Check out government resources first for training information on Medicare benefits.

2. Learn about coordinating Medicare benefits with other private or group insurance.

3. Look into outside sources to help your staff train to be well versed in the language of Medicare.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Rely on government sources for Medicare training resources

Sometimes the best place to find out answers about the complicated Medicare program is with the U.S. government itself. The government provides training programs for professionals dealing with Medicare issues such as the Medicare prescription drug plan.

I recommend: The best source for Medicare training modules is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at Medicare.gov. The National Medicare Training Program provides necessary links for professionals working with Medicare benefits, including web-based training.

Get Medicare education and training on billing issues from outside consultants

Medicare billing issues can be confusing, particularly for health providers offering Medicare services. Hiring an outside consultant can help your Medicare billing practices run more smoothly, eliminating headaches for your staff.

I recommend: Provider Management Solutions is a consultant you can hire to improve your Medicare billing reimbursement practices. Although you might assume that Medicare.com is a government website, it is not. However, you can use it as a guide to Medicare covered products, services and information.

Gain in-depth training on certain areas of Medicare insurance

Sometimes you need to look outside the government sources for training to help master particular areas of the Medicare program, such as the Medicare Prescription Drug Program. You can take advantage of private resources that will help your employees become fluent enough to be beneficial to clients.

I recommend: Review the Health Assistance Partnership training manual, which provides detailed information about a wide array of Medicare part D topics. Find out more about training for Medicare in regards to skilled nursing facilities from BKD Health Group.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure your employees are on the lookout for fraudulent activity in regards to Medicare benefits and reimbursements.

Besides being among America's largest entitlement programs, Medicare is something that businesses frequently tangle with. Any business that includes health care records, direct care, or any aspect of the health care field, including residential care, will need to know a lot about how the Medicare program works. Reading up on the basic fundamental terms around Medicare will help someone just arriving on the scene to deal with Medicare in a business role.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Medicare eligibility

Medicare eligibility is the issue of whether or not an individual is qualified for Medicare benefits. Businesses pay attention to Medicare eligibility for figuring out the dimensions of their involvement.

I recommend: See a detailed explanation of Medicare eligibility from this Medicare page.

Medicare parts A, B & C

The Medicare entitlement program is made up of several parts. Medicare parts A, B & C are each different aspects of the program with different requirements and benefits. Knowing about these is important in administering Medicare or explaining it to a beneficiary.

I recommend: See more on these parts of the Medicare program at Manage My Practice.

Medicare part D

There's yet another part of Medicare that was added to the program by the Bush administration. Medicare part D covers prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries with its own system of rules and regulations.

I recommend: See more on Medicare part D at this Medicare Guide site.

Medicare supplement insurance

A Medicare supplement insurance plan is an insurance plan that a Medicare beneficiary can select to augment a Medicare benefit. Medicare related businesses make it a priority to know all about how these secondary plans work.

I recommend: Find details on Medicare supplement insurance plans at this AARP site.

Medicare reimbursement

Medicare reimbursement is the process by which the government pays health care providers for work done under Medicare benefits. There have been many articles written about Medicare reimbursement, as the coordination between the federal government and private doctors is not always easy.

I recommend: Find more resources on Medicare reimbursement at sites like PubMed.

Long term care

Long term care is the kind of service that the elderly often need. It can be in a nursing or convalescence home, a 'skilled nursing facility,' or at home with visiting nurses or hospice staff. Medicare has specific guidelines for long term care reimbursement that health care provider businesses will want to figure out.

I recommend: See more on long term care at this Consumer's Guide to Medicare.