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Effingham Magazine

Melissa McBride Stille Works for Clientsโ€”Not the Insurance Company!

๐Œ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐š ๐Œ๐œ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž ๐–๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌโ€”๐๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ง๐ฒ!

Are you turning 65 and thinking about retirement and donโ€™t know what to do? โ€œMany people are trying to decide if they should retire and how that would impact their health insurance.โ€ says independent insurance agent Melissa McBride Stille, โ€œIf someone is 65 years old and wants to stop working, knowing their health care options ahead of that decision is crucial because there are far reaching consequences.โ€

Melissa has been in the health insurance industry for 14 years and is the sole proprietor of Stille-DeWitt Health Brokerage. She says, โ€œDeWitt Insurance Agency has been in business since 1956. When I purchased the agencyโ€™s health department, I incorporated it into my agency name to keep the continuity within the community.โ€ As a health insurance broker specializing in Medicare, she is dedicated to presenting her clients with the best health care options available.

She says at age 65 most people need to think about the pros and cons of Medicare options or continuing insurance through their employer. Donโ€™t stress over the paperwork she says, โ€œAll you need is to bring me is yourself and your current group benefits. Donโ€™t depend on your Human Resources department to help you because they are not insurance specialists. We can do a three way call between yourself, your HR dept and me so I can thoroughly assess your situation. Together we will optimize your benefits while tailoring them to your needs.โ€

Melissa can also facilitate your Medicare application with the Social Security office. โ€œThere are many factors, particularly with Medicare Part B.โ€ Some scenarios involve penalties but they may not apply to you, thatโ€™s why working with a Medicare specialist is critical to obtaining the best outcome.

Each client presents individual issues. You may have a spouse who is dependent on your benefits and too young for Medicare. Melissa will help you compare the cost of staying at your current position and using your employer benefits plan, versus retiring and having your spouse obtain health insurance through the marketplace. Perhaps your spouse has a chronic illness or is in an assisted living facilityโ€”these are important factors in your decision.

๐’๐ญ๐ž๐ฉ ๐๐ฒ ๐’๐ญ๐ž๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ

โ€ข          Is Medicare Primary or Secondary

โ€ข          Open enrollment periods

โ€ข          Deductibles vs out of pocket

โ€ข          Spousal Considerations

โ€ข          All income levels need expert guidance

Melissa also works with Medicare recipients under 65, including those who have Medicare through Social Security Disability and with people using Affordable Care Act Marketplace insurance, and some group insurances.

โ€œI care about each and every client and do a review of everyoneโ€™s health policies every year because there are so many changes annually,โ€ she says. โ€œI like to simplify things and present you with your best options.โ€ She gives every client her cell numberโ€”itโ€™s in all of her advertising so that every client, even future clients, can feel comfortable reaching out to her. She says, โ€œI work for my clients, not the insurance company.โ€

๐ˆ๐Ÿ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐š ๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Œ๐ž๐๐ข๐œ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž ๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐Œ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐š ๐š ๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ!

๐€ ๐๐จ๐ง-๐†๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐€๐ ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ฒ