Everything people ask, answered properly

Nothing. Employers pay no broker fee and individuals pay no consultation fee. We are compensated by the carrier you select, on a schedule that does not vary between carriers on our panel. Your premium is the same whether you enroll through us or directly.

Independent. We hold appointments with every carrier on our panel and we are captive to none of them. That is the whole point of the model: we can walk you away from a plan without losing anything.

Eighteen across medical, dental, vision, life, disability and supplemental lines. The whole panel is on our carriers page.

Ohio plus ten others, which covers most of our employer clients' remote staff. If you have an employee in a state we do not hold, we will tell you rather than guess.

No. Nobody here works on a pressure script, quota call-down or same-day-close incentive. If a plan is wrong for you, the correct answer is to say so.

A census: each employee's age, dependent tier, home ZIP and whether they are currently enrolled or waiving. Names are not required for a first look. Your current plan summary and renewal date make the comparison far more useful.

A first-pass comparison from a clean census is usually two to four business days. Level-funded and self-funded options need medical underwriting, which adds one to two weeks.

Most require 50% to 75% of eligible employees enrolled, after valid waivers are removed from the denominator. Employees covered by a spouse's plan, a parent's plan, Medicare, TRICARE or Medicaid usually come out of the count.

Carriers typically require at least 50% of the employee-only premium. What you should contribute is a different question, and the answer usually sits higher than the minimum because participation and pool balance both improve.

If you averaged 50 or more full-time equivalents across the prior calendar year, yes. Full time means 30 hours a week or 130 hours a month, and part-time hours roll up into equivalents. We count it properly before anyone panics.

Yes. We coordinate enrollment files, deduction schedules and plan documents with most of the common payroll platforms, and we are used to working alongside a PEO rather than against one.

Your Initial Enrollment Period is seven months wide: the three months before your birthday month, the month itself, and the three after. Enrolling in the first three avoids a gap in coverage.

If you have creditable coverage from active employment, usually yes, without penalty. Retiree coverage, COBRA and Marketplace plans are not creditable for this purpose. Get the employer letter confirming creditable coverage and keep it.

It depends on your doctors, your prescriptions and how much you travel. A Supplement gives provider freedom and predictable costs for a higher premium. An Advantage plan gives a lower monthly cost and extra benefits inside a network. We run both against your own list.

Six months beginning when your Part B takes effect. In that window no Medicare Supplement carrier can decline you or charge more for health reasons. Outside it, Ohio carriers may underwrite.

Because formularies change every January. A drug on tier 2 this year can be tier 4 next year, which moves your annual cost far more than the plan premium does.

Your advance premium tax credit is based on your estimated household income for the coverage year and your household size. It is reconciled on your tax return, so an accurate estimate matters more than a convenient one.

Report it to the Marketplace as soon as you know. Your advance credit adjusts going forward, which is far less painful than reconciling a whole year in April.

Only with a qualifying event: losing other coverage, moving, marriage, birth or adoption, and a few others. Most Special Enrollment Periods run 60 days from the event.

No. They are not insurance, are not regulated as insurance and carry no guarantee of payment. We will explain what you would be giving up if you are considering one.

It is used to obtain quotes and nothing else. We do not sell or share client data with marketing firms. A first-pass quote does not need employee names, and we would rather you did not send them.

Calls relating to Medicare plan enrollment are recorded and retained as required by CMS rules for third-party marketing organisations. We tell you at the start of the call.

No. Meridian Benefit Partners is a private, independent agency. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program.

No agency does. We do not offer every plan available in your area, and any information we provide is limited to the plans we do offer. For information on all of your options, contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE.