Every insurance agency has a shelf, and every shelf has edges. Most agencies do not talk about theirs. This page is ours.
What we can see
The plans offered by the carriers we are appointed with. An appointment is a contract between an agency and an insurer that permits us to sell and service their products. We hold appointments with a number of carriers across Medicare, Marketplace and ancillary lines.
For those plans we can quote accurately, compare side by side, check networks and formularies against your specific doctors and prescriptions, submit an enrolment, and stay with the case afterwards when something goes wrong.
What we cannot see
Plans from carriers we are not appointed with. They do not appear in our quoting tools at all. We are not withholding them; we genuinely cannot see them.
This is true of every agent and every agency. Anyone who tells you they show “every plan available” is either using the phrase loosely or is not being straight with you.
Whether a plan will suit you clinically. We can tell you what a plan covers. We cannot tell you what care you will need. That is a conversation with your doctor, not with us.
Anything about your medical history you have not told us. We do not have access to your records and do not want them. What you tell us is what we work from, which is why an inaccurate answer produces an inaccurate recommendation.
What we are paid, and by whom
The carrier pays us a commission when you enrol. You pay us nothing, and your premium is identical whether you come through us, through another agent, or directly from the carrier. Premiums are filed with regulators; there is no agent mark-up and nothing to negotiate.
The honest implication: an incentive exists. We would rather you knew that than guessed at it. It is why the section above about the edges of our shelf is on the site at all, and why the free alternatives are named on seven pages rather than buried in a footer.
Where to look for what we cannot show you
- Medicare Plan Finder — every Medicare Advantage and Part D plan available where you live. Free.
- 1-800-MEDICARE — 24 hours a day, TTY 1-877-486-2048.
- Your SHIP counsellor — free one-to-one Medicare counselling from people who sell nothing at all.
- HealthCare.gov — every Marketplace plan and the subsidy calculation, plus free local Navigators.
If your situation is straightforward, those may be all you need, and we will say so on the call rather than after it.
What you are entitled to ask us
- The name and licence number of the agent handling your case.
- Which carriers we are appointed with, and therefore which we cannot quote.
- Whether a plan we are recommending pays us more than an alternative we are also showing you.
- What we did not show you, and why.
Those are all fair questions. An agent who is uncomfortable with any of them is telling you something useful.
The test we try to hold ourselves to
If the best answer for you is a plan we cannot sell, or no plan at all, we should say so on the first call — before we have invested time in you and while it is still easy to walk away.
That is the whole argument for using an agent rather than a comparison screen: someone who has to put their name and licence number on the advice, and who will still be there in March when a claim is denied.
Where to check this independently
Nothing on this page is advice about your situation, and none of it replaces the free sources. The Medicare Plan Finder,1-800-MEDICARE, your SHIP counsellor andHealthCare.gov are free, independent, and show plans we cannot sell.
Healthbase is a licensed insurance agency, not a government agency and not connected with Medicare or any federal or state program.