Medicare help in Edinburg, at your kitchen table.
I'm Erick Vallarino, an insurance agent here in the Valley. I don't have an office in Edinburg, so most of the time I come to you. We sit at your table and go over your doctors and your medicines, in English or Spanish, with no rush. My help costs you nothing.
So I come to you.
Edinburg is the county seat, and it keeps growing: the older streets around downtown and the courthouse, the newer neighborhoods, and the farm roads past the edge of town. Wherever you live in Edinburg, I can come to your house. Most of the people I help like it that way. You're at home, your papers are in the next room, and nobody is rushing you.
Rather meet somewhere else? I have offices in McAllen and Pharr, both a short drive away, by appointment. Call first and we'll pick a time.
Family is always welcome. If your son or daughter works in McAllen during the day, or lives up 281 in San Antonio, they can be part of the meeting by phone or on a Zoom video call, so everyone hears the same thing.
Out past the city limits, toward Linn or on the ranch roads off 281, some addresses are hard to find. Send me a pin from your phone, and I'll find you.
Edinburg and its neighbors.
Edinburg took over as county seat from the town of Hidalgo, partly because it sits near the middle of the county. I help people in the towns all around it, too.
- McAllen. Right next door to the southwest, with an office by appointment.
- Pharr. Just south of Edinburg, with an office by appointment.
- Elsa and Edcouch. Elsa is about 11 miles east on Highway 107, past La Blanca, and Edcouch is right next to it.
- Linn and up 281. Ranch country about 22 miles north of Edinburg, and still Hidalgo County. It's a drive, and that's fine.
- Mission. At the west end of Highway 107, the same road that runs through downtown Edinburg.
- Weslaco. Southeast of Edinburg, about 9 miles south of Elsa on FM 88.
Not on the list? Call me anyway. I'm serving all of Texas, so we can talk by phone or Zoom from anywhere in the state. See all the areas I serve.
What people here ask me.
Three questions I hear often. More are on my questions page.
Is there a Social Security office in Edinburg?
Not in Edinburg itself. Social Security's office locator lists the closest one in McAllen, at 3004 N. McColl Road, a few miles away. Make an appointment before you go. If you're 65 or older, you can also sign up for Part A and Part B online at ssa.gov. I'll sit with you and go through it step by step.
My doctors are in Edinburg and McAllen. Will they take my plan?
That's the first thing we check, not the last. Before we look at any plan, I write down every doctor you see and every medicine you take. Then I check them against each plan I offer in Hidalgo County. If a listing isn't clear, we call the doctor's office together.
I'm retiring from the county with retiree insurance. What happens at 65?
Call me before you change anything. Edinburg is the county seat, so plenty of people here retire from the county or the city. Some retiree plans need you to have Part A and Part B. Medicare.gov also warns that if you get Medicare drug coverage, you may lose your retiree coverage, for you and your family, and may not get it back. Bring the letters from your benefits office, and we'll read them together.
When you can make changes.
- October 15 to December 7. Open Enrollment, also called Annual Enrollment. Anyone with Medicare can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or drug plan. Changes start January 1.
- January 1 to March 31. Already in a Medicare Advantage plan? You can make one change in these months.
- Turning 65. Your window is seven months: the three months before your birthday month, that month, and the three months after. Born on the 1st? It all moves one month earlier.
More on the key dates and on turning 65.
Plans go by county.
Medicare Advantage and drug plans are sold county by county. Edinburg is in Hidalgo County, along with McAllen, Pharr, Mission, Weslaco, Elsa, Edcouch and Linn, so I look up the plans offered here, and we compare them one at a time.
I'm an independent agent, and I work with several companies, but I don't offer every plan. If you're better off staying where you are, I'll tell you. You can always see every plan in the county on Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.
A Medicare Advantage or drug plan costs the same whether you sign up with me or on your own. The insurance company pays me, not you, and for these plans Medicare sets a limit on what a plan can pay an agent. There's no pressure. You decide, in your own time.
Live in Edinburg? Let's talk.
Call or text me and tell me what part of Edinburg you're in. We'll pick a day and a time that work for you, at your table or at an office by appointment.