Medicare help in Harlingen, in English or Spanish.
I'm Erick Vallarino, an insurance agent here in the Valley, with an office in Harlingen by appointment. Most people I help around Harlingen, I see at their own kitchen table. When you call, you get me, not a call center, and my help costs you nothing.
Two ways to meet in Harlingen.
At your home. Most of the time, I come to you, at the kitchen table in Harlingen, Combes, Primera or Palm Valley, with anyone in the family who wants to be there. If your son or daughter lives in McAllen or out of state, they can be part of it on the phone or on Zoom.
At my Harlingen office. If you'd rather meet away from home, I have an office in Harlingen. It's by appointment only, so call or text first to pick a day and time.
Either way, there's no pressure. I check your doctors, the hospital you use and your medicines against each plan I offer in your county. I don't offer every plan, and Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE can show you all of them. A Medicare Advantage or drug plan costs the same through me as on your own. The choice is always yours.
Your county decides your plans.
Medicare Advantage and drug plans are sold by county, and Willacy County starts just up the road from Harlingen, so the county line matters here.
Harlingen and the towns around it
Harlingen, Combes, Primera, Palm Valley, La Feria, Rio Hondo and Santa Rosa are all in Cameron County, so we start from the plans sold there. I still check your exact address, because a plan's area can be smaller than a county.
Raymondville and Lyford
Keep going north on the expressway past Combes, and a few miles on you're in Willacy County. It's close, but it's a different county, so the list of plans can be different. Live in Raymondville, Lyford or Sebastian, or are your parents there? Tell me, and I look up the Willacy County plans instead.
Moving across the county line?
A move from Harlingen to Raymondville, or the other way, can let you change plans if you leave your plan's area or the new address has other plan choices. The window starts when you move and lasts 2 full months after, so call me when you know the date. More on changing plans.
Here for the winter in Harlingen?
Welcome back to the Valley.
Every winter, a lot of people from up north make Harlingen their second home, many from about November to April. Just know that Medicare Advantage and drug plans go by your permanent address, the state and county where you officially live, not where you spend the winter.
Is home in Texas, or in another state?
If it's in Texas, I can help you, whether Harlingen is home all year or you come down for the winter from another Texas county. If home is in another state and you want an agent, choose one licensed there, since I'm serving all of Texas only. Call me anyway, and I'll tell you honestly what I can and can't do. More for winter Texans.
Around Harlingen.
Some of the places I go near Harlingen.
- Combes, Primera and Palm Valley. Right around Harlingen, in Cameron County.
- La Feria and Santa Rosa. West and northwest of town, Cameron County too.
- Rio Hondo. East of Harlingen, still Cameron County.
- Raymondville and Lyford. North, in Willacy County, so I look up that county's plans for you.
- Brownsville. South on the expressway, with an office by appointment. Medicare help in Brownsville
- Weslaco and Mercedes. West, in Hidalgo County. Medicare help in Weslaco
Live somewhere else in Texas? Call me anyway, and we'll talk by phone or Zoom. All the areas I serve.
What people here ask me.
I'm turning 65. Where's the Social Security office?
The Social Security office in Harlingen is on West Jefferson Avenue, near the expressway. Social Security suggests an appointment first, and many people sign up online at ssa.gov. Your window is 7 months around the month you turn 65: turning 65 in June, it runs from March to September. Born on June 1? It moves a month earlier, February to August. More on turning 65.
I go to the VA clinic in Harlingen. Do I need Medicare?
Medicare and the VA are separate, and generally they can't pay for the same visit, so each time you get care, you choose one. Watch Part B: if you skip it and need it later, VA care doesn't protect you from the late penalty. For Part D, VA health care counts as drug coverage, so there's no Part D penalty for that time if you join a drug plan within 63 days after it ends. Bring your VA card, and we'll weigh it together.
I live in La Feria. Do I have to drive into Harlingen?
No. I come to you, in La Feria, Rio Hondo, Santa Rosa or anywhere in the Valley. If you'd rather meet away from home, the Harlingen office is there by appointment.
At your table or at my Harlingen office. You pick.
Call or text me, in English or Spanish, and we'll find a time that works for you.