Medicare help in McAllen, in English or Spanish.
I'm Erick Vallarino, an insurance agent here in the Valley, and a lot of the people I help live in McAllen. I can come to your home anywhere in town, or we can meet at my McAllen office, by appointment. In English or Spanish, and my help costs you nothing.
At your kitchen table, or at my office.
McAllen is the biggest city in Hidalgo County, and many of my clients live here, from the north side, up by Edinburg, to the south side, down toward the border. Most of them would rather I come to the house, so I do. We sit at the kitchen table with the Medicare card, the medicine bottles and the list of doctors, and we take our time.
If an office is easier for you, I have one in McAllen, by appointment only. Call or text first, and we'll pick a time. I also have an office next door in Pharr. Can't meet in person? We can talk on the phone or on Zoom.
When you call, you get me, not a call center or a 1-800 number. If I'm with a client, I call you back.
Plans go by county. McAllen is Hidalgo County.
Medicare Advantage and drug plans are sold county by county. Everyone in McAllen, Mission, Edinburg and Pharr chooses from the same Hidalgo County list, and that list changes every year. Move to Rio Grande City in Starr County, or to Harlingen in Cameron County, and the list can be different.
So I don't start with a plan. I start with you: your doctors, your clinic, your pharmacy and every medicine you take. Then I check all of it against each plan I offer in Hidalgo County, and show you what fits, side by side, in plain words. I don't offer every plan, and if you're better off where you are, I'll tell you.
Every fall, from October 15 to December 7, we look again, because plans change on January 1. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you can also make one change from January 1 to March 31. See all the dates.
Your 7-month window, and where to sign up.
Your window to sign up is 7 months: the 3 months before the month you turn 65, that month, and the 3 months after. If you turn 65 in June, your window runs from March to September. If your birthday is on the 1st of the month, it all moves one month earlier. Turning 65, step by step.
If you start getting Social Security at least 4 months before you turn 65, you get Part A and Part B automatically. If not, you sign up through Social Security. Many people can do it online, and I can sit with you at your kitchen table while you do.
If you'd rather go in person, the Social Security office in McAllen is on North McColl Road, just south of Nolana. Social Security suggests making an appointment before you go, so you don't wait in line. On the west side of town? The Social Security office in Mission may be closer.
Still working in McAllen past 65, or on your spouse's insurance from work? You may be able to wait on Part B. Let's check before you decide anything.
Around McAllen.
- Mission, to the west. I come to your home, or we meet at my McAllen office. Medicare help in Mission
- Edinburg, to the north, the county seat. Same Hidalgo County plans. Medicare help in Edinburg
- Pharr, to the east, where I have another office, by appointment. Medicare help in Pharr
- Alton and Palmview, out to the west, and Hidalgo, the border town just south, across from Reynosa. I come to you there too.
- San Juan and Alamo, just past Pharr. I come to you.
- Anywhere else in Texas. I'm licensed statewide. Farther away? We talk on the phone or on Zoom.
Don't see your town? See everywhere I help, or just call me.
Questions I hear in McAllen.
My mom is moving from Rio Grande City to live with us in McAllen. Does her plan move with her?
Only if her plan is also sold in Hidalgo County. A move to a new county usually opens a window to change plans. It starts when she moves and lasts 2 full months after, or a month earlier if she tells her plan before she moves. I can sit down with her at your house, and you can be there from work, on the phone or on Zoom. I just need her OK first, or the OK of someone she has legally named. More on moving.
My dad crosses to Reynosa a lot. Does that matter for his plan?
It can. Living this close to the border, it's worth asking. Each plan handles care outside the United States in its own way. Tell me how often he crosses and why, and we'll look at that before he chooses, together with his doctors and medicines on this side. More on travel and Mexico.
I spend the winter in McAllen. Can you help me?
Welcome to the Valley! It depends on your permanent address. Medicare Advantage and drug plans go by the state and county where you officially live, not where you spend the winter. If that's Texas, I can help. If it's another state, call me anyway, and I'll tell you honestly what I can and can't do. More for winter Texans.
In McAllen? Let's sit down.
At your kitchen table or at my McAllen office, by appointment. Call or text, even about something small. My help costs you nothing.