Medicare help that comes to you in Mission.
I'm Erick Vallarino, an insurance agent here in the Valley. I don't have an office in Mission, so I come to you: your kitchen table, your mom's house, wherever is easiest. My help costs you nothing.
I come to you.
Most of the time, we meet at your kitchen table, whether you live off Conway, off Shary or in one of Mission's RV parks. Have your Medicare card, your medicines and your doctors' names ready, and bring anyone you want. I only come when you invite me, and we talk about what you asked to talk about.
Rather meet at an office? I see people at my McAllen office, right next door, by appointment. Or we can do it all by phone or on a Zoom video call.
Wherever we meet, I look up your doctors and your medicines in each plan I offer in Hidalgo County, before you choose, not after the bill comes. I don't offer every plan, and if you're better off staying where you are, I'll tell you. The insurance company pays me, not you, and for Medicare Advantage and drug plans, Medicare sets a limit on what a plan can pay an agent. The choice is always yours.
Towns around Mission.
Mission sits on the west side of Hidalgo County. These neighbors are in Hidalgo County too, so I look up that county's plans for you, and I'll come out to any of them.
- Palmview and Palmhurst. Right on Mission's west and north edges.
- Alton. Just north, up past Palmhurst.
- Peñitas, La Joya and Sullivan City. Out west, toward the Starr County line.
- Granjeno. Down by the river.
- McAllen. Next door to the east, with an office by appointment. Medicare in McAllen
- Edinburg. The county seat, a short drive away. Medicare in Edinburg
Rio Grande City and Roma are in Starr County, the next county west, so their plans are looked up for Starr County, not Hidalgo. I help there too. Town not listed? Call me anyway. All the areas I serve.
Spending the winter in Mission?
Welcome back to Mission.
Every winter, Mission's RV and mobile home parks fill up with friends from up north. One thing to know first: 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 your permanent address in Texas?
If Mission is now your permanent home, your choices are the plans for Hidalgo County, and I can help you. If your permanent address is in another state and you want an agent, choose one licensed in your home state. Call me anyway, and I'll tell you honestly what I can and can't do. More for Winter Texans.
Moving here for good?
Moving your permanent home to Mission can give you a Special Enrollment Period, a chance to change plans outside the usual dates. Call me as soon as you know your moving date.
Turning 65, or already on Medicare.
Turning 65 in Mission? When do I sign up?
Your window is seven months: the three months before your birthday month, that month, and the three after. Turn 65 in June, and it runs from March through September. Born on the 1st? It all moves one month earlier. Turning 65, month by month.
Do I have to go to the Social Security office?
Usually not. Signing up online with Social Security is the easiest way, and we can do it together at your table. If you'd rather go in person, call the Social Security office in Mission first for an appointment.
I already have Medicare. When can I change?
Every fall, from October 15 to December 7, you can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or drug plan, and the change starts January 1. With Medicare Advantage, you can also make one change from January 1 to March 31. Send me a picture of your plan's letter about next year, and we'll go over it before December 7. Key dates.
What people here ask me.
I live in Palmview, or out past La Joya. Will you come out that far?
Yes. Whether your address says Mission, Palmview, Alton, Peñitas or La Joya, it's all Hidalgo County, and I'll come to your house.
Can you meet with my mom at her house in Mission and explain it to the whole family?
Of course. I'll sit down with your mom, and with you or anyone she wants there, and explain it in plain words, in English or Spanish. Before I look at her own plan and records, I need her OK, or the OK of someone she has legally named. More questions people ask me.
We cross the Anzalduas bridge to Reynosa to see a doctor. Does Medicare cover that?
Medicare usually doesn't cover health care outside the U.S., except in a few rare cases. Each plan has its own rules about care in Mexico, and they're not all the same. If you cross often, tell me, and we'll check that in each plan before you choose, not after you get a bill.
Mission is close. I'll come to you.
Call or text me, in English or Spanish, and we'll pick a day and a time. My help costs you nothing.