On Medicaid and turning 65? I'll help you choose a Medicare plan that coordinates with both. Coordinating Medicaid + Medicare →
Shoreline & Sound
Call Amanda (203) 350·2026 Book a call →
Medicare specialist · Madison, CT

Medicare,
without the
mailbox flood.

I'm Amanda Swain — a Connecticut-licensed insurance agent certified each year to sell Medicare plans, appointed with multiple Connecticut Medicare carriers (NPN 10147551). I help shoreline families through Initial Enrollment, the Annual Election Period, and Special Enrollment situations. I'll explain the four parts of Medicare, compare Original Medicare against Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplemental policies (Medigap). Make sure your doctors and prescriptions are covered, and tell you straight which plan structure fits — including when the right answer is to leave your current plan alone.

Free 30-min Medicare review → Or read the turning-65 guide
25+ Years writing Medicare on the shoreline
Multi Carrier appointments · CT licensed
$0 For the consultation · carriers pay me
In this section: Turning 65 Medicare Advantage Medigap (Supplement) Prescription drug plans (Part D) Medicare vs. Medicaid
No. 01 — Who I help with Medicare

Most of the Medicare clients in my practice fit one of these four spots.

01

The retiree in Madison three months out from her 65th birthday, working through Initial Enrollment Period timing and weighing Original Medicare + Medigap against a Medicare Advantage MAPD plan.

IEP · Plan structure
02

The couple in Old Saybrook who chose an Advantage plan at 65, want to move to Medigap now that they're 70 — and need to know whether Connecticut's underwriting rules still let them switch without medical questions.

Plan switch · Guaranteed issue
03

The Electric Boat retiree in Groton with a long medication list, looking for the lowest total-annual-cost Part D plan once formulary tiers, deductibles, and the new $2,000 out-of-pocket cap are factored in.

Part D · Formulary fit
04

The 78-year-old in New London on a fixed Social Security check, eligible for the Medicare Savings Programs and a Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) that would close most of the 20% Doctor coverage gap.

Dual-eligible · D-SNP placement
No. 02 — The four parts

Medicare in plain English — the four parts, what each does.

A

Part A
(Hospital)

Inpatient hospital, skilled nursing (limited), hospice, some home health. Free for most who paid Medicare taxes for 10+ years.

When to enroll B

Part B
(Doctor)

Doctor visits, outpatient, preventive care, durable medical equipment. About $185/month in 2026 (more if higher-income).

Premium & coverage C

Part C
(Advantage)

Private bundled plans replacing Original Medicare. Often include drug coverage, dental, vision. Network restrictions apply.

Compare Advantage plans D

Part D
(Prescriptions)

Prescription drug coverage. Stand-alone if you have Original + Supplement, or bundled into most Advantage plans.

Prescription drug plan finder
Plus the optional fifth piece

Already 64 and getting Medicare mail by the bushel? Send me your situation and I'll tell you what to do, in what order. The 30-minute call answers most of it.

Book a 30-min call →
No. 03 — How I run a Medicare review

How my Medicare review works, start to finish.

01

I start with what you actually use.

Bring your prescription list, your doctors, and your ZIP code. I'll run your medications against each plan's formulary on Medicare.gov, check network status for your specific providers, and only then talk premiums. Most "best Medicare plan" articles are useless because they don't know whether your cardiologist accepts the plan they're recommending.

02

I'm multi-carrier appointed.

I'm appointed with multiple Medicare Advantage and PDP carriers in Connecticut and recertify with each one annually (AHIP plus carrier-specific certifications). I'm not a captive agent. Carriers pay a referral fee that's effectively the same regardless of which plan you choose, so my incentive is to fit, not to push.

03

I tell you when to stay put.

If your current plan is the right plan, I'll tell you that. I run annual reviews each AEP because formularies, premiums, and provider networks shift — not because I want to switch you for the sake of switching. Sometimes the answer is "don't change anything," and that's the answer I give.

No. 04 — Common questions

What new Medicare folks ask first.

I'm 64 and 9 months. When should I enroll?

Your Initial Enrollment Period starts 3 months before the month you turn 65, includes your birthday month, and runs 3 months after — a 7-month window. The cleanest path is to enroll in the 3 months before your birthday so coverage starts the first day of your 65th-birthday month.

Read the turning-65 guide for the full timeline.

Original Medicare or Advantage?

It depends on three things: how much you travel, how often you see specialists out of network, and how much variability you can absorb in a high-care year. Original Medicare + a Medigap policy + a stand-alone Part D plan typically costs more in monthly premiums but covers nearly everything with very predictable out-of-pocket. Medicare Advantage (MAPD) typically has lower premiums (often $0) but uses networks and has higher cost-sharing up to the plan's annual maximum out-of-pocket (MOOP). I'll walk through your situation specifically — doctors, prescriptions, travel, ZIP code — before recommending either.

Can I keep my doctor?

With Original Medicare, almost any provider in the U.S. that accepts Medicare assignment will see you. With a Medicare Advantage plan, you're inside that carrier's network — HMO or PPO. I run a network check on your specific doctors against each plan's directory before I recommend anything. If your cardiologist or oncologist is out of network, the plan is a non-starter, full stop.

Why do I get so much mail?

Carriers and lead-gen marketers can mail you starting around your 64th birthday. Once one of them has your name, others follow. Once I'm your agent of record, the mailings don't stop arriving — but you have someone to ask whether a given "limited time offer" is real, compliant under CMS marketing rules, or worth opening. (Usually it's none of the three.)

What about prescription coverage?

Required for most people. Either bundled inside a Medicare Advantage plan (MAPD) or stand-alone Part D (PDP) if you have Original Medicare. Each fall during AEP I run a formulary check on Medicare.gov's official Plan Finder against your actual prescription list — the lowest total-cost plan changes most years because tiers, copays, and the Inflation Reduction Act $2,000 out-of-pocket cap interact differently per drug. More on Part D here.

I'm working past 65. Do I need to enroll?

It depends on employer size and whether you have credible coverage. If your employer has 20+ employees and you're staying on the company plan, you can usually defer Doctor coverage (Part B) without a late-enrollment penalty under a Special Enrollment Period when you do retire. Under 20 employees, Medicare is generally primary — you typically need Part B at 65 even if you keep the employer plan. HSA contributions also have to stop the month you enroll in any part of Medicare. This is one of the more expensive areas to get wrong; I coordinate employer coverage with Medicare regularly — book a call 4–6 months before your 65th birthday.

Amanda Swain, local insurance agent on the Connecticut shoreline
Shoreline & Sound
Vol. 01 · 2026
A practice on the Shoreline.
Amanda Swain · Madison, CT 25 years
A note from Amanda

Medicare is the line of work I'm busiest on.

The shoreline is older than Connecticut as a whole. Madison, Old Saybrook, Old Lyme, Guilford, Stonington — these towns skew 60+. I've worked Medicare enrollments here for two decades. I've watched the Advantage market grow from a curiosity into the dominant choice; I've watched Part D go from new and confusing to old and still confusing; and I've watched neighbors get talked into the wrong plan by phone-bank salespeople who don't live here, can't pull a Plan Finder report on their actual drug list, and won't be around when something goes wrong with a claim.

When you call me about Medicare, you get me. I'll run your prescriptions through the Medicare.gov Plan Finder, check provider networks for your specific doctors, walk through Original-vs-Advantage tradeoffs against your specific situation, and make a recommendation. I'll do that review every fall during AEP — whether or not you switch plans. The consultation is free; carriers pay the agent's commission, and that fee is structured so I don't have a financial reason to push one carrier over another.

— Amanda SwainLicensed CT Insurance Agent · Certified to sell Medicare plans · NPN 10147551
Free · 30 minutes · Bring your prescriptions

Let's pick the right Medicare plan, once.

I'll check your doctors against each plan's network, run your prescriptions through Medicare.gov's Plan Finder, compare total annual cost across carriers, and tell you which plan actually fits your situation — not the one with the best commission.

Book a call → (203) 350·2026

In person · By phone · By video