Medicare · Social Security timing · Long-term care · Moab, Monticello & Grand Junction
More than just Medicare.
Medicare is where we start — not where we stop. We help you compare and enroll in the right plan, understand how Social Security and Medicare timing fit together, and plan for long-term care — all coordinated with your financial advisor. Insurance companies pay our fee — so you pay nothing for our services.
One plan, not three errands
Medicare, Social Security & long-term care — planned together
These three decisions are connected: your income shapes your Medicare premiums, your claiming age shapes your income, and a long-term care event can undo both. We help you look at the whole picture.
Medicare
Advantage, Supplement (Medigap) and Part D — compared for your doctors, prescriptions and budget, enrolled on time, and reviewed every fall.
Explore Medicare plans →Social Security Planning
When you claim can mean tens of thousands of dollars of difference over a retirement. Meet with us and get a personalized Social Security analysis — your claiming windows, your Medicare premiums (IRMAA), and your retirement income, mapped together.
Get a Social Security analysis →Long-Term Care Planning
Medicare generally doesn't pay for long-term custodial care — and paying out of pocket can drain a lifetime of savings. We build a long-term care analysis around your assets, then walk through traditional and hybrid coverage that protects what you've built.
Get a long-term care analysis →Want all three looked at in one sitting? Book a private, no-cost Retirement & IRMAA Review — 45 minutes, one-on-one with Brian Penner.
Book a Retirement & IRMAA ReviewWhat's your ZIP code?
We start local — plan availability is set by your county.
How old are you?
This tells us which coverage window you're in.
Which best describes you?
Pick one — you can change this anytime.
How often do you see doctors?
Helps us weigh networks vs. freedom.
Do you take prescriptions?
We match your drugs to the lowest-cost plan.
No cost, no pressure. We do not offer every plan available in your area — for all options visit Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE.
How we help
Everything you need, handled with care
Navigate Medicare “red tape”
Parts A, B, C and D, deadlines and paperwork — we translate it all into plain English and handle the legwork.
Understand all your options
Advantage, Supplement (Medigap) and Part D, compared side by side so you can choose with confidence.
Avoid lifetime “gotcha” penalties
Miss a window and you can pay more for the rest of your life. We make sure you enroll on time, every time.
A custom plan for lifetime care
We match coverage to your doctors, prescriptions and budget — and review it every year as your needs change.
All at no cost to you.
How it works
Get the right Medicare plan in 3 steps
Schedule a free conversation
Tell us your doctors, prescriptions and budget. No cost, no pressure — ever.
Get a personal plan comparison
We compare the Medicare Advantage, Medigap and Part D plans we offer against your needs.
Enroll & get ongoing support
We handle enrollment and stay your local advisor for claims, appeals and annual reviews.
Our services
Explore services, plans & options
Medicare Enrollment Assistance
Turning 65 or new to Medicare — we guide every step of your Initial Enrollment.
Plan Comparison
Advantage vs. Supplement vs. Part D, compared for your exact situation.
Annual Coverage Review
Plans change yearly. We check yours every fall so you never overpay.
Social Security & Medicare Timing
Your claiming age and your enrollment window are two different clocks — we map both around your full retirement age.
Long-Term Care Planning
Medicare doesn't pay for most long-term care. We help you plan for that risk before it drains a lifetime of savings.
Retirement Income & IRMAA Awareness
Your income sets your Medicare premiums. We flag IRMAA thresholds and coordinate with your financial advisor.
Claims Support & Appeals
A real, local advocate for when something goes wrong.
Keep Your Doctor
We help confirm your providers and prescriptions are covered before you switch.
Drug Cost Review
Make sure your prescriptions are covered at the lowest total cost among the plans we offer.
Local health picture · CDC county data
Why plan fit matters in Mesa County, CO
The right Medicare plan depends on your health — and conditions like these are common among adults in Mesa County, CO. It's why we check each plan's drug formulary and specialist network against your doctors and prescriptions before you enroll, instead of comparing headline premiums alone.
Share of adults with each condition (crude prevalence). Source: CDC PLACES county estimates, 2025 release — also available for every Utah, Colorado & Arizona county as machine-readable JSON. Education only, not medical advice.
Benefit from decades of experience
Your personal Medicare & insurance consultant
Brian Penner brings a broad understanding of Medicare, Social Security timing, and long-term care planning — and the patience to make sure you understand every option before you decide.
Meet Brian Penner →For financial advisors, CPAs & attorneys
The Medicare desk for your clients
Your clients' Medicare decisions sit inside your financial plan — IRMAA brackets, Roth-conversion timing, HSA wind-downs, turning-65 windows. We handle the Medicare and long-term care side, keep you in the loop, and never touch the investments — at no cost to you or the client.
How the advisor partnership works →Resources
Latest Medicare guidance
How Many Medicare Advantage Plans Are in Salt Lake City?
24 for 2026 — the largest shelf in Utah, tied with Davis County. The official CMS CY2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D landscape file lists 24 Medicare Advantage prescription-drug plans in Salt Lake County from 7 organizations, which is every carrier selling this kind of plan anywhere in Utah; only Salt Lake, Davis and Morgan counties have all 7. (Medicare counts availability by county, not by city, so Sandy, West Valley City and Draper get the same answer.) You will see 31 or 38 quoted elsewhere and those are not wrong — they add Special Needs Plans, Advantage plans sold without drug coverage, and stand-alone Part D plans. We publish the narrower figure and say what it excludes, because the only count that decides anything is the two or three left after you filter for your own doctors and prescriptions. What the big number hides is where these plans actually differ. 17 of the 24 already carry a $0 plan premium — 70.8%, ahead of the 63.6% statewide — so premium eliminates seven plans out of twenty-four and then stops working. And $0 is not free: Medicare.gov says a plan premium is paid “in addition to the Part B premium,” which is $202.90 a month at the standard 2026 rate whether the plan charges anything or not. Star ratings hit the same wall, because the highest overall rating available is 4.5 in Salt Lake County and 4.5 in all 28 Utah counties in the file. The number nobody advertises is the yearly out-of-pocket maximum, and in Salt Lake it runs from $3,500 to $9,250 — a $5,750 gap, the widest in the state, between plans that may both show $0 and both show 4.5 stars. Medicare.gov: “Once you reach your plan’s limit, you’ll pay nothing for covered services for the rest of the year.” Plus how the Wasatch Front compares with Wayne County’s single plan, why the network question has to be asked plan by plan rather than carrier by carrier, and the six-step order that narrows 24 plans to a decision. Education, not advice, from Brian Penner.
Read →
How Do I Check If a 2027 Medicare Plan Covers My Drugs?
You check that plan’s own drug list, one prescription at a time, before you enroll — and you check four separate things, because “covered” and “affordable” are not the same finding. Medicare.gov: “A plan’s list of covered drugs is called a ‘formulary,’” and each plan has its own, so two plans from the same company in Mesa County can answer differently. The latitude plans have is wider than people assume — each list must include at least 2 drugs in the most commonly prescribed categories and classes, “but plans can choose which drugs they’ll offer.” Outside the protected classes (cancer, HIV/AIDS, antidepressants, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, transplant immunosuppressants), the plan decides. So run four gates. Is the drug on the list at all. Which tier — Medicare’s published example runs tier 1 generics, tier 2 preferred brand, tier 3 non-preferred brand, then a specialty tier, and the same drug can sit in different places on two plans that both say yes. What rules are attached — prior authorization, step therapy and quantity limits are all listed by Medicare.gov, and each means time, not denial. And where you fill it, since preferred in-network pharmacies “have agreed to charge less than other pharmacies in your plan’s network” while out-of-network means “you’ll probably have to pay full cost.” The safety net is smaller than its reputation: a transition fill is “a one-time, 30-day supply” of a drug your new plan doesn’t cover or restricts — a bridge to an exception request, not a plan. And the list is not frozen in January: “Plans can change their drug list at any time,” with the protection that your plan “must notify you of any changes to their drug list that affect drugs you’re taking.” Plus the twenty-minute check in order, how a formulary or tiering exception actually works, why diabetes at 8.1% and high blood pressure at 26.6% of Mesa County adults make this the whole ballgame here, and the 2027 numbers CMS has published ($2,400 cap, $700 deductible) versus the plan-level detail it has not. Education, not advice, from Brian Penner.
Read →
What Happens If I Don't Pick a New Medicare Plan for 2027?
You are not left uninsured — you are left in Original Medicare on January 1 with no drug plan, no supplement and no ceiling. Medicare.gov’s own words for a plan whose contract is not renewed: “You’ll be enrolled in Original Medicare if you don’t join another Medicare Advantage Plan before your current plan ends.” So nothing lapses, no form is required, and you can still walk into any Grand Valley facility that takes Medicare. What inaction actually removes is two specific things, and both only bill you in the year that goes wrong. The first is the ceiling. Every Advantage plan sold in Mesa County has a yearly out-of-pocket maximum; Original Medicare alone does not — “There’s no yearly limit on what you pay out-of-pocket, unless you have supplemental coverage.” Against 2026’s verified figures that means $202.90 a month in Part B premium, a $283 Part B deductible, a $1,736 Part A hospital deductible per benefit period rather than per year, and then 20% of the cost of each covered service with nothing standing behind it. Twenty percent of an office visit is a nuisance. Twenty percent of a cardiac admission is not. The second is drug coverage, and it charges twice: retail at the counter from January 1, plus a permanent late enrollment penalty of 1% of the national base beneficiary premium — CMS has set that at $41.33 for 2027 — for every full uncovered month, added for as long as you have drug coverage even if you switch plans later. Twelve months works out to about $4.96 a month, forever, from an envelope left on a counter. But the piece almost nobody knows is that defaulting does not close your options — it quietly opens one. A non-renewed plan carries a Special Enrollment Period from December 8 through the last day of February, and the guaranteed-issue Medigap window runs up to 63 days after your coverage ends with one condition: “You only have this right if you switch to Original Medicare.” Someone who did nothing has satisfied that condition without meaning to, and Colorado has no birthday rule, so this is one of the few no-underwriting doors most people will ever get. Plus why December is the calm door and February is the expensive one, and the six things to do with the letter. Education, not advice, from Brian Penner.
Read →Got questions?
We have lots of great answers
What if I’m already on Medicare?
We can still help — at no cost. We’ll review your current coverage, check that your doctors and prescriptions are covered, and compare it against the plans we offer to see if you could be paying less or getting more.
Do you charge for your time?
No. Insurance companies pay our fee, so you don’t pay a thing for our services. You get unbiased, local guidance at no cost to you.
What are “lifetime penalties”?
If you don’t enroll in Medicare Part B or Part D when you’re first eligible (and don’t have other qualifying coverage), you can owe a permanent late-enrollment penalty added to your premium for as long as you have Medicare. We make sure you enroll in the right window so you avoid them.
Is it true I could lose my doctor?
Some Medicare Advantage plans use provider networks, so the wrong plan could mean your doctor is out of network. Before you enroll, we confirm your physicians and prescriptions are covered by the plan you choose.
What about additional coverages?
Beyond core Medicare, we can help with dental, vision and hearing, hospital indemnity, and life or final-expense coverage — so the gaps Medicare leaves are covered too.
Do you only help with Medicare?
Medicare is our focus, but it's not where we stop. We also help with Social Security and Medicare timing education, long-term care planning, life and final-expense coverage, and annuities — coordinated with your financial advisor, CPA, or attorney so your healthcare and your retirement plan work together instead of in separate silos.
Let’s connect
Get your free, personalized Medicare roadmap from a local advisor who has your back.
Official Medicare sources
Verify current-year figures with the federal sources: Medicare.gov, Medicare Plan Compare, Social Security (ssa.gov), and CMS.gov. Education only — we do not offer every plan available in your area.
Last updated . Maintained by the Medicare On Main Data Desk · reviewed by Brian Penner, Independent Medicare advisor (NPN 16493717).