Douglas B. Jones, CLU, RHU

Medicare snuck up on me just as it does with most Americans. As a long-time health insurance professional, I was expected by friends and clients to be ahead of the curve. Turns out I needed to educate myself on this complex subject in order to be able to offer solid advice. After graduation from the University of Arizona I joined my family’s John Hancock insurance agency in Chicago’s Loop. Even though life insurance sales with the John Hancock was a 3-generation family calling, I found more satisfaction in helping clients with their health insurance needs. Eventually the company stopped offering those products so I left to pursue my mission with other companies. Decades later at a social event, I was asked by several people for a short version of my Medicare advice. They assumed I must be an expert since we were all rapidly approaching age 65. That was the catalyst that convinced me to learn what Medicare was all about. After a period of study, I formed some conclusions that are directly at odds with other Medicare advisors. One evening a couple of longtime friends came over to act as my Guinea pigs. The wife, ever the serious student, was lugging all of the printed material they had received and expected me to educate them on every one of the Medicare options available in our area. The husband was mostly interested in the beer I offered. His opinion was that this whole Medicare decision process was an unpleasant inconvenience that should end quickly. Very soon, these friends had a complete grasp of my best Medicare advice and the reasons behind it. They were stunned that the whole thing could be boiled down to such a simple conclusion. As they discovered, the most time-consuming part of the process was completing the insurance paperwork. That evening set the pattern for virtually all of my subsequent encounters with Medicare eligible citizens. Years later it occurred to me that the same process could be offered to everyone in the country who was staring down the barrel of Medicare. Thus, was born Medicare for the Lazy Man!