Savvy Senior Solutions

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Savvy Senior Solutions

I'm a Medicare-certified health & life insurance agent contracted with multiple carriers to offer many choices. I'm Cheri Head.

I'm also a Registered Social Security Analyst (RSSA®). I help people become savvy about their health insurance & Social Security options.
💙 As a licensed idependent health & life insurance agent, I help seniors navigate the Medicare maze so they can make the best choices for their health care. I am also certified to offer other life and health insurance products. As a Registered Social Security

Analyst, I provide individuals and families a personalized social security maximization analysis so they make the most educated filing choices for their unique situation. This comprehensive analysis is a free offering to my Medicare supplement, Medicare Advantage, and life insurance clients, and a paid service to others.

09/02/2026

Good morning, Sagittarius & Capricorn peeps 🙂

Is your milestone 65th birthday coming up in December? If so, your Medicare Initial Enrollment Period started today, September 1st, and ends March 31, 2027.

If you sign up for Medicare in the next two months, your coverage can start as early as the first day of the month you turn 65.

But SHOULD you or do you HAVE TO sign up for Medicare parts A and/or B now? The answer is: IT DEPENDS. If you have large employer coverage (generally with an employer having 20+ FTE employees), and creditable drug coverage, you MAY be able to wait. But you may not want to. About half of the time, Medicare may give you either better coverage or cost less or both. You don't know until you compare.

Reach out if you want help. You don't know what you don't know...but I do. And my help is completely free, as I'm compensated by insurance carriers when I submit an enrollment on your behalf. The cost is the same whether you use an agent or not. My job is to make sure you know ALL your options and make the process as easy as possible for you.

Also... if you were born on the 1st day of any month....your seven-month Medicare window starts FOUR months before your actual birthday month, not three, and everything is as if you were born in the previous month. Weird, I know.

PS - If you were born in June of 1961, your Initial Enrollment Period ends on September 30th.

08/18/2026

Those of us in the Medicare space are very excited about the announcement this morning from SCAN Health Plan....that they will be partnering with Costco. Who doesn't love SCAN AND Costco??

SCAN has Medicare Advantage plans in six states, California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, New Mexico, and Washington. ** They are not in all counties, **

SCAN Health Plan is not your run-of-the-mill Medicare carrier.

They were founded in 1977 by "twelve angry seniors" in Long Beach, California who wanted better access to the services and support older adults needed to remain healthy and independent at home. Their grassroots effort became the Senior Care Action Network (SCAN), which remains a not-for-profit organization focused on serving older adults today.

BTW, I'm licensed in all of those states except NM and AZ. :)

If you want to explore Medicare and related healthcare/life options, reach out to me. Email [email protected] or call 415 742 6000.

Link in the first comment.

07/20/2026

Ok, listen up if you're on or near Medicare. DO NOT FOLLOW THIS GUY - "Dr Ed, Former SSA Manager" OR TAKE HIS ADVICE. He is CONSISTENTLY and DANGEROUSLY WRONG. I shudder at the people who will follow his advice and end up with huge penalties, miss enrollment periods and more all because he claims to have worked at the SSA.

For example, on one of his recent posts he says "COBRA and Marketplace plans both count as creditable coverage, so either one protects you from the Medicare Part B late penalty as long as you enroll in Medicare within 8 months of losing that coverage."

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE. If you stay on either one at 65 you WILL incur penalties (two of them) that will last you forever!! And there will be no way for you to ever get out of them, unless you go on Medicaid forever.

Stop listening to just anyone on the internet, especially when it comes to Medicare or Social Security. You do not want to make mistakes with either, I promise you.

Rely on smart, ethical licensed independent Medicare-certified agents, not internet hacks who post misinformation every day.

Please share this with people you know who may be affected.

Cheri

07/18/2026

I've followed Dr Greger for years. You can watch his How Not to Die documentary now for free. Pretty cool.

06/13/2026

One of the biggest Medicare mistakes I see people make is when they decide to work past age 65 and assume they can just continue on their employer coverage rather than go onto Medicare.

If you remember just one thing, this is it: ** When you turn 65, and forever afterwards, the government requires you to maintain "creditable" coverage for both medical and prescription drugs or else face lifetime penalties. **

Q - What is considered "creditable" coverage?
A - Either Medicare (Part B-medical and Part D-prescription drugs) or coverage that is deemed as good as Medicare.

Q - How do I know if my coverage is "creditable?"
A - If your employer has 20 or more full-time employees, their group insurance is probably creditable. PROBABLY. If your employer gives you a letter stating that your medical AND prescription drug coverage is creditable, you're fine to stay on their coverage if you wish. If they don't state in writing that your coverage is creditable, or if your employer is small, you need to go onto Medicare when you turn 65.

Q - What happens if I don't maintain creditable medical and drug coverage starting at age 65?
A - You will begin to accrue penalties - one for Part B (medical) and one for Part D (prescription drugs) that will follow you forever.

Q - Can I go onto Medicare when I turn 65 even if I have creditable coverage and want to keep working?
A - Absolutely. That's your right. Given the rise in costs for employer insurance, in many cases you might get better coverage and/or lower prices by going onto Medicare than you are getting with your current employer coverage.

Q - What about Part A? Do I have to sign up for that when I turn 65?
A - Most people are entitled to free Part A because they've worked at least 10 years and paid F**A taxes. If that's you, you aren't required to sign up for your Part A, but it often makes things easier when you later sign up for Part B. HOWEVER, if you have an HSA account, you and your employer should stop making contributions 6 months before you retire so as to avoid tax penalties.

Many mistakes can happen when you decide to work past 65: missing the window to sign up for Medicare when you're coming off employer coverage; not getting the proper form from your employer or filling it out incorrectly; missing the short deadline to get prescription drug coverage if you want to stick with original Medicare; using the wrong Special Enrollment Period when enrolling; choosing one Medicare path without learning about both of them; and many more.

Feel free to reach out to me for help. I'm licensed in CA and 9 other states. My guidance is free and comes with no strings. If you already have a trusted Medicare-certified agent or broker, reach out to them. But please don't rely on the well-meaning advice of friends or coworkers or AI or medical offices or any one insurance company. This is a nuanced system and very easy to mess up!

Cheri

06/11/2026

My latest 5-star Google review. I truly meet the coolest people in my business!

05/12/2026

🤩 Cool Medicare Update That Most People Haven’t Heard About Yet 🤩

A new temporary federal program called the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge is scheduled to begin July 1, 2026, and no one seems to be talking about it, so if you're reading this, you're among the first😄

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝 $𝟓𝟎 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟕.

A few important things to know:

• This is NOT regular Part D coverage
• You must already have a Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage drug plan
• Your insurance company does not need to “opt in”
• Eligibility is based on medical criteria your doctor must certify

Medications currently included in the program:
• Wegovy®
• Foundayo®
• KwikPen® version of Zepbound®

Important financial details:

Part D deductible & spending cap:
This program sits outside the normal Part D benefit structure. That means the $50 you pay does NOT count toward your yearly Part D deductible or the annual $2,100 out-of-pocket prescription drug cap.

Extra Help / LIS:
Extra Help (Low-Income Subsidy) does NOT apply to this program. Even if you normally pay very little for your prescriptions, the $50 copay under this program is currently a fixed amount for everyone.

In general, eligibility requires:
• BMI of 35+
or
• Lower BMI levels combined with certain qualifying health conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, or prior stroke/heart attack

Because this is a medical program, your doctor must submit the approval request.

Have other Medicare questions or issues? Reach out. I help with all things Medicare, and my services are always free with no obligation or strings.

One important note: this is a brand-new federal pilot program, and details may continue to evolve as additional guidance is released.

I'll put a link to the official site in the comments.

~Cheri Head
[email protected]

05/08/2026

**IMPORTANT PSA for those on Medicare and Medi-Cal **

Something is happening right now in Marin County (and certain other California counties where Kaiser has facilities) that is causing difficulties for those who are dual eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal.

👉 During the annual Medi-Cal renewal/redetermination process, PEOPLE ARE BEING AUTOMATICALLY SWITCHED TO KAISER'S MEDI-CAL PLAN from their current Medi-cal plan (which is Partnership HealthPlan in Marin county).

This adversely affects people who have ALL of the following:
• Medicare
• Medi-Cal
• A non-Kaiser Medicare Advantage plan

Why this matters:

If your Medi-Cal switches to Kaiser while your Medicare Advantage plan is non-Kaiser, the two systems will not work smoothly together. This can create problems with:
• Referrals
• Coordinating care
• Accessing certain Medi-Cal-covered services and benefits

⚠️ If you want to KEEP your current non-Kaiser Medicare Advantage plan, your Medi-Cal plan must be Partnership HealthPlan (the only non-Kaiser Medi-Cal plan currently available in Marin County). THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. (If you are in another county, this will be the Medi-Cal plan you have been on.)

Here’s what to do:
When you receive your annual Medi-Cal renewal/redetermination packet,
• Read it carefully and immediately
• The packet often arrives in a yellow envelope around your Medi-Cal anniversary date
• If you meet the critera above, you need to immediately do the following:

📞Call Health Care Options: 1-800-430-4263

Say:

“I want to choose my Medi-Cal health plan and select Partnership HealthPlan.” (or whatever your existing Medi-Cal plan is)

If your Medi-Cal plan has ALREADY been changed to Kaiser and you have a non-Kaiser Medicare Advantage plan, follow the same steps above. If approved, the change back to the other plan will generally take effect on the first day of the following month.

Timing matters. Acting BEFORE the effective date on the letter may prevent the switch.

This issue does NOT automatically change your Medicare Advantage plan, but it can absolutely affect how your coverage works day to day.

If I can help, let me know.

04/19/2026

This email warmed my heart today.

Address

655 Irwin Street #B 1003
San Rafael, CA
94901

Telephone

+14157426000

Website

http://www.savvyseniorsolutions.com/, https://www.facebook.com/vagablonde

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