Medicare seminar to be held in Graham next week

With the Medicare open enrollment period approaching on Oct. 15, those planning to enroll for 2019 coverage might be wondering: what plans are available to me and which plan is the best for me? These questions and more will be answered at a seminar on Oct. 15.

“Medicare 101: Preparing for Open Enrollment” is an informational seminar that will be hosted at the Graham Senior Center in Graham, Texas, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

American Family Solutions is sponsoring the seminar and is a company knowledgeable on all types of insurance and all things Medicare.

“We are a seniorneeds organization with multiple locations throughout the Midwest, anywhere from Texas to Colorado,” Founder and CEO Brian Flanagan said. “We really focus on the senior market, but we offer a wide range of insurance plans for all ages with health, life and retirement.”

Flanagan said the company typically holds seminars near the open enrollment period to provide extensive education to those enrolling, especially for older adults enrolling in Medicare plans.

“We educate seniors on the differences in all these plans and help guide them,” he said. “[The savings] you can find with different companies on the exact same plan is an entire change in lifestyle for someone who is retired and on a fixed income.”

Growing up on his grandparent’s farm and seeing his family’s experience has shown Flanagan the daily struggle Americans face with affording health care. This is what inspired him to begin the company three years ago, he said.

The company, as an insurance broker, is affiliated with more than 30 of leading insurance carriers in the Medicare, life and retirement market, and works one-on-one with clients to find the best plan to fit their life, Flanagan said. The company is unique in that service is designed for the client to build a relationship with their advisor by meeting in person to fit the client’s specific needs.

“I am not only going to tell you the pros and cons of any situation, but, whenever I give you my professional advice, I’m going to treat you like you were my mother or my father,” Flanagan said. “In serving a small area, there is so much more value to having someone who can sit down with you and explain things in person, versus learning about a policy through the mail or through a telemarketer that you’ll never speak to again.”

American Family Solutions employee and Graham resident Tony Nickel is the representative for Young County and the surrounding areas. His wife teaches school in Olney, his daughter attends school in Newcastle and he has been a church pastor in Graham for almost three decades.

Nickel said these experiences have opened his eyes to the struggles his community faces and sees working with the company as just another way to serve.

“My entire adult life has just been about helping people and pointing people in the right direction,” he said. “To me, this is as much ministry as it is [insurance specialty.]”

Flanagan said the company is not working for themselves but for their clients.

“At American Family Solutions, our slogan is ‘where family comes first.’” He said. “When we say that, we mean it.”