Your doctors first
Networks and formularies get checked before any plan is discussed. A cheaper premium is not cheaper if your specialist is out of network.
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An independent agent, not a call centre
Irwin Health & Life Insurance is an independent agency in Garrettsville, Ohio, specializing in Medicare and senior coverage across twelve Northeast Ohio counties.
Most people meet Medicare at a stressful moment — a birthday approaching, a disability determination, a spouse's retirement, or a letter announcing that the plan they have had for years is changing. That is a poor time to be handed a stack of brochures and left to sort it out alone.
This agency exists to be the person you call instead. I am an independent agent, appointed with many of the major carriers serving Ohio, which means I am able to compare rather than recommend the only thing I have. My work is concentrated on senior coverage: people turning 65, people already on Medicare, people who have Medicare through disability, and people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
What independent actually means
A captive agent works for one company. When you ask which plan is best, the honest answer they can give is which of their plans is best — a much smaller question. Being independent means I can put several carriers side by side and let your own doctors, prescriptions and budget decide the outcome.
I write policies with Aetna, Anthem, UnitedHealthcare and its AARP-branded plans, Medical Mutual, Humana, Coventry, Summa, Allwell, Medico, Cigna and Liberty Bankers. Which of those are available to you depends on your county and the plan year, and that is one of the first things I check.
- Aetna
- Anthem
- UnitedHealthcare (AARP)
- Medical Mutual
- Humana
- Coventry
- Summa
- Allwell
- Medico
- Cigna
- Liberty Bankers
How I work
- I start with your doctors and your drugs. Not with a plan. If your cardiologist is out of network or your prescription is off the formulary, nothing else about that plan matters.
- I will come to you. Kitchen tables work better than offices for this. I travel across twelve Northeast Ohio counties, and I am equally happy to do it over the phone if that is easier.
- I explain the trade-off, not just the benefit. Every plan gives something up. You should hear what it is from me rather than discover it at a specialist's front desk.
- I review it every year. Plans change their networks, formularies and costs annually. The plan that was right for you in 2024 may be the wrong one now, and the only way to know is to look.
- I answer the phone in February. Plenty of agents are attentive during enrollment season and unreachable afterwards. The value of a local agent is the other ten months.
Who I work with most
People turning 65. The single most valuable conversation, because the decisions made in that seven-month window affect what you are able to buy for the rest of your life — particularly where Medicare Supplement plans and medical underwriting are concerned.
People already on Medicare. Usually because something changed: a new diagnosis, a new prescription, a doctor who left the network, a premium that jumped, or an Annual Notice of Change letter that was hard to decipher.
People on Medicare through disability. If you are under 65 and on Medicare because of a disability determination, your options are real but narrower, and Ohio's rules around Medicare Supplement eligibility before 65 deserve a careful walk-through.
People with both Medicare and Medicaid. Being dual eligible opens up plans and assistance programs built specifically for that situation, and it usually gives you far more flexibility to change plans during the year than other beneficiaries have.
What this costs you
Nothing. Agent compensation is paid by the insurance carrier, and Medicare plan premiums are filed and regulated — the price is identical whether you enroll through me, through a national call centre, or entirely on your own. The difference is not the price. It is whether somebody checked your prescription list before you signed, and whether there is a name and a phone number to call when something goes wrong.
Licensed in Ohio
Insurance agents in this state are licensed and regulated by the Ohio Department of Insurance, which also operates a consumer hotline and the Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP), a free counselling service for Medicare beneficiaries. I point people toward OSHIIP regularly. A well-informed client is easier to work with, not harder.
What guides the work
Four things I hold to
Say the downside
Every plan trades something away. You will hear what it is from me, in advance, in plain words.
No pressure, ever
If your current plan is the right one, I will tell you to keep it. Seniors get pushed hard enough by everyone else.
Still here in February
Enrollment is the easy part. Being reachable when a claim is denied or a drug changes tier is the actual service.
The area
Garrettsville and Northeast Ohio
Garrettsville sits in northern Portage County, in the middle of a region that runs from the Cleveland and Akron suburbs east through Geauga and Ashtabula and south into the Mahoning Valley. It is a mix of small villages, farm country, and towns still shaped by the industry that built them.
Medicare is intensely local. Advantage and Part D plans are approved county by county, so what is available in Portage County is not automatically available in Trumbull or Geauga. Knowing the region is a practical part of the job, not a marketing line.
Counties served
- Portage
- Trumbull
- Geauga
- Summit
- Cuyahoga
- Mahoning
- Ashtabula
- Lake
- Stark
- Medina
- Columbiana
- Wayne
Have your plan looked at by a person
Bring your Medicare card and your prescription list. I will tell you plainly whether what you have is right, and if it is, I will tell you to keep it.
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
Irwin Health & Life Insurance is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. This site is intended as general information and as a solicitation for insurance. A licensed agent may contact you.