Medicare help in Alabama from a licensed independent agent
I'm John Morrison, an independent insurance agent licensed in Alabama (NPN 3680444), based in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, and not connected with or endorsed by Medicare, the Alabama Department of Insurance, or any government agency.
How I work with folks in Alabama.
In Alabama, when you buy a Medicare Supplement matters. Federal law and Alabama regulation both give you a six-month Medigap window once you are 65 and have Part B, and I help you see it coming. I also help with Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans, and with lining up Medicare dates around your retirement.
Alabama also has free counseling through its State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), run by the Alabama Department of Senior Services.
Medicare in Alabama: what's different here
The Alabama rules I watch most closely are about Medicare Supplements: who a company has to sell one to, and when. Here is what I found, checked in September 2026.
What it means for you: if you are under 65 and on Medicare because of a disability, a Medigap company may ask health questions, so we look at what's open to you now and mark the date your window opens at 65. Once you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B, that six-month window is when we look at Medigap. If you delay Part B while working, the window waits for Part B. Other rights may apply in specific situations. One federal example: if you joined a Medicare Advantage Plan when you were first eligible at 65, and within the first 12 months of joining you decide to switch to Original Medicare, you can drop the plan and may have special rights to buy a Medigap policy.
- Under 65 on Medicare because of a disability: in Alabama, Medigap is not guaranteed issue for you, meaning a company does not have to sell you a policy. It may ask about your health and may say no.
- Turning 65 with Part B: federal law, and Alabama's own regulation, give you a six-month window, starting the first month you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B, when a Medigap company cannot turn you down or charge more for health reasons.
- Free look: you have 30 days from the day a new Medigap policy is delivered to cancel in writing, and the company must refund all premiums you paid.
- Paying for Medigap: the Alabama Department of Insurance says never pay cash. Pay by check, money order, or bank draft made out to the insurance company, not the agent.
- As of 2026, about two-thirds of Alabamians with Part A and Part B were in a Medicare Advantage plan, per KFF.
Turning 65 in Alabama: key Medicare dates
My part is the timing: I map these dates against your retirement date and employer coverage. To sign up for Part A and Part B, you contact Social Security, online at ssa.gov/medicare/sign-up or through your local office, and I'll tell you when to make that call.
- Initial Enrollment Period: 7 months. It starts 3 months before the month you turn 65 and ends 3 months after it.
- Working past 65 with employer group coverage through a current job (yours or your spouse's)? You can generally delay Part B without a late penalty. Once you stop working, or lose that coverage if that happens first, you have an 8-month Special Enrollment Period to sign up for Part B.
- Medigap open enrollment: a six-month window under federal law and Alabama regulation, explained above.
- Medicare Open Enrollment: October 15–December 7 each year; changes start January 1.
- Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1–March 31, only if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, and you get one change.
- General Enrollment: January 1–March 31, if you missed your Initial Enrollment Period. Coverage starts the month after you sign up.
- Moving: if you move out of your plan's service area, or within it to a place with new plan options, you generally get a Special Enrollment Period to switch Medicare Advantage or drug plans. It runs until 2 full months after the move.
Help paying for Medicare in Alabama
Alabama Medicaid runs three Medicare Savings Programs for lower-income people with Medicare: Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB), and Qualifying Individual (QI-1). They pay Medicare premiums and, in some cases, deductibles and coinsurance. QMB goes further: it pays the Part B premium, covers the Medicare deductible, and arranges with providers who accept Medicaid so you do not owe the coinsurance after Medicare pays. QI-1 pays the Part B premium only, and its funding is limited, so once the year's money runs out no more applications are approved.
Alabama also has SenioRx, a state prescription assistance program from the Alabama Department of Senior Services that may help eligible residents, including some people with Medicare and people in Medicare's 24-month disability waiting period, get medications at low or no cost.
I don't decide eligibility for any of these; I point you to the right office and explain how qualifying changes which plan makes sense.
Working with me from Alabama
I work with people across Alabama, from Huntsville and Florence–Muscle Shoals down through Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery to Auburn–Opelika, Dothan, and Mobile. Northeast Alabama is close enough to my home base in Soddy Daisy, near Chattanooga, that we can meet in person; for the rest of the state we work by phone or video.
The Alabama Department of Insurance regulates insurance agents in the state. Its Consumer Services division is at 334-241-4141 or toll-free 1-800-433-3966. You can also file a consumer complaint or report suspected insurance fraud with the Department.
I'm licensed only in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
What I can help with in Alabama.
The same six things I help every client with, explained one at a time. Pick the one you’re wondering about.
Medicare Advantage in Alabama
If you're weighing Medicare Advantage, we start by checking your doctors against the networks of the plans we look at together.
Read more about Medicare AdvantagePrescription Drug Plans in Alabama
Alabama's SenioRx program may help eligible residents, including people in Medicare's 24-month disability waiting period, get medications at low or no cost.
Read more about Prescription Drug PlansMedicare Supplements in Alabama
In Alabama, if you are under 65 on Medicare because of a disability, a Medigap company does not have to sell you a policy. Once you are 65 or older and enrolled in Part B, you get a six-month window when a company cannot turn you down or charge more for health reasons, so we plan around that date.
Read more about Medicare SupplementsSS & Medicare Enrollment in Alabama
The soup-to-nuts walk-through. The thing nobody else does.
Read more about SS & Medicare EnrollmentLife Insurance in Alabama
Take care of family. Take care of the bill. No drama.
Read more about Life InsuranceAnnuities in Alabama
I'm licensed. I don't push. If you ask, we'll talk. If you don't, we won't.
Read more about AnnuitiesPlan availability varies by state and county. Final recommendations are individualized to each client's situation.
Free, official help in Alabama.
These are government and nonprofit offices, not sales lines. I point clients to them all the time, and I’d rather you hear the rules from them too than take my word alone.
- Alabama SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program)
Free Medicare counseling from the Alabama Department of Senior Services; counselors do not work for any insurance company and will not sell you a policy.
- Alabama Department of Insurance, Consumer Services
Regulates agents and Medigap in Alabama and takes consumer complaints and reports of suspected insurance fraud; local number 334-241-4141.
- Alabama Medicaid: Medicare Savings Programs
Runs QMB, SLMB, and QI-1, which pay Medicare premiums and in some cases deductibles and coinsurance; Alabama Medicaid decides who qualifies.
- Alabama Senior Medicare Patrol (AL SMP)
Helps people with Medicare and their families prevent, spot, and report Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse.
- Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE
Medicare's own help line, TTY 1-877-486-2048. Medicare.gov is the federal website run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Medicare questions from Alabama
Is John Morrison licensed to help with Medicare in Alabama?
Can I buy a Medicare Supplement in Alabama if I'm under 65 and on Medicare because of a disability?
How do I report suspected Medicare fraud or file an insurance complaint in Alabama?
Who runs the free Medicare counseling program in Alabama, and how do I reach them?
Where do I apply for a Medicare Savings Program or Extra Help in Alabama?
Do you meet Alabama clients in person, or by phone and video?
Is Southeast Retirement Solutions part of Medicare or the Alabama government?
Where these facts come from
Checked against these official pages in September 2026. Medicare rules change every year, so if something here looks out of date, call me and I’ll check it for you.
- Medicare & Insurance Counseling (SHIP) – Alabama Department of Senior Services
- ALDOI – Shopper's Guide for Health Insurance for Senior Citizens
- ALDOI – Contact Us (Consumer Services)
- ALDOI – Consumers (complaints and fraud reports)
- Alabama Medicaid – Help Paying for Medicare Premiums
- Alabama Insurance Regulation Chapter 482-1-071, Medicare Supplement Insurance Minimum Standards
- ALDOI – Medicare Disability Supplement Information
- ALDOI – Medicare Supplement Insurance FAQs
- ALDOI – Purchasing Medicare Supplement Insurance (Do's and Don'ts)
- Prescription Drug Assistance (SenioRx) – Alabama Department of Senior Services
- KFF – Medicare Advantage in 2026: Enrollment Update and Key Trends
- Alabama Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) – Alabama Department of Senior Services
- When does Medicare coverage start? | Medicare
- Working past 65 | Medicare
- Get ready to buy (Medigap) | Medicare
- Open Enrollment | Medicare
- Understanding Medicare Advantage & Medicare Drug Plan Enrollment Periods (CMS Product No. 11219)
- Special Enrollment Periods | Medicare
- Help with drug costs (Extra Help) | Medicare
- Medicare Savings Programs | Medicare
- About SHIPs | shiphelp.org
- Contact Medicare | Medicare
- Ready to sign up for Part A & Part B | Medicare
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.
Ready to talk? Let’s find 30 minutes.
No pressure. No quotas. I’ll listen, ask a few questions, and if I can help you I’ll tell you how. If I can’t, I’ll tell you that too.
I read every text. Even on Christmas.