Local Agent Specializes In Health Insurance….And Horses

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

Mary Bundy considers herself primarily as an educator. And given the state of the health insurance industry; especially that for seniors; there is a lot of education needed out there.

Bundy is an licensed insurance broker specializing in Medicare and other health insurance products with Medicare & Healthcare Advisors in Mesquite.

“Let’s face it, Medicare is a complex labyrinth of confusion,” Bundy said in an interview last week. “There are a lot of options out there and making the best choice is really dependent upon each person’s individual circumstances.

Bundy explained that unique factors in the decision can include elements like the client’s age, health condition, prescription medications they might need and more.

Bundy usually spends upwards of an hour or more with each client, asking questions and finding out about their individual circumstances. Then she can assess which of the myriad of health insurance plans and supplements at her disposal that might best suit that individual client.

“It is so important to be able to ask the right questions, educate the client on their options, and to take the time to get it right,” Bundy said. “Because if you miss something, it can really make a big difference.”

Bundy has been working as a Medicare agent for the past three years. She initially began working from her own office in Mesquite. A short time later, she met Jim Belnap, owner of Medicare & Healthcare Advisors and the twodecided it would be better to combine forces and work out of the same office.

Bundy and Belnap are independent health insurance brokers. They are not captive agents representing just one insurance company. That means they can access more than a dozen different health insurance products in advising their clients.

“I like that,” Bundy said. “It means that we have a lot more options open to us and we can get creative.”

Bundy grew up in various communities in the northwestern United States including California, Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming. Eventually, she married Dorian Bundy of St. George where the couple now reside.

They have been married for seven years. Dorian is related only distantly to the well-known Cliven Bundy clan of Bunkerville, Mary said.

Mary and Dorian love horses. They rent a large ranch property just north of St. George where they have a riding arena where they practice diligently each morning. Mary does barrel racing and Dorian, team roping.

The couple have plans to move to southern Nevada in the near future. “This is definitely where we want to end up,” Mary said. “We love it down here and plan to move here as soon as we can find the right place to live; a horse property, of course.”

Other than riding her horses, helping people through the complexities of the health insurance process is one of Mary’s favorite things to do.

“It is just fun for me to take somebody through this process,” she said. “To start out and look at their whole situation and then, step-by-step, find just the right product for them that makes their coverage better and also leaves a little money in their pocket at the end of the day; it is very gratifying.”

Bundy reminds Medicare customers, as well as under-65 Affordable Care Act customers, that an important time period will be getting underway in the near future. October is the open enrollment period. It is a time when people can review their current programs, determine if they are still meeting their needs adequately, and make any changes in plans that are necessary.

Bundy said that it doesn’t hurt to review plans every year at this time just to make sure that you are current and in the best plan for you.

“The various plans will be sending out all of the detailed information about changes to each plan,” Bundy said. “So people will get it, but sometimes all that material is difficult to decode. We can help.”

In addition, Bundy likes to be proactive for her clients. “When I see a big change in one of the plans coming down the line, I will call all my clients on that plan to let them know about how it affects them and to schedule them to come in and make a change if needed,” she said.

Things get pretty busy at Medicare & Healthcare Advisors in October, Bundy said. So it might be a good time now for people to call ahead and schedule an October consultation before the rush is on, she said.

Consultations at Medicare & Healthcare Advisors are free. Bundy and Belnap are reimbursed for their services, not by their clients, but by the insurance plans. So there is no additional cost to the customer for their help.

Medicare & Healthcare Advisors office is located at 561 W. Mesquite Blvd. #9 in the Sun Valley Plaza. Bundy can be reached by calling the office at 702-344-5832 or by email at marywbundy@gmail.com.