Turn 65 in South Carolina and the mail starts before the birthday cards do. Postcards from insurance companies you have never heard of. Official-looking envelopes that turn out to be ads. Phone calls at dinner. By the time most people in Lexington, Columbia, Irmo, or Chapin sit down with us, they are not confused because they know too little about Medicare — they are overwhelmed because everyone is telling them something different.

So we put everything in one place.

The Mauldin Medicare Toolkit is a free, 21-page guide that walks through Medicare the way we explain it across the desk in our Lexington office: in plain language, one decision at a time, with pictures instead of fine print. No email address required, no sales pitch inside. Download it, print it, stick it on the refrigerator.

Download the free Medicare Toolkit (PDF)

What's inside

• The four parts of Medicare — A, B, C, and D — mapped out on one page, so you can finally see how they fit together
• The one big decision: Medicare Supplement (Medigap) or Medicare Advantage — shown as a simple flowchart, with the honest trade-offs of each path
• Why Original Medicare alone is risky: your share is 20% of the bill, and there is no cap on it — we show what that looks like on a $50,000 hospital bill
• Every enrollment window that matters: your seven-month Initial Enrollment Period, the fall Annual Enrollment Period, and the Special Enrollment Periods most people don't know they qualify for
• A working-past-65 section — because the right move is different depending on whether your company has more or fewer than 20 employees
• A one-page appointment checklist: the three things to bring so any agent (us or anyone else) can actually compare plans against your real doctors and prescriptions

A few things the toolkit clears up

These are the misunderstandings that cost people real money, year after year:

There is no out-of-pocket maximum on Original Medicare. Twenty percent of a small bill is an annoyance. Twenty percent of a long hospital stay can undo years of careful saving. That is why nearly everyone adds coverage on top of Parts A and B.

Medigap and Medicare Advantage do not mix. You carry one or the other, never both — and switching from Advantage back to Medigap later can be harder than people expect.

COBRA does not count as employer coverage for Medicare enrollment purposes. Retirees who lean on COBRA past 65 can end up with a late penalty that follows them for life. [LINK: our COBRA and Medicare post]

Your enrollment window is seven months, not seven years. Three months before your birthday month, your birthday month, and three months after. Enroll in the first three and your coverage is ready the day you are eligible.

Who this guide is for

If any of these sound like you, the toolkit was written with you in mind: you turn 65 in the next year or two; you are working past 65 and wondering whether to take Part B yet; you are retiring to South Carolina and your old coverage is not coming with you; or you are helping a parent sort through a kitchen table full of Medicare mail.

Download the free Medicare Toolkit (PDF)

Read it, then bring us your questions

The toolkit will get you oriented. What it cannot do is tell you which specific plan fits your doctors, your prescriptions, and your budget here in the Midlands — that takes a conversation, and running your actual drug list against the plans available where you live. That part is what we do all day, and it never costs you anything.

Call or text Jennifer at (843) 509-2462 or Ben at (803) 920-8827, or stop by and see us in Lexington. In person, by phone, or by text — whichever suits you best.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Medicare Toolkit really free? Yes — free to download and free to share, with no email address required. Our help is free too: like most independent agencies, we are paid by the insurance companies, not by you, and the premium is the same whether you use an agent or not.

When should I sign up for Medicare in South Carolina? Your Initial Enrollment Period runs seven months, centered on the month you turn 65. If you are not automatically enrolled, our advice is to sign up in the first three months so coverage is ready the day you are eligible. Working past 65 with employer coverage? Different answer — page 16 of the toolkit walks through it.

Do I have to be in Lexington to work with you? No. We serve clients across South Carolina, and most of what we do works just as well by phone or text as it does across the desk.