Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders, MBA - Interview with Leslie Kaz President & Founder of Syndicated Insurance Agency Discussing The Medicare Maze

Episode Date: June 5, 2026

Leslie Kaz is the President & COO of Syndicated Insurance Agency, LLC — a national Medicare-focused FMO he co-founded in 2004 that now operates across 22 states with a network of over 120 agents and brokers. With over 30 years in the insurance industry and a unique background as a trained chef and café owner, Leslie brings a rare combination of operational depth, business acumen, and genuine passion for people. Under his leadership, Syndicated has grown by over 200% year over year. His mission is straightforward: empower agents to build real businesses and help seniors navigate Medicare with confidence.Learn more: http://www.877VIPQuote.comNot affiliated with the U.S. Government or Federal Medicare Program. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 29 organizations which offer 2694 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your optionshttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-leslie-kaz-president-founder-of-syndicated-insurance-agency-discussing-the-medicare-maze

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of Influential Entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have with us Leslie Kaz, who's founder and president of syndicated insurance agency and will be talking about the Medicare maze. welcome to the program. Thank you. My pleasure to be here today. Hey, I'm looking forward to talking with you because I think that like you phrased the topic, the Medicare maze. It is not just a simple click, click, submit, you're done. This is something that you just really need to understand many of these layers. But before we dive into that, I wanted to find out a little bit more about you and your story and background and how did you get into the industry. Sure. So I had had sales jobs in and out of my life. And one day my president law sent me down. and said, hey, you ever think about doing something in the financial services sector? I'm like, what the hell is that?

He said, oh, you know, it's like insurance? And I said, like auto insurance? That's kind of stupid. I don't want to do that. Well, he's like, no, no, no, there's a bunch of, there's a big world here. And one of the things that you can get involved in is, there's life insurance, there's Medicare, and he kind of suckered me into it. So I got started back in 1993, so it's been just a minute.

I got my start off in training for life insurance with Lincoln National. and then slowly moved over into the Medicare space. I really got into the Medicare space really because my mom. My mom's been a single bomb for most of her life, and I have two older sisters, and she didn't know how to navigate her way through these confusing systems. And so I really decided to take that on

as a personal project of mine, and it's really what drives me. So Medicare's confusing, and my job is to help navigate that system, and that's what I do really well. that's awesome and you know it's not only can it be confusing but then they change the rules and the details and the new features and the all the things like that so it's not just i learned how to play the piano well once you learn how to play the piano you just get better but they don't change the the keys and the octaves and the notes it's just you got to learn it with medicare so many things change from the government and regulations and you know providers so that's kind of where where i feel like it's just this whole deep ocean. Let's talk a little bit about where you start when you're working with someone for the first time. Where do you start in the process of educating

them on what they need to understand about Medicare? Fair. So Medicare, as you mentioned, is offered by the federal government. And they do a great job at making an alphabet soup out of everything. So it's very confusing and hard to figure out what direction will go. So the planning stage for Medicare really should start. I'll back up for the second. So, Medicare typically starts at age 65 and older, unless you're fully disabled and then you could possibly qualify for it. But planning for taking Medicare really should start six to 12 months before you turn 65. That's where the best time, it gives you time to research without having a pressure.

I love those phone calls I get from someone saying, oh, I have to get Medicare. I've got it today. What do I do? Slow down. Let's get some information from you. So it's a process. And there's a lot that goes on with it. There's a lot of moving parts.

As you mentioned, depending on what administration is in office, depending on what changes to Medicare happens. And that's something we got to keep on top of all the time. Yeah. And you mentioned six to 12 months and a lot of financial type of strategies might even require you to be thinking well ahead more than that. But when you mentioned six to 12 months, it made me think of something, A, what needs to be done in those six to 12 months. But B, am I thinking of Medicaid? where you need to kind of deplete assets and resources. So in other words, how does that tie into that, you know, preparing ahead of enrolling?

That's a great question. A lot of people get those two items confused. So Medicaid is for low-income individuals. And that's completely separate. That's offered or handled usually by the states, which we don't or I don't get involved in. Medicare is for those who are elderly, so 65 or older or, again, fully disabled. So there are some financial consequences to making bad decisions within the side of Medicare, which is what we'll talk about.

Some of those issues are late enrollment penalties that people don't know about. So when you're turning 65, you've got about a seven-month window to enroll in Medicare. And it's not automatic. People always think they're like, oh, the government's going to take care of me. No, that's not how it works. You actually have to call and turn that stuff on. and whether or not you call when you're employed or have other coverage makes a huge difference. The seven-month window that I talked about is three months before your birthday, the month of your birthday and three months after your birthday.

That's known as the initial enrollment period. So if you miss that, you get penalized for life. It can get quite expensive. Yeah. Well, not only is it like, oh, you miss the boat and you still can get it, but it's going to cost more or you're going to get less benefits. talk a little bit about that initial enrollment period as it relates to some of those things way down the road like health care and long-term cost. Why is it that if you miss that seven-month window, I mean, why can't it be like, okay, let's just now enroll? What causes that?

Or is it just like it's a government thing? There's a lot that goes into it, actually. The big thing is with insurance, I have insurance. You're talking about the law of large numbers. And so insurance is designed to offset risk. risk. And if I were to choose one person on the crowd and say, what's your risk of getting X, Y, Z, I couldn't really tell you exactly what's going to happen. But when I talk about 100,000 people and the averages, here's what I know is going to happen to, you know, 25% of them or 50% of that.

So the reason why you get involved early, there's a couple of things is, first of all, if you have some ongoing medical conditions, the sooner I treat that for you, the less like it's going to cost a ton of money later on. So longer something goes on. So you can have a lot of, you can hear of someone who has untreated diabetes or untreated heart issues. Once you get full-blown diabetes, that's a big deal. Once your cholesterol goes a certain number, that's a huge deal. So let's get early intervention, get you started with your medical care early on. So that's not going to cost millions of dollars later in the future. Yeah, that's true. That's true. You know, and it's it's kind of like the worst time to study for a test is an hour before the test or

midnight the day before, you know, cramming. So, you know, your retention levels go down. Well, I think it's really important for people not only not to miss this because it can cost more, but it just kind of makes you feel like you can make the right decision and the right frame of mind versus scrambling and reacting, right? Absolutely. You'll notice that when someone turns 64 and a half or about three or four months before the birthday, their mailbox explodes with marketing material, just all sorts of stuff. People need to realize this is not educational tools. These are sales tools and they're not objective guidance at all. It's a sales pitch.

They want you to be afraid and call a phone number. And that's the worst time to make a choice. As you mentioned, it's important to talk to an advisor and figure out what the plan is going down the road. Yeah, when you can calmly say, okay, now this, you know, be expecting this and here's the next step. And you're going to get a whole lot of, you know, things that look official, but they're really not. And here's the way to tell that apart. And then I think that that, you know, still could feel overwhelming. But when when Leslie told me that it's going to happen, I can go, okay, okay.

Now I can expect that. So that's really, really important. Let's talk a little bit about some mistakes people make when choosing some of the options. And I know there's plan A, B, C, D, E, or Advantage or Medigap. Talk a little bit about Medicare Advantage and MediGap from a broad perspective there. Sure. So those are two broad types of coverage. So, and I'll start from the beginning, which is Medicare.

So Medicare is a government-run program has nothing do with private insurance companies. And Medicare itself was designed to only cover 80% of your cost or expenses. That other 20% is your skin in the game. So you've got to pay for that somehow, some way, whether that be out of your pocket, whether that be a loan, or preferably you would buy private insurance. And that's where that gap comes into play. So that 20% gap is what people call Medigap. plans or Medicare supplement plans. A Medicare supplement plan is something, again, that takes

care of that 20 percent, and it has a stopgap at the top of it. So a maximum out of pocket expense. Many people think that Medicare itself is like, great, I've got Medicare, I'm covered, everything's taking care of for me. There's no maximum out of pocket. So if you have a million dollar hospital bill, you're on the hook for 20 percent of that. That's where private insurance comes into play. And that's where you offset that risk. So a metagap plan, as you mentioned, mentioned, they're, again, in the government's great wisdom, they've taken the MediGat plans and standardized them alphabetically. So it's A through M or A through N as in Nancy. And that gets confusing because I'm talking about Medicare Plan A that is different than Medicare Part A. And you can see

where all the confusion comes in quite quickly. The benefit of those supplemental plans is that they're standardized. And that's what makes it easy to compare and contrast them. So if I take a plan A from insurance care, X, Y, Z, and I go to another insurance care, let's say scan as a plan and they have plan A. And Blue Cross, which most people know, has another plan A. Those plans are identical in benefits. There's no difference in them whatsoever. The only thing that changes is going to be premium and the access to your providers. So one of the great things of Medicare is if your doctors take a Medicare assignment, you can go to pretty much any doctor you want. So it's an open book.

It's really nice that way. There are costs associated with those, with every plan, obviously. In addition to that Medicare supplement policy, people also have to buy a private drug plan or Part D as in drug. And those are also through private insurance companies. And people say, great, I just take the lowest cost plan. That's the one I'm going to get because it's the best. Well, not necessarily.

Every single one of those private insurance plans, the product drugs, has a different formulary list of medication. So you may take a certain medication and it's not covered because you took the cheapest plan. So that's one of the roles that an insurance agent or brokers myself takes into account. Let's get a list of all your medications. Let's start that search first by does the plan cover it? That's stepped down. And then one of the different costs.

So you could be looking at two analytical plans and they both look about the same price. But then you go into the details and maybe one's got a copay of $5 and the other one has a copay of $400. those are all things you can get caught up in it if you don't understand what you're looking at or what you're looking for. You know, isn't that, you know, just like a life principle? You know, you look at which is better, this product or that product based on size, but they, they strategically make the size a little bit different and make the cost a little bit lower, but it's, you know, a third of the size, you know, all of that and you just don't know at first glance. And I think that that's where you start getting these things to go, if this, then that.

if you have this, then you need to look at that. And there's no earthly way that a quick Google search will go, oh, what should I set up, you know, medigap advantage in A and B. And when should I do this? You're not going to get that. You're just going to get more and more confused. So what are some of the other mistakes people make when making those decisions?

The biggest one I get is, is I get the phone call saying, you know, my neighbor's got scan health insurance. That sounds great for your neighbor. For them. For them. Yeah. Sure. These insurance policies and plans are designed for specific needs.

And your specific need is going to be different than your neighbors or your cousins or your relative or anybody's. And that's important to realize to figure out what is your particular need. So we mentioned MediGap or Medicare supplement plans earlier. The other side of that coin is something called Medicare Advantage plans and sometimes referred as Medicare Part C as in CAP. A Medicare Advantage plan is typically an HMO-style environment, usually very little costs for monthly premium or sometimes zero in some places. And it has a network of doctors you get to go to. And some people like that concept because it adds a bunch of bells and whistles for their plan that you normally wouldn't get.

And we can get it that a little bit later. But that's important to realize, do you need a dental plan? Do you need vision? Do you need a hearing aid? So a lot of these Medicare Advantage style plans will cover some of that stuff for you. Where Medicare supplement plans do not. But to your point, when you talk with someone a professional like yourself and you're asking someone, okay, well, do you actually need all these bells and whistles and the extra cost associated with it?

Maybe the answer is no. I don't have the need for this and this and this. So why pay the extra? But yet, if you need it and you didn't set it up, now you're paying out of pocket or out of network and now it's going to cost more. So you want to know going in, you know, what those needs are and how that translates into making that choice, right? Absolutely. And there's penalties if you don't do it right. That's the big concern. I get a call at least once a month from someone saying, oh, I now need to get a prescription medication, so I need a prescription drug plan. Well, how long have you been on Medicare? Oh, five years. Like, oh, well, there's a problem with that. You have a lifetime penalty because you didn't take it when you first were allowed to have it. And that happens both with Part B, Medicare. as well as description drug plans or fees and drug.

So those are some big things that people don't realize that if I miss those windows, there's a penalty for my life. It reminds me of when you talk to financial advisors and they talk about the required minimum distribution rule where at a certain age, you have to take out a certain amount of your accounts. And I've been told and heard, it's like, oh, if you don't take it, there's a huge penalty. But there's some times people go, oh, well, I sold my RV and I'm flushed with cash. I don't need any money. I'm not going to do it.

And you might think that that's just fine, but nope, you better, you better check that. Same with what you just mentioned there. You might not have needed the prescription plan when you set it up, but look at what that can cause down the road, that cascading negative domino effect. Sure. And you mentioned an important point that a lot of people also miss is understand what your retirement income is. So, yes, you may start taking distributions from a retirement plan. You may have sold a property. And as you mentioned, you're flush.

with cash. That affects your retirement income. And your retirement income is directly tied to how much premium you're going to pay for Medicare. So if you have a high income earner, so an individual is about $109,000 this year and jointly $218,000, if you make less than that, most of the time you're going to pay just the basic cost for Part B Medicare. But if you make more than that, you're, you also have to pay an additional premium on top of that because you're a high income earner. That's called Irma. And most people don't remember or don't have never heard of it. Yeah.

Which goes into planning well ahead of when you actually need to make your decisions because maybe the three month and the seven month and the one month at the birthday, those those things that you mentioned. Maybe those are the really critical things. But if you really expand out and think, ooh, how should I make sure that my income is this or plan for that? It might be mean that you need to start at least talking about this or think. toward it well ahead of that just to kind of have some your ducks in a row. Absolutely. And if you're not talking to the right professional, they may skip over that and not ask, okay,

what's your income in retirement? And that's a huge, huge not to crack if you haven't planned for it. So I know we've talked about insurance and coverage. And doctors, how does a person's health history factor into these decisions? What's great about this is, so there's two things. First of all, your health does not, or your health history or whatever condition you have, It does not preclude you from getting insurance, Medicare insurance, when you are first eligible for it. They have to take all comers, no matter what the situation is.

God forbid you've got cancer and heart disease and diabetes, they have to give you the coverage. And it's the exact same price that anybody else would pay for it. So that's the great thing about that. However, later on the future, as you said, a lot of people and all of us, you know, no one thinks it's going to happen to them. That's the standard phrase I hear from everybody. Well, I'm 65, my adler, for 90, and I'm going to be great in a great shape. that sounds great, but we know statistically that one and three people have a disability when they're over age 65. We know that people don't live that long.

We know that the most expensive care is as we age. And as much as you like to think of, hey, I'm healthy, I work out, I go to the gym, it's going to be great. Yes, but what happens if something doesn't go the way you plan? And that's where talking to the right type of specialist insurance agent can help you guide you through that path. So, okay, well, if that happens, here's the contingency. So we look in the future as well. Yeah. And it is so much better to look in the future with the right tools,

meaning questions and decision models, so that you set it up the right way the first time, like measure twice cut once. Because once you cut, it's cut. So that's a, we keep kind of talking about this over and over, but I'm sensing the high import. So let's make sure that. that people are understanding that.

And you talked about doctors and, you know, you want to go to your, your physician. What are the kind of things that people need to be made aware of to make sure that their favorite doctor, their personal doctors and preferred hospitals are covered? You know, so you don't want to get a, you know, a plan where it's like, oh, well, now I can't go to whatever. You want to know that going in. Correct. And I get that. A lot of people will make that mistake thinking that if I've got Medicare or if I've got a supplement plan or a medical plan or a medical. Medicare Advantage plan, I can go any doctor I want, any hospital they have to take me.

Well, it's only partially true. So a Medicare supplement plan works with any doctor or any hospital that currently takes Medicare as payment. If they do that, you're fine. You can go wherever you'd like. On the flip side of that, however, the Medicare Advantage style plans, which are becoming more and more popular these days because of all their extra benefits, is we have to make sure that your doctor or your hospital or your specialist is within a network.

and every insurance plan and every carrier in every state has different networks of doctors. And it's not enough to say, hey, do you take Blue Cross? The front office person, the doctor says, yeah, we take Blue Cross, no problem. What they're not telling you is it could be considered out of network. And so you'll be paying 100% of that bill. And Blue Cross says, you went out of network outside of what we'd normally pay. You asked the wrong question. Correct.

Correct. And after let people know that you're going to ask you for the billing person in your doctor's office. and the question is, are you contracted with this plan and this insurance company? That's the really important question to ask. Got it. Well, that last piece right there is huge. Like, ask the right question to the right person. Do you take Blue Cross?

Yeah. But are you contracted? Or am I a network? That now we're drilling it deeper. So just knowing when to make decisions, knowing how to make decisions, knowing how to ask the right questions, will save yourself so much struggle in the future if you do it the wrong way. So, Leslie, this has been super helpful.

I can tell that this is a maze, and I'm sure that this could be a two-day weekend seminar, and you still are scratching the surface, but this has been some really great high-level information. If someone wants to learn a little bit more and reach out and connect with you, what's the best way that they can do that? This way is either through my website or my phone number, both the same. It is 877 BIPQuote.com or just the phone number, 877 VIP Quote. And I'll reach myself and we can take care of them. Leslie, thank you so much for coming on.

This has been real eye-opening and I appreciate your time. Thank you, Mike. I appreciate it. Take care. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders. To learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes, visit www. www. influential entrepreneurs radio.

com.