Baker Consulting

10/16/2025

We’re so grateful for our Medicare Insurance Sponsors of Seniors Blue Book! Medicare Open Enrollment for 2025 starts today!

Medicare can feel overwhelming, but our trusted Medicare brokers make the process simple and stress-free. They provide personalized guidance to help you understand your options, compare plans, and choose coverage that fits your health needs and budget—at NO COST to you. Their goal is to ensure you feel confident and secure in your healthcare decisions.

- Crystal A. Manning & Dvyona Sedlacko-Stephens, Licensed Medicare Advisors, 412-716-4942

- PA Medi, 412-661-1438

- MediConnect, 888-818-6334

- Baker Consulting, 724-594-7648

- Prioritize Health, Carleen Lachman - Independent Insurance Specialist, 724-571-4688

- Inman Medical Insurance Connections LLC, 724-316-8802

- Kimberly Harris - Independent Insurance Agent, 412-551-5380

Need Medicare guidance? Our trusted partners are here to help.

07/15/2025

Retiring Early? Your Health Coverage Strategy Just Became Mission-Critical!

Suppose you’re an early retiree living on a fixed income. In that case, 2026 brings confirmed changes you need to understand—especially around staying under the 400% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to maintain ACA premium subsidies.

The Two Key Updates:

1️⃣ Enhanced ACA tax credits will expire after 2025.

Congress has now passed legislation letting the expanded premium tax credits (originating in the American Rescue Plan and extended by the Inflation Reduction Act) lapse beginning in 2026.

2️⃣ The “subsidy cliff” returns in 2026.

With enhanced credits eliminated, the traditional cutoff at 400% FPL is reinstated, and crossing that threshold could result in the loss of all subsidy eligibility, leading to significant premium increases.

📌 What Early Retirees Should Know

🎯 On-Exchange (Marketplace) Plans:

Subsidy eligibility will once again be limited to households at or below 400% FPL. Exceeding that income level in 2026 could mean losing all premium assistance and facing significantly higher costs.

💼 Off-Exchange Plans:

These are direct-to-carrier, full-price plans—with no subsidies or Marketplace involvement. Silver options might offer better pricing directly through the carrier than on the Marketplace.

💡 Consider Smart Income Planning:

To retain subsidies, many early retirees are working with both their broker and financial advisor to manage how income is recognized throughout the year—such as timing withdrawals or shifting income sources—to remain under the 400% FPL threshold.

⚠️ This is not financial advice—just a reminder to consult trusted professionals. Aligning your retirement income strategy with your healthcare needs can help maintain premium support until you become eligible for Medicare.

🔍 Why It Matters:

Exceeding 400% FPL in 2026 could result in hundreds of dollars more per month in premiums.

With no Medicare yet, coverage costs could remain high for years.

Thoughtful income planning now can preserve subsidies during your critical early retirement years.

🏁 Final Thoughts:

As an early retiree, planning is essential. Your health coverage and income are deeply interconnected, primarily through 2026 and beyond.

✅ To navigate these changes successfully:

-Consult both your financial advisor and your health insurance broker
-Monitor your FPL percentage annually.
-Strategize income timing and coverage decisions together.

📩 If you’d like to explore your options—or are curious how this applies to your household—please feel free to reach out. I’m here to help guide you.

04/15/2025

🎉 Team Spotlight! Help Us Welcome Nicolas & Alyssa! 🎉

We’re thrilled to officially introduce the two newest agents here at Baker Consulting Services — Nicolas Baker and Alyssa Young!

Both joined our team within the last year and have already become incredible assets. They bring a ton of knowledge, passion, and heart to the work they do — whether it’s helping someone understand their health insurance options or finding the right Medicare, dental, or vision plan.

We couldn’t be more excited to have them on board and can’t wait for more of you to get to know them!

💙 Help us give them a warm welcome — and if you need support with your insurance needs, they’re ready to help.

🌐 Visit our website to learn more: www.consultbaker.com

10/30/2024

Open enrollment starts Nov 1st! Pennie certified brokers are compensated from the carrier and not the insured.

You can reach Nicolas by emailing [email protected]!

On Tuesday, PNRC members gathered for our weekly, FREE Chamber Connections networking session to learn about the biggest healthcare issues in our country: accessibility and affordability.

With help from independent agent Nicolas Baker of Baker Consulting (not to mention Condescending Wonka), we got a crash course on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly called Obamacare, and the role that Pennie plays in upholding the ACA for Pennsylvanians in need of health insurance. Thank you, Nicolas, for sharing with the group!

Special thanks to Scott Hacker and Discovery Christian Church for hosting Tuesday Connections 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. each week, and to our Tuesday Connections sponsor, Graeter's Ice Cream in Wexford!

If you would like to present to a Tuesday Connections session during the 2025 calendar year, contact Matt Popchock, Marketing & Programs Coordinator, at [email protected].

10/19/2024

Congratulations Seniors Blue Book Greater Pittsburgh Area!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ We're thrilled to announce that the Seniors Blue Book is now available at your local Giant Eagle Pharmacy! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This exciting expansion means that finding valuable resources for seniors in the Greater Pittsburgh Area just got easier. By placing copies at Giant Eagle Pharmacy counters, we're enhancing accessibility for seniors and caregivers. A heartfelt thank you goes out to Giant Eagle Corporate for supporting our guides. 💙

Look for your copy during your next visit to Giant Eagle!

10/14/2024

Two events are happening in the next two months.

The Medicare Annual Enrollment is Oct. 15th through Dec. 7th.
-People with Medicare Advantage and standalone Prescription Drug plans can shop for 2025 options.

The ACA (Pennie) Marketplace Enrollment is from Nov. 1st through Jan. 15th.
-People with Pennie (PA only) or ACA (most other states) can shop 2025 plan options and renew coverage.
-Jan. 1 or Feb. 1 effective dates

This will be my sixth open enrollment season since starting my agency in 2019. I look at this stuff every day, and I'd be happy to help you as well. Let's do this together!

5.0 ★ · Insurance broker

10/04/2024

Thank you for the review!

10/03/2024

Do you own a small business, are you looking for Networking opportunities and building a referral based business. Reach out, there may be opportunities for you in our BNI group.

08/30/2024

Nurture PA is a non-profit organization that supports women in any stage of motherhood through their text based platform and large library of resources.

We are thrilled to support these women and this organization!

Visit their page to learn more about how they positively influence their community.

Thank you to Baker Consulting for their recent sponsorship!

As an independent, family-owned health insurance agency, Baker Consulting takes an educative approach to helping people in PA enroll in health insurance, dental, and vision coverage after having a qualifying life event (QLE). Their broker services are free of charge to you and because of their generosity, NurturePA will be able to support more moms!

To learn more, visit https://consultbaker.com/

06/20/2024

🗣️Calling all Realtors or Self-Employed Professionals!

Join myself, Garret Pavlina and Ryan Wirth for a morning conversation on Tuesday, June 25th at 10 AM where we’ll be giving you all the tips on how best to navigate Pennie, tax credits, wealth creation strategies, risk management, and much more!

Not a realtor or self-employed professional but know someone who is? Share this information with them or invite them directly!

See you there!