Medicare, explained at your kitchen table.
Most of our plan reviews happen in members' homes, because that is where the questions are. We also meet by phone, by video, or at one of four offices by appointment. Prefer to look for yourself first? Compare plans and enroll online at your own pace, with Darin one call away.
Retire With Confidence: The Medicare Guide
295 pages, 2026 Edition, by Darin Weidauer. The same plain-English guidance we give at the kitchen table — enrollment deadlines, Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap, Part D costs, and the mistakes that cost retirees the most.
We'll email your copy after a short form. No spam, no obligation.
Two ways to get started
Both are free, and both credit the same agent. Pick the one that suits you today.
One call. No obligation.
National number (424) 295-0627Answered for every state, and the number to call wherever we have no local line. Calls may be recorded for quality and Medicare compliance.
- Ask a question without booking anything
- Schedule a review by phone, video or at an office
- Get help enrolling if you have already chosen a plan
See the plans in your county. Enroll when you are ready.
Enter your ZIP code to see the Medicare Advantage, Part D and Medicare Supplement plans offered where you live. Add your doctors and prescriptions if you want a closer cost estimate. Enroll online, or stop and call.
Compare plans and enroll onlineWhat happens next: this opens our online plan-comparison and enrollment platform in a new tab. It is a separate website. Darin Weidauer is listed there as your agent, and you can call him at any step. Not every plan available in your area is listed.
Returning members: sign in to your member page to sync your saved information with Darin's office.
Choose your state
Each state guide covers plans, 2026 costs, enrollment deadlines, Medicaid programs, veterans' coverage and the cities and regions we serve there.
Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Nevada keep their local lines. Every other state shows the national number, labelled as such, because there is no local line there. Florida keeps the line Ronilin answers today.
Coverage that pays you cash, alongside your plan
Medicare and a Medicare Advantage plan leave real gaps — the daily co-pay every time you are admitted, the cost of a serious diagnosis, help at home after surgery, and the dental care Original Medicare does not cover at all. These policies are separate insurance, bought on their own. None of them replace your health insurance, and every page lists who the product is not for.
All Supplemental Coverage — benefits, the companies we are appointed with, and state-by-state availability.
Cover a funeral without leaving the bill
Burial insurance — the industry calls it final expense life insurance — is a small whole life policy that pays cash to the person you name. It is not a funeral plan, and it is not a Medicare product. Our page explains what it actually is, including the graded death benefit that catches most buyers out.
All Life Insurance — and the three questions that decide which one fits.
Life insurance is not connected with Medicare. It is handled separately, with its own licensed conversation.
Guaranteed income, and the two things people get wrong
Fixed annuities only — we do not offer variable annuities, “buffer” annuities or securities of any kind. Most of the harm in this category comes from two confusions: treating a benefit base as though it were money, and treating an income doubler as though it were long-term care insurance. Both have their own page, and both lead with the correction.
All Annuities — and the three questions that decide which one fits. Annuities are not connected with Medicare and are handled separately.
Medicare does not pay for custodial long-term care
Help with bathing, dressing, eating and moving about is custodial care, not medical care. Medicare pays for limited skilled care under narrow conditions and stops well before most people expect; Medicaid pays only after you have spent down nearly everything. Check it yourself at Medicare.gov or with your state's SHIP counselor — neither has anything to sell you.
All Long-Term Care options — and the three questions that decide which fits.
VA disability math, explained so it makes sense
Darin is a retired U.S. Air Force officer. Two ratings of 50% and 30% do not make 80%, and most veterans are never told why. Our calculator shows the arithmetic step by step, tells you what one more rating would have to be to reach 100%, and explains how to ask for a Permanent and Total rating once you get there.
Educational only. ECOS is not accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs and cannot help with a claim — a veterans service organisation will do that at no charge.
Between health plans, or self-employed
Most of this site is for people on Medicare. This part is not. If you are self-employed, contracting, between jobs or carrying a deductible so high the plan barely works, fixed indemnity coverage pays cash when something happens — a night in hospital, a surgery, an emergency room visit. It is not health insurance and it does not cap what you can owe, and the pages say so before they say anything else.
Ages 18 to 64. Fixed indemnity coverage is not comprehensive health insurance and does not satisfy the requirement of Minimum Essential Coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Benefits your employees pay for themselves
If you run a business with five or more employees, there are benefits you can put in front of them that cost the company no premium at all — staff elect them individually and pay by payroll deduction. Group accident and group critical illness pay cash directly to the employee when something happens. They are limited benefit policies, not health insurance, and they sit alongside a medical plan rather than replacing one.
Employer coverage only — a contract needs a minimum of five enrolled employees and an individual cannot buy it. Shopping for yourself? Individual supplemental coverage is a different product.
Meet in person
Four offices, all by appointment. Most reviews happen at the member's home, so if travelling is a chore, we come to you.
Your Home
Prefer to stay put? Darin comes to you — at your kitchen table, over coffee, on your own schedule. Most reviews actually happen in members' homes.
No office visit required. Just tell us what works for you.
Seal Beach
13936 Seal Beach BlvdSeal Beach, CA 90740(424) 295-0627National number
By appointment only. We also come to you.
Sun City
10740 W Bell RdSun City, AZ 85351(480) 845-0246
By appointment only. We also come to you.
Mesa
5110 E Southern Ave, Suite 101Mesa, AZ 85206(480) 845-0246
By appointment only. We also come to you.
Las Vegas
8524 Del Webb BlvdLas Vegas, NV 89134(702) 706-6564
By appointment only. We also come to you.
How a review works
There is no fee. Plan premiums are the same whether you enroll through an agent, online or directly with the carrier. Agents are paid by the insurance companies, not by you.
1. Tell us where you are
Call the national line, request a review below, or open your state guide. You are never obligated to enroll.
2. We compare what fits
Your doctors, your prescriptions, your budget, and the plans actually offered in your county for 2026.
3. You decide
Enroll with Darin, enroll online, or keep what you have. The review is free either way.
Request a free plan review
Tell us how to reach you. A licensed agent calls back, usually the same business day.
Research and resources
Independent reference sites from the same agency, plus the official, free sources every Medicare beneficiary should know.
About Darin Weidauer
Darin Weidauer is an independent, licensed insurance agent (NPN 18580338) and the founder of ECOS Insurance Solutions. He is a retired U.S. Air Force officer, a gerontologist trained at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, and a Registered Social Security Analyst.
Education
- Master's in Long-Term Care, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California
- Master of Business Administration, Pepperdine University
- Master's in Psychology, Pepperdine University
- Master of Dispute Resolution, Straus Institute, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law
- Master's in Information Technology, Touro University
- Bachelor's in Mathematics and Business, Wayland Baptist University
- Associate in Construction Management, Community College of the Air Force
ECOS is independent: it works for you, not for a single carrier. Every state guide names the official, free alternatives, including 1-800-MEDICARE and your state's SHIP counselors, so you can check anything we tell you.