Scott Stafford
President, Benefits Life & PlanMatch · Licensed Insurance Agent
In plain terms: Everything on PlanMatch is reviewed by a licensed insurance professional. That’s me — Scott Stafford, a licensed agent and the President of Benefits Life, with more than 15 years in Medicare. My job is to keep these guides accurate, current, and written for the person actually reading them.
Why my name is on these guides
Medicare is full of figures that change every year and rules that are easy to get wrong, and a site like this is only useful if you can trust what it tells you. So every guide on PlanMatch is checked against the source material and signed off by someone who works in this field for a living. I’m a licensed insurance agent and the President of Benefits Life, an independent Medicare FMO based in Denver, Colorado and licensed as an insurance agency in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Benefits Life builds and operates PlanMatch.
Where the experience comes from
My Medicare background didn’t begin in a management office. For years I worked one-on-one as an agent, sitting with people while they chose their coverage. At Humana, that work earned the company’s President’s Club award in 2009; at UnitedHealthcare, I was named the top ICA agent in Colorado in 2010. Explaining the same rules to real people, year after year, is what keeps this site honest about how Medicare works for the person living it — not just how it looks on a benefits sheet. In the 15-plus years since, I’ve guided both agents and clients through every annual change to the program.
How the content is kept accurate
I set the editorial standards for PlanMatch. Each guide is written to the current year’s rules and figures, and it’s checked against primary sources rather than secondhand summaries — the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the IRS, the Federal Register, and independent research from KFF. As the yearly numbers move — premiums, deductibles, IRMAA brackets, contribution limits — the pages are updated to match, and each one shows the date it was last reviewed. The standard is simple: if a guide here states something, it should be right as of that date, with a licensed professional behind it.
That work reaches past Benefits Life, too. I sit on the advisory boards of Healthcare GPS and Select Health, which keeps me close to where Medicare is heading — the policy shifts and plan changes that eventually land on pages like these.
About Benefits Life and PlanMatch
Benefits Life is independent, which means we aren’t owned by any single carrier and don’t answer to one. We work across the major lines of coverage — Medicare, individual and family health, life, and supplemental products like dental, vision, and hospital indemnity — with a wide range of national carriers. PlanMatch is the consumer side of that: a place to learn first and, when you’re ready, to compare plans or talk with a licensed agent without any pressure.
How we’re paid is straightforward, and worth being upfront about. PlanMatch is free because Benefits Life is compensated by carriers when someone enrolls through one of our licensed agents — the standard model for an insurance agency. It doesn’t change a word of what’s on this site, and we’re never paid to favor one carrier over another. You can read more on our About page.
Off the clock
I’m a Coloradan through and through. In summer you’ll find me at a show at Red Rocks; the rest of the year I’m a Denver Nuggets season-ticket holder. I live in Lakewood with my wife Katja, and when we get the chance we travel — Europe most of all — for the food, the music, and a change of pace.
Get in touch
If you’d like to talk through your own situation with a licensed agent, our team is reachable at 1-800-597-1001 (TTY 711), Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm Mountain Time. Asking a question is always free, with no obligation.