Independent insurance · Sioux Falls
Medicare, life, and annuities — handled with care.
Independent insurance for the Sioux Falls area. We compare the plans we offer on both sides of the Big Sioux and match them to your life — no pressure, and no cost to you.
How it works
Medicare guidance at Big Sioux Benefits, in 3 steps
Schedule a free consultation
Tell us your doctors, prescriptions, and budget. No cost, no pressure.
Personal plan comparison
We compare the Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and Part D plans we offer against your needs.
Enroll & ongoing local support
We handle enrollment and stay your local advisor for claims, appeals, and annual reviews.
Our services
Medicare Enrollment Assistance
Turning 65 or new to Medicare — we guide every step.
Plan Comparison
Advantage vs. Supplement vs. Part D, compared for your situation.
Annual Coverage Review
Plans change yearly. We check yours every fall so you never overpay.
Claims Support & Appeals
A real local advocate when something goes wrong.
Turning 65 Consultations
A clear roadmap for your Initial Enrollment Period.
Drug Cost Review
Make sure your prescriptions are covered at the best price.
Medicare products we offer
Medicare Advantage
Medicare Supplement (Medigap)
Part D Prescription Drug Plans
Dental, Vision & Hearing
Hospital Indemnity
Life & Final Expense
Local & data-driven
We know the Siouxland Medicare market — by the numbers
Sioux Falls (Minnehaha County) has 22 Medicare plans for 2026 — and across the Big Sioux in Iowa, Sioux County has even more, at 28 (CMS PY2026). We compare both sides so you don't have to. See Sioux Falls plan data →
From the blog
Latest Medicare guidance
Does Medicare Cover CPAP Machines? The 13-Month Rental Rule Sioux Falls Sleepers Should Know in 2026
Medicare Part B covers a CPAP machine as a 13-month rent-to-own arrangement once a sleep study confirms obstructive sleep apnea, but continued coverage hinges on a strict compliance test: 4 or more hours of use on 70% of nights within any consecutive 30-day period during the first 3 months, plus an in-person visit between day 31 and day 91, per CMS's own Local Coverage Determination L33718. The 2026 non-rural South Dakota monthly rental fee for the device itself is $50.70, per CMS's own CY2026 DMEPOS fee schedule for Jurisdiction D, with a 20% coinsurance after the $283 Part B deductible. A 2018 study of 1,052 Medicare beneficiaries published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found 56% of adults 65 and older screen at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea, yet only 8% of that group had ever been tested, and CDC's PLACES County Data puts short sleep duration among Minnehaha County adults at 28.1%. Here's the full guide: what actually triggers a denial, the real 2026 fee schedule for the machine and every common supply, home sleep test versus in-lab study, how Medicare Advantage prior authorization changes the picture, and the appeal steps if coverage stops.
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Does Medicare Cover Bone Density Screening? The Part B vs. Part D Drug Trap, South Dakota 2026
Medicare Part B covers a bone density (DEXA) test once every 24 months at $0 for anyone who meets one of five qualifying conditions, per Medicare.gov — it isn't automatic at any specific age. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force separately gives osteoporosis screening a Grade B for women 65 and older and for younger postmenopausal women at increased fracture risk, confirmed January 14, 2025, but Grade I (insufficient evidence) for men, even though Medicare's own criteria can still cover a man who meets one of its qualifying conditions. Treatment gets more confusing: the same osteoporosis drug class can route through three different Medicare parts depending on the form and how it's given — a narrow Part A/B home-health injection benefit for homebound women with a related fracture, a standard Part B office injection at 20% coinsurance, or a Part D pharmacy pill priced by formulary tier. Nationally, 18.8% of women 50 and older and 4.2% of men have osteoporosis of the femur neck or lumbar spine, per CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (2017-2018 data), and roughly 319,000 older adults are hospitalized for a hip fracture every year, per CDC's own falls research. Here's the full guide: who actually qualifies for the covered screening, a worked dollar example of what an unscreened hip fracture costs under Original Medicare versus a Medigap Plan G supplement, the three-lane drug-billing breakdown, and the real Sioux Falls Medicare Advantage plan landscape.
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Medicare Extra Help in 2026: the federal program that could cut your drug copay to $5.10
Medicare Extra Help, the Part D Low-Income Subsidy, pays your drug plan's premium and deductible in full for 2026 and caps your copay at $5.10 for a generic and $12.65 for a brand-name drug, per Medicare.gov. The 2026 income limit is $23,940 for an individual and $32,460 for a married couple, up from $23,475 and $31,725 in 2025, and the resource limit is $18,090 individual / $36,100 married if you've told Social Security about burial-expense savings, per CMS's own October 2025 CY2026 LIS resource limits memo. KFF's most recent published estimate finds only 55% to 70% of Medicare beneficiaries below 150% of the poverty line are actually enrolled in Extra Help. Since January 1, 2025, Extra Help recipients also get a once-a-month right to change stand-alone Part D plans, per CMS, rather than waiting for the fall Annual Enrollment Period. Here's the full guide: the real 2026 income and resource limits, what the program actually pays for, a worked example of a year of copays, who qualifies automatically, how to apply step by step, the color-coded notices Social Security and Medicare send, and where to turn if you don't qualify.
Read →Common Medicare questions — answered
Does it cost anything to work with Big Sioux Benefits?
No. Our help is free to you — licensed agents are paid by the insurance carriers, not by you. You get unbiased local guidance at no cost.
Which areas do you serve?
We serve the Sioux Falls metro & Siouxland — eastern South Dakota, northwest Iowa & southwest Minnesota, including Sioux Falls, Brandon, Harrisburg, and Tea (SD) plus nearby northwest Iowa communities like Sioux Center and Rock Valley.
When can I enroll in or change my Medicare plan?
Your first window is the Initial Enrollment Period around your 65th birthday. After that, the Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct 15–Dec 7 each year, plus Special Enrollment Periods for qualifying life events. We'll tell you exactly which window applies to you.
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