Three different kinds of person will offer to help with this decision and they are not interchangeable. An agent or broker is licensed by the state and compensated by the plan a person joins. A counsellor at a state programme is not compensated on the outcome at all. Knowing which is in front of you explains most of what follows in the conversation.
Agent, broker, and who appointed them
Both are licensed by the state insurance department and both must be appointed by each insurer whose plans they sell, which is the practical limit on what either can offer. An agent is often appointed by fewer insurers, a broker by more, but neither represents everything available, and federal rules require them to say so: a third party marketing organisation must disclose that it does not offer every plan in the area and state how many it does.
What the rules say they may not do
Federal marketing rules prohibit unsolicited contact, require marketing calls to be recorded in full, require a scope of appointment agreed in advance before a sales meeting, and put marketing materials through review. Those are not courtesies, they are conditions of operating, and the reason they exist is that this market's audience has been contacted more aggressively than almost any other. A cold call about Medicare is a rule being broken, whatever the caller says.
The person who is not paid on your answer
Every state runs a State Health Insurance Assistance Program staffed by trained counsellors who are not compensated by any insurer and have nothing to gain from a decision. They can look at the same plan finder with you, read the paperwork, and say what a rule means. This site is in the same position for a different reason: it captures nothing, names no plan and earns no commission, so it has nothing to sell anyone either.
Questions people ask about what is a medicare agent
Do I pay a Medicare agent?
No. They are paid by the plan you join, at rates CMS caps and publishes annually.
Can an agent show me every plan?
Only the ones they are appointed to sell. Federal rules require that limitation to be disclosed along with how many plans they represent.
Is a cold call about Medicare legitimate?
No. Unsolicited contact is prohibited in this market, so a call you did not ask for is a rule being broken.
What is the alternative?
Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program: trained, free, and not compensated on your decision.