The Clearing
Resources for journalists, podcast hosts, and media professionals.
The Clearing is a commission-free Medicare education platform. It exists to give people the complete picture before they choose a Medicare path — not to steer them toward a plan. The platform's AI guide, Fern, fills the gap between a 33-minute SHIP counseling session and a 45-minute sales pitch: a knowledgeable, plan-neutral resource available at any hour, without a sales agenda. The Clearing earns nothing from plan enrollment. Its tools, guides, and resources are built for people who want to understand their options before they talk to anyone with a financial stake in the answer.
- Founded
- 2024, by Dan League
- Business model
- Member-funded. No commissions. No plan affiliations. No advertising from insurance carriers.
- What Fern is
- An AI guide trained on Medicare rules, enrollment windows, and plan tradeoffs. Plan-neutral. Available without an appointment.
- What The Clearing is not
- An insurance agency. A broker. A plan comparison tool that earns referral fees. A government program.
- The problem it addresses
- 65 million Americans are on Medicare. Every year, 4+ million turn 65 and face this decision for the first time — most of them relying on commissioned agents, TV ads, and government documents written for regulators, not people.
- The book
- Take Your Time: The Medicare Decision That Follows You for Life by Dan League (The Clearing, 2026). A calm, evidence-led, commission-free guide to the Medicare decision most people are rushed through. Written for people who want to understand the choice before they are sold one. joinclearing.com/take-your-time
- Website
- joinclearing.com
Three angles that have generated strong audience response in early conversations with journalists and podcast hosts.
The commission problem in Medicare sales
Medicare Advantage agents earn $601 per new enrollee in 2025 — and $394 per renewal. Original Medicare supplements earn similar commissions. The result: nearly every "free help" available to someone turning 65 is funded by the plan they might choose. The Clearing is one of the few resources that earns nothing from enrollment — and was built specifically because of that gap.
The HR Role Shift — when employer benefits end
For most working Americans, healthcare decisions were managed by an HR department: a limited menu of vetted options, an annual enrollment window, and someone to call with questions. Medicare ends that. At 65, people suddenly become their own benefits manager — with 50-state variation in rules, a one-time guaranteed-issue window that closes permanently, and a decision that follows them for the rest of their life. Most people don't know this transition is coming until they're already in it.
The caregiver gap — managing Medicare for a parent
Adult children managing Medicare for a parent face a different problem: they're doing the research under time pressure, often after a health event, without the context to know what questions to ask. The rules that matter most — the Trial Right window, the observation vs. inpatient distinction, state birthday rules, the authorized representative form — are rarely explained until after they've become urgent. The Clearing built a caregiver-specific checklist specifically for this situation.
Dan League
Founder, The Clearing
After seeing how hard Medicare is to navigate when nearly everyone offering help earns a commission on the answer, Dan League founded The Clearing — a commission-free Medicare education platform — and wrote Take Your Time: The Medicare Decision That Follows You for Life, an independent, commission-free guide to the Medicare choice most people are rushed through. He is trained in the independent Medicare curriculum that SHIP counselors use, and his work exists to give people the complete picture before they choose — not to steer them toward a plan.
Available for interviews, podcast appearances, and speaking engagements.
For press inquiries, interview requests, and podcast bookings:
press@joinclear.ingWe aim to respond within one business day.
Brand assets
Wordmark, logo files, brand color palette, and founder photo are available on request. Write to the address above and we'll send what you need.
Not a journalist? If you're a financial planner, estate attorney, or nonprofit advocate interested in working with The Clearing, see the professionals page.