Joan Belcher, RN
Meet Joan
"As a Registered Nurse and licensed health insurance advisor, I believe informed decisions begin with education—not pressure.."
I'm Joan, a Registered Nurse and Board Certified Care Manager with more than 30 years of experience helping people navigate complex healthcare decisions. I speak 3 languages, healthcare, health insurance and English.
I often say, "It is better to have a plan you don't need, than need a plan you don't have."
Whether it’s healthcare, health insurance, thinking about starting a business, leaving a job that provides health insurance or deciding when to start claiming social security retirement benefits, I care deeply about making sure you know their options, feel like they have all of the facts, and all of their questions answered.
Why I Do This Work
Before I ever worked in health insurance, I owned a personal homecare agency with 25 employees. We preserved the dignity of elders, providing 24 hour care and peace of mind for families. We provided personal care, administered medications, cleaned the home, did the laundry, made homemade meals, made jam from grapes on their property, did the shopping, wrapped the Christmas presents, planted gardens, served meals to visiting family members and supported end of life care.
The lady in the middle of this photo is my beloved grandmother, Viola Richardson. I make my bed with "square corners" every morning, bake homemade molasses cookies and iron my shirts the way she taught me.
I provided her end of life care.
I hear her voice in my head often when I am advising my clients:
"Joanie, don't be penny wise and pound foolish.". There are days when I am "busier than one-armed paper hanger", "dizzier than a fart in a mitten", and "get around like a button on a $@*^ (out) house door".
I will never forget the day she washed my mouth out with soap after I used a swear word, or being told to "get outside and play" and then hearing the screen door latched and "These are the Days of Our Lives" as she stole a few minutes to watch her soap opera.
She guides me even now.
Experience & Expertise
My path hasn’t been linear, and I’m grateful for that. Working as an RN, running small businesses, and helping elders and families through transitional seasons taught me how complex these decisions can be—and how much better it can feel when you don’t have to make them alone.
Along the way, I’ve had the opportunity to be featured in publications like BusinessWeek Magazine and The Portland Press Herald, and to contribute opinion pieces on healthcare and aging in Maine. I’ve also served on a governor's Blue Ribbon Committee to study the long term financing of health insurance in Maine.
These experiences—across nursing, home care, small business ownership, and public advocacy—shape how I guide people through health insurance, Medicare, and Social Security decisions today.
Understanding Maine’s Small Businesses
I’ve owned and operated more than one small business in Maine, running a Bed & Breakfast-getting up at 4:00am and back to bed at 10pm. I have provided health insurance for employees, and I know first-hand what it means to balance people, paperwork, and planning—often all at the same time. That lived experience helps me support small business owners looking for group health insurance so they can protect and retain their employees.
When I say I understand small business, it’s because I’m right there with them!
As I like to say: "We entrepeneurs are the only idiots who will work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 for somebody else!"
Maine Roots & Family Life
I was born and raised in Maine, attended college here, and come from five generations of Mainers.
I live on the Sheepscot River, close to family and three of my grandchildren. My other two grandchildren live in Florida and visit often.
In my free time I enjoy reading, my vintage camper "Lucy", riding my ebike "Ethel", good bread and dark chocolate.
My favorite places include Acadia National Park and the Costwold village of Chipping Campden in England.
June, 2026 I caught my first fish after 3 years of tutoring from my oldest grandson Silvio who taught me how to bait my own hook, cast my line and take a selfie with a fish! I don't know which one of was most excited at this momentous event.
