Who's on Medicare?

[TractorGuy]

Turning 65 soon and considering retirement. Other than Medicare parts A and B what is the best supplemental plans to have. Please share cost and good and bad experiences. Have been spoiled by employer subsidized HMO for most of our working lives so I'm a little concerned about giving that up.

 

[CADplans]

Between the wife and I, we have been on A&B only for a total of a dozen years.
Prior to that, I had private medical, (Anthem Blue Cross-Blue Shield).

There are too many differences to discuss,,, (it would take PAGES),,, but, we are VERY HAPPY with A&B.
We have both had medical issues, before and after A&B,,, A&B cost MUCH less.

I could buy a nice tractor,,, each year, with my savings,,, the same for my wife.

You had the company paying,, so,,, ??? :confused2: who knows what that cost was,,,

If you are concerned,,, just get a quote for private health insurance,,, (DO NOT buy it!!)
THEN you will be :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Oh, yea,,, ENJOY all the extra shop/shed time,,,
this week, my wife had a quilt she was trying to finish for a wedding,, I had a project I was working on in the shed,,,
we had to get our daughter to go shopping for us,,, :laughing:
we had no time to leave the place. We BOTH decided to take a break this afternoon, we went to a movie.

OH, how we suffer!!

 

[QRTRHRS]

My wife went on Medicare before I did. At the same time, I had moved my mother in with us. With my mother's limited budget, we sorted through the offerings the best we could and got her a so called "advantage plan". It's been some time so my figures may be off but the advantage plans run more or less 50 bucks a month. Prescriptions plans are built in. The trouble is your co-pays. If you doctor alot, those co-pays add up.

My wife does have issues so when it came time to pick a plan, we went with an "F" plan. I think her's was 130/month for the first year then up a bit each year after that. With the "F" plans, there are no co-pays. They do not include prescription plans so you need to get one of those in addition. Even with at least a half a dozon ER visits for her in the last four or so years, we have had maybe two items not covered. Maybe in the teens.

I do not have alot of health issues but when I went on Medicare, I went with the same provider for the "F" plan. With both of us with the same supplemental provider, I pay 137/month and my wife's is about 164. You see, once on SS, your upfront medical expenses are deductable so for us, it works out. My wife has her needs met while I am somewhat overinsured, if I need it, it's there but come tax time, there is less to pay Uncle Sam.

My wife's prescription supplement runs 30/month but will be going up next year. Sometimes we have issues with a doctor wanting to prescribe something that is rediculously expensive (think Epi-pen) but overall, it's been okay. I went with a different provider just to see how this other provider would work out. My plan is only 19/month and I am only on one daily pill, a statin, which runs 1.87/month. My plan will be going up to I think 23/month.

I am sorting through the info trying to decide if if would be better to switch my wife's pill plan to my provider. That then is going to be your big hurdle. Trying to sort through all the info deciding what is best for you.

I may be wrong but I think dental and eye care will be extra no matter what plan you choose. Having reached medicare age, typically your eye exam visits may be covered by medical insurance. You know, cataracts, etc. Once again, consider your health needs.

PM me for company names. Fl offerings will differ from mine in KY perhaps but I will tell you whom we work with. Also, do some searching. There have been threads on these issues in the past. All supplemental plans fall under alphabetical catagories and by law must offer the same coverages. Many will tell you that they are better than others. They will differ in costs. It is up to you to compare the coverage. It is very difficult to understand the info same as the stock market more or less. Sometimes, you can find local informational meetings to help sort out the info. Just remember, if you choose the wrong plan then come the next year you can switch to another.

Lastly, we have a real person that we can actually speak with that we purchased our supplemental plans through. That persona actually came to our house when my wife was in need of a plan. She is only a phone call or a 30 minute drive away should we have an issue. Having to call someone you do not know in some other state or perhaps country can be frustrating shall we say?

 

[Tractor Seabee]

AARP Advantage has worked real well for my wife the last 5 years. She has the pharmacy add-on also. Her medical bills are very low on some co-pays. I have Military Tricare for life with Medicare. For 15 years I have not paid a medical bill.

Ron

 

[k0ua]

This is what I do for a living. Sell Supplements and Advantage plans. I am not licensed in your state, but I can answer general questions you may have. Find someone like me that you trust in your area to guide you thru the rocks and shoals of the Medicare system.

 

[rekees4300]

Turning 65 soon and considering retirement. Other than Medicare parts A and B what is the best supplemental plans to have. Please share cost and good and bad experiences. Have been spoiled by employer subsidized HMO for most of our working lives so I'm a little concerned about giving that up.

I had United Health Care (aka AARP) supplemental for 4 years then dropped it. Decided the $300+ a month for me/wife just wasn't worth it. Will use the savings to self insure for the 20% not covered by A&B. Basically all the supplemental plans from company to company offer the same coverage. However, the premiums from company to company do vary so it pays to shop around if you decide to get it.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have Humana Advantage plan and it is fairly cheap till you get in Class IV which I am in now due to all the expensive medicines I take. For instance my co-pay for my insulin pens was $45 for a 3 month supply but went to $620 for a 3 month supply when I went into the class 4 category. Most of my medications is 0 copay when using the Humana pharmacy. I don't know if it will drop back to Class 1 at the start of the new year or not, but hopefully it will.
Depending on where you live, the cost for Part D will be different, some areas around me get the same coverage I have for $0. Mine is deducted from my SS deposit so I am not sure the cost but I think is was about $130 per month for each of us.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

My wife and I spring for a gold plated supplement plan that we pay $310 a month for. It includes dental. She just had kidney cancer surgery, spent a week in the hospital, and has to take a dozen different meds. Our total bill was about $130, for over 40 grand worth of medical expenses.

 

[rox]

We just waited 40 minutes on Skype this week to speak with the Social Security office.
Social Security sent my husband a letter in France and said you will automatically get Part A but if you want Part B you have to sign up for it. So I filled in the form and we mailed it in in July. This week he gets his Medicare card and it said, "Hospital Only" which is Part A, so we called. The Social Security Service Rep had never heard of Medicare issing an only Part A Card so she put us on hold and investigated. She said it must be that we live in France that they didn't automatically give my husband Part B. She said that our form was received and scanned in the system and eventually they will send a corrected card that will show Part A & B. Weird, huh? We travel back to the US and used to buy travel insurance but now that he is on Medicare we won't bother with travel insurance for him any more.

 

[Travelover]

Medicare has good online information ,as does this book.

Medicare For Dummies: Patricia Barry: 9781119293392: Amazon.com: Books

 

[TractorGuy]

We just waited 40 minutes on Skype this week to speak with the Social Security office.
Social Security sent my husband a letter in France and said you will automatically get Part A but if you want Part B you have to sign up for it. So I filled in the form and we mailed it in in July. This week he gets his Medicare card and it said, "Hospital Only" which is Part A, so we called. The Social Security Service Rep had never heard of Medicare issing an only Part A Card so she put us on hold and investigated. She said it must be that we live in France that they didn't automatically give my husband Part B. She said that our form was received and scanned in the system and eventually they will send a corrected card that will show Part A & B. Weird, huh? We travel back to the US and used to buy travel insurance but now that he is on Medicare we won't bother with travel insurance for him any more.

My wife just received the letter saying she would automatically be signed up for A and B unless she sent in the form to opt out of B. She had it signed and ready to mail but I said hold on. If I go ahead and retire we will both need A and B. I'm 99 percent sure I am gonna go for it in January.

 

[k0ua]

My wife just received the letter saying she would automatically be signed up for A and B unless she sent in the form to opt out of B. She had it signed and ready to mail but I said hold on. If I go ahead and retire we will both need A and B. I'm 99 percent sure I am gonna go for it in January.

you do not want to miss your B window (7 month window) unless you have "credible coverage". But it sounds like you may have that on her already.

 

[Streetcar]

Medicare.gov will show the plan options in your area for part b