Looking for a Medicare PPO Supplemental

There are 2 kinds of insurance you can get with medicare. One is a supplement (also called medigap ) that pays what medicare doesn't. With this you will usually need to also get a Rx drug plan. As far as I know with a supplement you can use any doctor who takes medicare. The other choice is a medicare advantage plan - in this option you essentially opt out of medicare and chose a private insurance - though it is overseen by medicare - and is required to offer everything that medicare does. These plans are commonly HMO - PPO - or POS plans. They also generally include the Rx drug coverage.

It would be a very good idea to educate yourself about the various choices in your area and exactly what the difference are. What plans are available actually change county to county throughout the country so what I have in Florida may or may not be available to someone in Maryland or Wyoming or Texas.IMO - AARP is an excellent place to start getting educated about Medicare and the various private insurances you will need to weed through. You are smart to start early - it is a ton to learn.

On 1/28/2015 Gooday said: My husband's BC/Be PPO transferred to his supplemental when he turned 65. Check with your husband's Human Resource Dept. It may be a simple change for you.

I have heard from so many friends and family that AARP's supplemental plans through United HealthCare are the best! One of my friends in NJ has the $104 for Medicare taken out automatically from her Social Security and she pays $110 for the AARP supplemental plan through United HealthCare. The prescription drug plan she took costs $33 per month. I am not sure if that is through AARP!

Confusing, isn't it? And different plans are offered in different areas.

DH retired just a few months ago, and we have just gone through this process. We used an insurance agency that specializes in Medicare plans. They were so knowledgeable and helpful, offered many types of plans (both Medicare supplement and Medicare Advantage), and had calculators and information to help us decide what plans best fit our needs and situation and gave us the most coverage for the money. The agency was recommended by the office of an eldercare attorney who has helped DH with some of his mother's affairs.

We looked at the United Healthcare plans offered through AARP, but the agency showed us another full coverage supplemental plan which offered excellent coverage for a lower price. I have since found several people who have the same plan and have been very satisfied. I highly recommend finding a good agency to help you sort out the options. Cheapest may not always be best; you have to look at deductibles, copays, out of pocket limits, what providers and facilities you can use, and details of coverages and extras.

Not all HMOs require a referral to a specialist. In fact with our insurance it's the opposite - PPO requires a referral - HMO does not. Also with our PPO (Aetna) hubby would have had to pay the Medicare deductible - with UPMC HMO he did not.

I won't have anything to do with United Healthcare. Their customer service is bad. Waited over 20 minutes to speak with them. Finally hung up and got my question answered by another healthcare service through the government. I dropped them and found a cheaper prescription coverage.

Some people like them, others don't.

Supplemental coverage can vary by area. If you Google "supplemental medicare coverage"- there are many choices. Some of these companies will help you choose the right plan.

On 1/28/2015 bluheart said:

I won't have anything to do with United Healthcare. Their customer service is bad. Waited over 20 minutes to speak with them. Finally hung up and got my question answered by another healthcare service through the government. I dropped them and found a cheaper prescription coverage.

Some people like them, others don't.

Supplemental coverage can vary by area. If you Google "supplemental medicare coverage"- there are many choices. Some of these companies will help you choose the right plan.

I recall my sister's doctor tell her that United Health Care was the worst.

Make sure that whomever you choose will pay the yearly deductible and the co-payment of Medicare's ALLOWED AMOUNT.