Wellness

[151949]

The annual period when you can change your supplement/advantage plans is fast approaching. If you want to be ready when November gets here you need to start doing your research on this now as it takes a while. You can go to your Department of Aging in your area and they would give you a starting point. Or if you know an insurance agent, also AARP  has comparison charts online. in the fall you will get your medicare and you books. These need to be read carefully as well. Do your research and be ready - you may get a better plan or save some money or just find out that what you already have is where you want to be.But certainly , take advantage of the information that is out there to get yourself into the best possible situation for you.

[Helen852]

Thanks so much for this reminder.  Have to do this for my 83 year old mother.  She doesn't remember what she has. Just found out from my fathers railroad retirement a monthly deduction is made for medicare, plus we also pay an additional amount to another company so she's paying over 200 a month with no prescriptions and high co pays.  

[Katcat1]

It's nice of you to give this reminder.  I have been with Humana HMO going on 3 years.  My only deduction is the $104 to Medicare each month and Humana manages all my medical for Medicare.  I am only responsible for co-pays.  Nothing is perfect but I have been happy with this coverage. 

[Mz iMac]

Since June I am now entitled to join the Medicare Supplemental health programs.  I have exactly 6 months to decide which of the thousands of programs to enroll. 

Every day, my mail box explodes w/all the junk mail invitations to join them.

I plan on jumping on my own health ins Medicare Supplemental program because they will give me a steep discount on the coverage I pick out.  The discount will last for a lifetime if I sign up by 12/31.

[Carmie]

Your reminder is a good thing.

I also want to remind Medicare eligible members to be sure to have  enough insurance to cover up to 100 days in a skilled nursing facility in full with no copays. Medicare only covers up to 20 days at 100%.  The other 80 days are not paid in full and you will get a huge bill if you need services for the daily copayment.  Traditional Medicare will allow up to 100 days.

Look into Suppliments C and F as they will cover this.

Right now my family  member is in a rehab center because of a broken hip.  She had been there since July 6 and is still not ready to go home yet. She has plan Supplimental Plan C and Traditional Medicare.

Her poor room mate ran out of health insurance for a rehab stay after only one week and is fighting with Puplic Assistance to help pay her stay( she has an Advantage plan of some kind). Her family is worried that she will be sent home and she can't walk unassisted yet.

I wish everyone the best of health.

[nomless]

If enrolling in a supplement plan for the first time...or even thereafter....please please please do NOT rely on a forum such as this for advice about the various plans.   Please please please talk to an independent adviser (not an insurance agent who works for one company) about all the plans that are available in your state.   You can contact your Office on Aging or your state's Health service to find such a person.   

Be fully informed about all plans and costs before making a decison.  

[Tinkrbl44]

I helped a friend sort through joining Medicare last year .....  if you are fuzzy on how all this works, I highly recommend the book  MEDICARE FOR DUMMIES ....  it was very helpful.   Probably cheapest on Amazon or ebay.

[151949]

I went into this blind in Aug 2010 when I became eligible. I had no idea how complicated and difficult to understand it was. I turned to AARP for help and went with the plan they recommended at that time which was an advantage plan. However, since then DH & I have made a lot of effort to get ourselves educated about medicare, supplements and advantage plans. We have attended town hall meetings, online tutorials sponsored by AARP but given by reps from medicare, read medicare for dummies and every year we pour over the medicare and you book plus the book that our advantage plan sends us about the changes for that year. So far, we have stuck with our original choice of an advantage plan, but that is not what is best for everyone. Each person /couple needs to make their own choices what they can afford and what they need. You are not going to make the best choice for you if you just ask someone else what they got and go with that.Your financial status and your health issues are yours alone. It is also not really financially wise to just jump on an expensive plan  because they will pay 100% of everything for you if you are  a healthy person and don't use your health insuraance a lot. 

[Mmsfoxxie]

---

@151949 wrote:

I went into this blind in Aug 2010 when I became eligible. I had no idea how complicated and difficult to understand it was. I turned to AARP for help and went with the plan they recommended at that time which was an advantage plan. However, since then DH & I have made a lot of effort to get ourselves educated about medicare, supplements and advantage plans. We have attended town hall meetings, online tutorials sponsored by AARP but given by reps from medicare, read medicare for dummies and every year we pour over the medicare and you book plus the book that our advantage plan sends us about the changes for that year. So far, we have stuck with our original choice of an advantage plan, but that is not what is best for everyone. Each person /couple needs to make their own choices what they can afford and what they need. You are not going to make the best choice for you if you just ask someone else what they got and go with that.Your financial status and your health issues are yours alone. It is also not really financially wise to just jump on an expensive plan  because they will pay 100% of everything for you if you are  a healthy person and don't use your health insuraance a lot. 

---

Just curious...why did you choose medicare advantage instead of medigap?

[151949]

MMSFOXXIE - when I called AARP they were recommending this insurance so , since I knew absolutely nothing about medicare at all, and had a very limited time to decide, and we were in the midst of moving  from Pa to Fl I just went ahead and signed up for what they recommended. I was aware that I could change my mind in the fall to something else if I wanted to, and it was late August already so I just wanted to get with someone before Aug 31. However, as it turns out I stayed with them since - 5  years now.  Reason I stay with them and DH changed over to them is $0 premium- though like any private ins. these days we have co pays. It is a PPO - I don't mind that at all - we have not had any difficulty with them since we signed up - we like our doctor - we can go to any doctor we want , just that out of network have a $20 higher co pay - prescription coverage is included. Right now on this advantage plan we have better coverage than we had on our insurance when we were working. When I needed Makoplasty surgery on my knees and it wasn't available at the in network hospital they approved me to go to a different hospital with no problem, and did not charge me the out of network fees for the hospital or the doctor or the physical therapy. Last year when my DH was admitted as an obs patient to rule out a stroke - and it was found he had a small stroke - they fought medicare for us to change his status to inpatient so his  stay would be paid 100%. 

We looked into changing over to the AARP medicare supplement , plan F - which would give us similar coverage  without the copays and PPO restrictions - it was $250 a month each of us plus $55 a month for prescription coverage - that would cost us $610 / month for us both. That is not in our budget.