Supplement, In addition to Humana/Medicare

Southernfriedchick · ‎03-14-2010

From what I have read, and have been told, United Health Care will be awarded the contract for medicare/regular insurance. Can you recommend a supplemental insurance plan? Thanks

Roni · ‎03-14-2010

United Healthcare has supplemental plans and especially through the group that sold out 'seniors': AARP. There are many plans Regular Medicare A&B are govt. 'owned'... A is the hospital part, B is doctors, etc... Then you have Medicare D which are the drug plans....and the best supplement supposedly are the F plans. They pay all deductibles from A&B... We have a 'high deductible' Plan F (deductible is $2110/year - BUT the premium went from 254.70/month to $75/month....so in the end even with the 'high' ??? deductible you are paying less) The least expensive D plan is Humana Walmart at 12.60/month.... Many supplemental plans are HMO's with no cost up front...but require the usual referrals (which will be much worse with Obamacare) but every service has a co-pay. ...and beware of Medicare's deductible which repeats every time hospitalized....on day '61' or more.... You really need a licensed Medicare agent in your state to advise you....

patticakes · ‎03-10-2010

I had to make this decision in May and I suggest you do a lot of research for the state that you live in. Here, when I pulled up the plans for Georgia, I had several different options. I chose an advantage plan that is through Humana. I have to pay my regular Medicare portion plus an extra premium but that covers me for doctor, hospital, lab and prescriptions. I could have added a dental and vision plan but I still had that through my husband's employer. So far, it's been exactly what I was looking for--much like the BC and BS I had previously through my husband's employer. The cost; however, is less than staying on his plan. Every state is different and it really all depends what kind of coverage you are looking for, as well. If you go on the internet and pull up Medicare plans in your state you should be able to review all your choices. One other thing, don't be afraid of calling the plans that you are considering with a list of questions that you need answers to. That's what I did; and when I made my decision, I was confident I was getting the plan that I felt I needed. I hope this helps.

Southernfriedchick · ‎03-14-2010

Thank you. I hadn't heard about Humana Walmart. My neighbor is really having a hard time deciding on which way to go, and I will agree that it is confusing, to say the least. Thank you for your response.

Southernfriedchick · ‎03-14-2010

On 1/17/2014 patticakes said:
I had to make this decision in May and I suggest you do a lot of research for the state that you live in. Here, when I pulled up the plans for Georgia, I had several different options. I chose an advantage plan that is through Humana. I have to pay my regular Medicare portion plus an extra premium but that covers me for doctor, hospital, lab and prescriptions. I could have added a dental and vision plan but I still had that through my husband's employer. So far, it's been exactly what I was looking for--much like the BC and BS I had previously through my husband's employer. The cost; however, is less than staying on his plan. Every state is different and it really all depends what kind of coverage you are looking for, as well. If you go on the internet and pull up Medicare plans in your state you should be able to review all your choices. One other thing, don't be afraid of calling the plans that you are considering with a list of questions that you need answers to. That's what I did; and when I made my decision, I was confident I was getting the plan that I felt I needed. I hope this helps.

Yes, it helps. Trying to help someone figure all this out is mind-boggling. Thank you!

tototwo · ‎03-09-2010

I recently spent 2 months researching Medicare supplement plans. It IS very confusing. I don't know if the decision I finally made is the perfect choice, time will tell. On paper, it looks good, but I haven't had to use it yet.

You could talk to your doctor's office and billing office - I did. I wanted to know which supplement plans actually paid the bills and which ones always find loop holes so they don't have to pay. My doctor himself told me that "Humana is inhumane" to his patients. And there were other plans he told me to avoid. I went with a plan my doc's office said consistently paid the bills. Like I said, time will tell.

* A woman is like a tea bag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. *
- Eleanor Roosevelt

bells4me · ‎03-13-2010

I have not heard of anyone speak good of Humana. There are many other threads on this subject in VP recently.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

All Medicare supplimental plans sold by different companies offer the same benefits. Example: Plan C sold by Blue Cross Blue Shield is exactly the same plan sold by Aetna. The only difference is price. Once you choose a plan, call around to compare pricing.

I wouldn't advise anyone to pick up Plan A...it doesn't cover enough, Plan B is not bad and is OK if you can't afford a better plan. It doesn't cover everything, but is an OK basic plan.

Plan C is a great coverage. It covers ALL Hospital and Doctor's deductiles and coinsurance AND also covers the skilled nursing facility(SNF) coinsurance. I recommend that everyone chose a plan that covers the SNF coins. Today if you break your leg or have a knee replacement for example, you will go to a SNF to receive physical therapy after your 3 day hospital stay. If you don't have a plan to cover the SNF coins after the first 30 days...you will get a BIG bill.

Be careful that you don't purchase more insurance than you might need. In some states doctors are not allowed to bill for more than the Medicare allowance, they can only bill for the 20% coinsurance after Medicare pays and must write off the rest. If that is the case, you would not need a policy to cover the amount not allowed by Medicare.

I would suggest that you call your local office on aging. They can help you choose and they do not get a comission on what you purchase, so they are not going to steer you to a more expensive plan that you don't need. They will have brochures and info on many plans from different companies to show you what's out there.

lakes · ‎03-11-2010

Medicare - all forms, all plans - are SO confusing - I have set up plans for both my mom and husband - crazy complicated - as are all things that involve the government!