Community Chat

[HisElk]

On 10/22/2014 scotttie said:

On 10/22/2014 HisElk said:

On 10/22/2014 scotttie said:

On 10/22/2014 adelle38 said:

On 10/22/2014 scotttie said:

On 10/22/2014 happy housewife said:

As stated in my post it is an advantage plan. Of course I know they are not all available every where. Buy when someone whines about the cost of their plan going up I want to scream at them because there are comparable plans everywhere and they are just apparently too lazy to see what they can find for the amount they have budgetted. And the government has NOTHING to do with the amount you pay for your supplement or advantage plan.

Unfortunately you just don't know what you are talking about. It takes a tremendous amount of research to compare supplement plans and the costs are very similar according to the amount of coverage. DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE.

Also, the coverage varies a lot on Advantage plans and the costs are similar according to coverage.

I know what I'm talking about. I just finished this nightmare myself.

I agree. There are so many factors that go into making this decision. I wish it were as simple as comparing cost and benefits of Plans 1,2, 3 and 4. You have to consider first if you want regular Medicare and then figure out what a supplement would cost. If you decide on Advantage you have to compare plans and your individual needs. For instance, I need a plan that will cover me when I travel. Also some people have supplements and/or secondary insurance through employers. It's a very tangled web.

EXACTLY. And then guess what. I spent weeks researching this for my dh. We chose a plan and signed up. WE got the cards and the packet. A week later we got a letter saying they were dropping our plan entirely. I had to start over. EXCEDRIN HEADACHE NUMBER 200!!!!

Oh, scottie, just reading your post makes me not looking forward to the day DH and I have to figure all of this out. After all of the time you spent researching the plan and finding out they have dropped it is more than frustrating.

I must say, "the air was blue", when I opened that letter.

When it gets close to time for you and your husband to decide, I highly recommend going to the medicare.gov website. There is a ton of helpful info there and it will get you started to the point you know what questions to ask potential carriers.

Also, you will probably be deluged with marketing plans from all the insurance carriers. They can be helpful too.

Get a couple of big ole file folders LOL

Thanks for your help. It all seems to be very confusing and hopefully, between the two of us, we can try to figure out what we will need to do.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion on the 'big ole file folders'. It seems that nothing is simple these days.

[kittymomNC]

On 10/22/2014 happy housewife said:

As stated in my post it is an advantage plan. Of course I know they are not all available every where. Buy when someone whines about the cost of their plan going up I want to scream at them because there are comparable plans everywhere and they are just apparently too lazy to see what they can find for the amount they have budgetted. And the government has NOTHING to do with the amount you pay for your supplement or advantage plan.

Actually, the government has been subsidizing the private insurance companies who provide Medicare Advantage Plans for a long time, and the insurance companies dictate the premiums they charge based in part on those subsidies:

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

"Medicare Advantage Program pays private insurance companies a set rate to treat Medicare beneficiaries. The idea behind the program was that competition between private insurers would drive down costs for treating Medicare patients. But it turns out that Medicare Advantage plans have consistently cost the government more per beneficiary than traditional Medicare.

The health care law that was signed in March 2010 phases out extra payments for Medicare Advantage plans and institutes other rules for the program. Generally speaking, the extra payments phase out over the next three to six years. In a few cases, plans will be able to keep current funding if they qualify for special bonuses. The measure is expected to save $136 billion over 10 years."

[scotttie]

On 10/22/2014 kittymomNC said:

On 10/22/2014 happy housewife said:

As stated in my post it is an advantage plan. Of course I know they are not all available every where. Buy when someone whines about the cost of their plan going up I want to scream at them because there are comparable plans everywhere and they are just apparently too lazy to see what they can find for the amount they have budgetted. And the government has NOTHING to do with the amount you pay for your supplement or advantage plan.

Actually, the government has been subsidizing the private insurance companies who provide Medicare Advantage Plans for a long time, and the insurance companies dictate the premiums they charge based in part on those subsidies:

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

"Medicare Advantage Program pays private insurance companies a set rate to treat Medicare beneficiaries. The idea behind the program was that competition between private insurers would drive down costs for treating Medicare patients. But it turns out that Medicare Advantage plans have consistently cost the government more per beneficiary than traditional Medicare.

The health care law that was signed in March 2010 phases out extra payments for Medicare Advantage plans and institutes other rules for the program. Generally speaking, the extra payments phase out over the next three to six years. In a few cases, plans will be able to keep current funding if they qualify for special bonuses. The measure is expected to save $136 billion over 10 years."

Ahhhh. I wonder if that's why our plan was dropped. I just wish they wouldn't have let us sign up for it in the first place!

Very helpful, kittymom. And yes, the advantage plans are just administering it for the gov't at a subsidy. Thank you.

[kittymomNC]

For anyone who needs help in figuring out this nightmare (a "good" nightmare, IMO), you can contact your state's State Health Insurance Assistance Program.

You can go on the Medicare.gov website, or you can actually call Medicare, and they will direct you to your state's assistance department. They will help you with determining what the best plans are for you in your particular area.

They can also help if you have a problem with one of your insurance companies. I had a HUGE problem for a few months with a Part D Prescription company, and I called my state's SHIP department. They got it straightened out in a hurry - very helpful.

[kittymomNC]

On 10/22/2014 scotttie said:

On 10/22/2014 kittymomNC said:

On 10/22/2014 happy housewife said:

As stated in my post it is an advantage plan. Of course I know they are not all available every where. Buy when someone whines about the cost of their plan going up I want to scream at them because there are comparable plans everywhere and they are just apparently too lazy to see what they can find for the amount they have budgetted. And the government has NOTHING to do with the amount you pay for your supplement or advantage plan.

Actually, the government has been subsidizing the private insurance companies who provide Medicare Advantage Plans for a long time, and the insurance companies dictate the premiums they charge based in part on those subsidies:

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

"Medicare Advantage Program pays private insurance companies a set rate to treat Medicare beneficiaries. The idea behind the program was that competition between private insurers would drive down costs for treating Medicare patients. But it turns out that Medicare Advantage plans have consistently cost the government more per beneficiary than traditional Medicare.

The health care law that was signed in March 2010 phases out extra payments for Medicare Advantage plans and institutes other rules for the program. Generally speaking, the extra payments phase out over the next three to six years. In a few cases, plans will be able to keep current funding if they qualify for special bonuses. The measure is expected to save $136 billion over 10 years."

Ahhhh. I wonder if that's why our plan was dropped. I just wish they wouldn't have let us sign up for it in the first place!

Very helpful, kittymom. And yes, the advantage plans are just administering it for the gov't at a subsidy. Thank you.

You're very welcome!

I just wanted to add that I had such a time the last 15 years I was working because I had to have individual health insurance ... I was in business for myself. That "big blue" company took me for a real ride, financially speaking, because they have a monopoly in my state -- you almost couldn't get individual insurance from anyone else. I swore then that I would only take regular Medicare mainly because it IS run by the government and not by a private insurance company!

[scotttie]

On 10/22/2014 kittymomNC said:

On 10/22/2014 scotttie said:

On 10/22/2014 kittymomNC said:

On 10/22/2014 happy housewife said:

As stated in my post it is an advantage plan. Of course I know they are not all available every where. Buy when someone whines about the cost of their plan going up I want to scream at them because there are comparable plans everywhere and they are just apparently too lazy to see what they can find for the amount they have budgetted. And the government has NOTHING to do with the amount you pay for your supplement or advantage plan.

Actually, the government has been subsidizing the private insurance companies who provide Medicare Advantage Plans for a long time, and the insurance companies dictate the premiums they charge based in part on those subsidies:

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

"Medicare Advantage Program pays private insurance companies a set rate to treat Medicare beneficiaries. The idea behind the program was that competition between private insurers would drive down costs for treating Medicare patients. But it turns out that Medicare Advantage plans have consistently cost the government more per beneficiary than traditional Medicare.

The health care law that was signed in March 2010 phases out extra payments for Medicare Advantage plans and institutes other rules for the program. Generally speaking, the extra payments phase out over the next three to six years. In a few cases, plans will be able to keep current funding if they qualify for special bonuses. The measure is expected to save $136 billion over 10 years."

Ahhhh. I wonder if that's why our plan was dropped. I just wish they wouldn't have let us sign up for it in the first place!

Very helpful, kittymom. And yes, the advantage plans are just administering it for the gov't at a subsidy. Thank you.

You're very welcome!

I just wanted to add that I had such a time the last 15 years I was working because I had to have individual health insurance ... I was in business for myself. That "big blue" company took me for a real ride, financially speaking, because they have a monopoly in my state -- you almost couldn't get individual insurance from anyone else. I swore then that I would only take regular Medicare mainly because it IS run by the government and not by a private insurance company!

May I say....that was the one that dropped us.....

[scotttie]

On 10/22/2014 kittymomNC said:

For anyone who needs help in figuring out this nightmare (a "good" nightmare, IMO), you can contact your state's State Health Insurance Assistance Program.

You can go on the Medicare.gov website, or you can actually call Medicare, and they will direct you to your state's assistance department. They will help you with determining what the best plans are for you in your particular area.

They can also help if you have a problem with one of your insurance companies. I had a HUGE problem for a few months with a Part D Prescription company, and I called my state's SHIP department. They got it straightened out in a hurry - very helpful.

Yes! Yes! Yes! this ^^^^

[kittymomNC]

On 10/22/2014 scotttie said:

On 10/22/2014 kittymomNC said:

On 10/22/2014 scotttie said:

On 10/22/2014 kittymomNC said:

On 10/22/2014 happy housewife said:

As stated in my post it is an advantage plan. Of course I know they are not all available every where. Buy when someone whines about the cost of their plan going up I want to scream at them because there are comparable plans everywhere and they are just apparently too lazy to see what they can find for the amount they have budgetted. And the government has NOTHING to do with the amount you pay for your supplement or advantage plan.

Actually, the government has been subsidizing the private insurance companies who provide Medicare Advantage Plans for a long time, and the insurance companies dictate the premiums they charge based in part on those subsidies:

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

"Medicare Advantage Program pays private insurance companies a set rate to treat Medicare beneficiaries. The idea behind the program was that competition between private insurers would drive down costs for treating Medicare patients. But it turns out that Medicare Advantage plans have consistently cost the government more per beneficiary than traditional Medicare.

The health care law that was signed in March 2010 phases out extra payments for Medicare Advantage plans and institutes other rules for the program. Generally speaking, the extra payments phase out over the next three to six years. In a few cases, plans will be able to keep current funding if they qualify for special bonuses. The measure is expected to save $136 billion over 10 years."

Ahhhh. I wonder if that's why our plan was dropped. I just wish they wouldn't have let us sign up for it in the first place!

Very helpful, kittymom. And yes, the advantage plans are just administering it for the gov't at a subsidy. Thank you.

You're very welcome!

I just wanted to add that I had such a time the last 15 years I was working because I had to have individual health insurance ... I was in business for myself. That "big blue" company took me for a real ride, financially speaking, because they have a monopoly in my state -- you almost couldn't get individual insurance from anyone else. I swore then that I would only take regular Medicare mainly because it IS run by the government and not by a private insurance company!

May I say....that was the one that dropped us.....

I'm sorry that happened to you, but why doesn't that surprise me? They are ALL about the bottom line. I've never figured out how they can be a "non-profit" company - they can keep a LOT of money in "reserves" (they don't call it profit) and they always used that to the hilt. Only one year out of the 15 that I was with them, they had too much to keep in reserves so they had to reduce the premiums. There was always a lot in the local papers about their shenanigans, including when they used over $500,000 to take some executives to Pinehurst NC to a golf tournament, in the same year when they gave us double-digit premium increases. The great thing now about A*C*A is that they now have to refund a portion of the premiums if they don't use at least 85% toward actual health care. If that had been the case when I had it, they would have been refunding most of my premiums for a lot of years!

I swore when I went on Medicare that I would never have anything to do with them again, but when my son had to go to the A*C*A marketplace to get insurance, guess who he had to get it with? Yep! Since my state didn't expand Medicaid unfortunately, no other insurance companies wanted to come in here, so he had only two choices, and this was the best one. But he did get a really good policy at a great rate - don't know yet how much they will go up in 2015.

Look at it this way... the fact that they dropped your coverage could be a blessing in disguise!

[deeva]

Any increase is welcome.

[terrier3]

On 10/22/2014 scotttie said:

Ahhhh. I wonder if that's why our plan was dropped. I just wish they wouldn't have let us sign up for it in the first place!

Very helpful, kittymom. And yes, the advantage plans are just administering it for the gov't at a subsidy. Thank you.

Medicare Advantage plans have to show they are cost effective. If they spend too much on marketing and salaries compared to benefits, if they have poor medical outcomes and lots of hospital re-admissions, if they aren't seeking ways to become more efficient, their annual rating ("stars") goes down - and they receive less money to administer the Advantage program in the next year. If their subsidy is too low because they are too inefficient - they will drop the plan rather than lose money.

But since every plan is rated every year, costs change and extra benefits change too. If everything was "status quo" there would be no incentive to reduce costs.

Advantage plans were set up with the understanding that private companies can administer health care for less money than the feds. That never panned out - Advantage plans STILL cost 12% or more to run than standard Medicare...hence the changing plans, ratings and premiums.