Looking for a Medicare PPO Supplemental - Page 9

nomless · ‎03-10-2010

Wow, Karen, hope you're OK. BTW, under other medicare plans there wouldn't have been 80 bills either.

KarenQVC · ‎05-13-2010

nom or no nom--I'm doing great. That's the thing. It seems as if all the old people in my retirement town go to the dr. as a hobby and the medical system is in on it. I really am curious if people in a university/hospital town like this live longer or just cost Medicare more--guess it's the old sociology major in me. In defense of the old people, they do seem to work out a lot, too. Oh, and join various medical research studies and get paid cash. Weird.

luvsbulldogs · ‎03-14-2010

On 2/1/2015 kittymomNC said:
On 2/1/2015 luvsbulldogs said:
On 2/1/2015 kittymomNC said:
On 2/1/2015 luvsbulldogs said:
I had AARP (United Healthcare) and as others have said they are the worst. I changed this year. I have Medicare and as my supplemental insurance I went with Blue Cross Blue Shield and have been totally satisfied with them for 3 years now. As for your prescriptions Medicare part D will take care of that unless you take a lot of meds. If you do then you will need a supplemental plan just for your prescriptions. I strongly advise to go with an agent to help you.

I'm confused as to what you mean about Medicare Part D taking care of prescriptions, or if you take a lot of meds you need a supplemental plan for them. Unless you have a Medicare Advantage Plan (which usually covers prescriptions), Medicare Part D is the equivalent of a supplemental plan for prescriptions. There aren't any others that I'm aware of, since regular supplemental plans don't pay for prescriptions, and Medicare itself doesn't pay for them either... ${#emotions_dlg.confused1}$

The prescription plan that I had was with AARP and they really gave me a hard time and refused to pay for several prescriptions that I take. They decided to do this in the middle of the year and I had to pay over $800.00 a month for my prescriptions. I had to change to another prescription plan that covers them. This was this past Fall when I made the change for my prescription plan for 2015 and so far Humana ( my new one) is paying for everything. As for my supplemental plan for medical coverage it has been with Blue Cross Blue Shield and as I said it has been very good. I had an agent come to my home and check everything out 3 months before I turned 65 and she figured out that for me BCBS was the best one for me. I hope this clarifies it for you. I have 3 plans.......Medicare, a supplemental medical plan with BCBS and then a prescription plan with Humana. As I said before I would check with an agent to see what is best for you.

Edited to say: As for Medicare Part D I thought that they paid part of the prescriptions along with the supplemental prescription plan but now I am not really sure.

Yes, you've clarified it quite well, thank you... and your edit clarifies it even more. I have Humana's prescription plan as well, and have been quite satisfied with it for about four years. They stopped paying for one med that I may have to take again, and I checked into AARP's prescription plan, but didn't like it as well as Humana. I usually check at the open enrollment period to see if there is a plan that would work better for me because it would be expensive if I have to start on that particular medication again, but so far Humana has been the best for what I need.

Your edit seems to indicate the part I was confused about. There is no Medicare Part D that pays for anything on its own. Medicare Part D is actually your Humana Part D Prescription Plan. In other words, there aren't two separate things that pay for prescriptions, just your Humana plan.

I'm glad you've been able to get plans that work well for you. It is confusing, and the Part D Prescription Plans are the most confusing of all because they aren't standardized like the regular supplemental plans. I've often made the statement that whoever decided how these prescription plans would work must have been on some potent drugs at the time, if you know what I mean!

Hi kittymomNC........thank you for explaining Medicare Part D to me. Also thank you for telling me that you are pleased with your prescription plan with Humana. I was so overwhelmed with having to shop around for a new Prescription plan that I finally phoned my pharmacy and they did a print out for me of each company available in the State and what how many they would cover for me and Humana was the best for me. Thanks again.

kittymomNC · ‎08-09-2012

On 2/1/2015 luvsbulldogs said:
On 2/1/2015 kittymomNC said:
On 2/1/2015 luvsbulldogs said:
On 2/1/2015 kittymomNC said:
On 2/1/2015 luvsbulldogs said:
I had AARP (United Healthcare) and as others have said they are the worst. I changed this year. I have Medicare and as my supplemental insurance I went with Blue Cross Blue Shield and have been totally satisfied with them for 3 years now. As for your prescriptions Medicare part D will take care of that unless you take a lot of meds. If you do then you will need a supplemental plan just for your prescriptions. I strongly advise to go with an agent to help you.

I'm confused as to what you mean about Medicare Part D taking care of prescriptions, or if you take a lot of meds you need a supplemental plan for them. Unless you have a Medicare Advantage Plan (which usually covers prescriptions), Medicare Part D is the equivalent of a supplemental plan for prescriptions. There aren't any others that I'm aware of, since regular supplemental plans don't pay for prescriptions, and Medicare itself doesn't pay for them either... ${#emotions_dlg.confused1}$

The prescription plan that I had was with AARP and they really gave me a hard time and refused to pay for several prescriptions that I take. They decided to do this in the middle of the year and I had to pay over $800.00 a month for my prescriptions. I had to change to another prescription plan that covers them. This was this past Fall when I made the change for my prescription plan for 2015 and so far Humana ( my new one) is paying for everything. As for my supplemental plan for medical coverage it has been with Blue Cross Blue Shield and as I said it has been very good. I had an agent come to my home and check everything out 3 months before I turned 65 and she figured out that for me BCBS was the best one for me. I hope this clarifies it for you. I have 3 plans.......Medicare, a supplemental medical plan with BCBS and then a prescription plan with Humana. As I said before I would check with an agent to see what is best for you.

Edited to say: As for Medicare Part D I thought that they paid part of the prescriptions along with the supplemental prescription plan but now I am not really sure.

Yes, you've clarified it quite well, thank you... and your edit clarifies it even more. I have Humana's prescription plan as well, and have been quite satisfied with it for about four years. They stopped paying for one med that I may have to take again, and I checked into AARP's prescription plan, but didn't like it as well as Humana. I usually check at the open enrollment period to see if there is a plan that would work better for me because it would be expensive if I have to start on that particular medication again, but so far Humana has been the best for what I need.

Your edit seems to indicate the part I was confused about. There is no Medicare Part D that pays for anything on its own. Medicare Part D is actually your Humana Part D Prescription Plan. In other words, there aren't two separate things that pay for prescriptions, just your Humana plan.

I'm glad you've been able to get plans that work well for you. It is confusing, and the Part D Prescription Plans are the most confusing of all because they aren't standardized like the regular supplemental plans. I've often made the statement that whoever decided how these prescription plans would work must have been on some potent drugs at the time, if you know what I mean!

Hi kittymomNC........thank you for explaining Medicare Part D to me. Also thank you for telling me that you are pleased with your prescription plan with Humana. I was so overwhelmed with having to shop around for a new Prescription plan that I finally phoned my pharmacy and they did a print out for me of each company available in the State and what how many they would cover for me and Humana was the best for me. Thanks again.

You're very welcome. I'm glad I could be of some help. The Part D Prescription plans are the most confusing things I think I've ever come across. I can't imagine why they were set up the way they are. If they were standardized like the Medicare Supplements are, i.e., Plan F is Plan F no matter what company you get it from, etc., it would be so much easier. But trying to find the plans that cover your prescriptions, then comparing their premiums, co-pays, payment "tiers", etc. to other companies, reminds me of a thousand piece puzzle that's all one color! And the one thing that really bothers me is that if you need a new prescription during the year, and your plan doesn't cover it, you may be out of luck until the new enrollment period. Oh well, I am thankful we have something available to us. I can't imagine what it was like for older people when they didn't have any coverage at all for prescriptions!

luvsbulldogs · ‎03-14-2010

On 2/2/2015 kittymomNC said:

<br />

You're very welcome. I'm glad I could be of some help. The Part D Prescription plans are the most confusing things I think I've ever come across. I can't imagine why they were set up the way they are. If they were standardized like the Medicare Supplements are, i.e., Plan F is Plan F no matter what company you get it from, etc., it would be so much easier. But trying to find the plans that cover your prescriptions, then comparing their premiums, co-pays, payment "tiers", etc. to other companies, reminds me of a thousand piece puzzle that's all one color! And the one thing that really bothers me is that if you need a new prescription during the year, and your plan doesn't cover it, you may be out of luck until the new enrollment period. Oh well, I am thankful we have something available to us. I can't imagine what it was like for older people when they didn't have any coverage at all for prescriptions!

Hi KittymomNC..........I am glad to hear that someone else finds Part D confusing. You described the confusion perfectly. What I also do not like is that when you have to make a change of companies during open enrollment and they tell you over the phone that all your prescriptions are covered and then in the following months once the new plan has started you receive letters stating that they have changed and you are not covered any longer. This should not be allowed because you are then stuck with paying, and it is now cheap, for them. Then you have to wait until open enrollment again. I had a great insurance plan for many years and got used to that. I guess we are lucky that we have any insurance at all.