if you travel much, make SURE it's good on both states and have out of network coverage,,, the Blues are my recommendation
Posted on 01/24/2018 8:27:59 PM PST by zigmeisterxiv
If there is a different place to post this, please direct me.
My Medicare begins Feb. 2, and I'm figuring to sign up for an advantage plan, but my lazy self hasn't done enough research on this.
Those of you in the know, any advice is appreciated.
65, male, caucasian, 5'7", 180-195 lbs., reside in Florida, no wife or ex-wife, no children, travel to Hawaii, drive to NY and California, spry, no medications, no chronic ailments other than mild sciatica, good mobility, no arthritis, drink daily (after 6 PM), SS + pension + other ~ 3000/month, cash reserves about $150k, no current physician as just moved to Fla, what else?? Max value for minimum cost!
Appointment with Humana peeps next Monday. Do they stink, superior, or same as the others? Most sensible plan for me??
My humble thanks for any insights you can provide ...
Mahalo Hui Loa
zig
Re: “Already it seems like I should just do nothing and roll with the Medicare basic.”
Be sure to pay the monthly premium for Part B.
Each month you postpone adds to the price of Part B in the future.
I actually forget which service Part B covers - I think it’s for physician services, and Part A is for hospital.
I have both, so I don’t really pay attention.
*** Medicare bump ***
Bkmrk for later reference.
Medicare Advantage programs make money and keep your costs low through by limiting your healthcare freedom to choose providers and limiting treatment options. Be aware of this and and do not be swayed by the free or low cost extra benefits. Ask tough questions about from who and where you can seek any needed treatment. If money is not a problem, you may be better off with traditional Medicare plus supplement and drug coverage. Medicare Advantage is great until you get sick.
For years I heard nothing but bad things about Kaiser. Surgeries that went wrong, medical malpractice, bad practices etc. Decades ago my sister had a surgery. For several years after, she complained of pain. Kaiser doctors told her it was all in her head. After complaining to a fifth doctor, they finally x-rayed her and discovered they left a medical instrument inside of her. Oops. Anyway, that was the past.
Last year I switched to Kaiser Permanente. Because my employer dropped the plan I had, and a couple Kaiser hospitals are close to my home. I've been surprised at how good the plan and the service is. Kaiser must have worked hard on improving their image, because I've been happy with how they have treated me over the last year. Now I like Kaiser.
This is a great 40 minute video Medicare explanation by a Cincinnati based company called Medicare Simplified. We used them to assist us with our Medicare decisions. They made the process easier enrolling for the different plans. But any questions we had during enrollment, form questions etc they assisted us with.
ACA (ObamaCare) took money from the Advantage Plans to make ACA less expensive. Your decisions today and the plan you choose will probably be the plan you have for the remainder of you life, because changing plans will be either expensive or pre-existing conditions will not be covered, probably both. In my own words, you have one chance to take a bite at the best apple for your situation.
But even if you don’t use them, this is still an excellent explanation of Medicare and the nuances of Medicare.
http://medicaresimplifiedvideo.com/Full_Video.htm
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Thanks to you all for your advice. I’ve just made arrangements for Part D and am all set.
Talking to a SS represenative on the phone a number of years ago, she said do not leave the orginal medicare, get a gap insurance. I pay for a gap insurance and the deductible and SS billing pays the rest. The advanta plans are HMOs. Once u leave the orginal medicare U CANNOT GO BACK!
Bookmark,
Check with AMAC before giving AARP money to join. AMAC also has similar options.
We switched ALL of my moms,insurance,needs from AARP to AMAC absolutely WONDERFUL company NEVER give,a penny to AARP!!! If we don’t fight back with our pocketbooks we will NEVER change the liberalism in this country!!! AMAC is also BETTER!!!
We just got rid of our Medicare Advantage plan & I do NOT recommend it. The biggest problem is when you go out of your network. I know people who went to Florida last winter & needed medical treatment in the hospital. They encountered many problems. We just switched to an AARP supplement & also bought their drug plan.
Bookmark
if you travel much, make SURE it's good on both states and have out of network coverage,,, the Blues are my recommendation
My plan is Highmark Medigap Blue. It does not pay for my prescriptions but I get them through the VA. The price varies by state. I have the name and number of the guy that helped me when I first started looking for insurance a couple of years ago. He doesn't work for any insurance company and did not try to sell me anything. He sent me info on several different plans. Let me know if you want me to send you his info.
Every sane person hates the insurance business. Good post overall.
My experience with a Medicare Advantage PPO was a nightmare. First of all, the list of the name in-network doctors closely resembled a list of 9/11 hijackers and “Dreamers.” Virtually no Americans. Their list was also a big lie. I would call and they would assure me a certain doctor was in their network. Twice I was kicked out of practices because their doctor wasn’t on the plan or because I had no pre-existing relationship with the doctor so they wouldn’t see me for urgent care. When I finally found a doctor in network the next time I needed a script called in, the doctor would no longer be in network which meant finding a new doctor or going out of network and paying a $85 co-pay and co-insurance just to get a script renewed. After 4 years of frustration and tears, I went with traditional Medicare and Medicare supp. Costs more money upfront (approx. 150/month for supp and Part D) but if you can monetize psychic costs, much less!
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