senior supplemental health insurance

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JD8

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All medicare supplement plan are the same
Example Plan F is the same coverage with all companys
The only difference is your monthly payment amount.
AARP had the best rates when I signed up

So this man has it straight.

To the OP, from what I understand they were cutting medicare ADVANTAGE plans in Roger county. Medicare Advantage plans are junk, you essentially sign your rights of medicare away to an insurance carrier. If they are dropping the plans you should be able to back to Medicare A+B and get a supplemental without being underwritten but I'm not 100% sure in the case of a carrier dropping the plan. Either way, just pick the carrier with the cheapest Plan F or G, whichever suits your needs. A description of the plans are on the medicare website.

To everyone else, medicare supplemental plans are essentially cookie cutter plans dictated by the government. The coverage cannot an will not change from carrier to carrier within the respective plan. The reason being is that Medicare is your primary insurance, the supplemental is the secondary. When you go in for any procedure, medicare is on the front end, and then tells the insurance carrier what they HAVE to pay. It's all the same. For instance, a plan G with USAA is and must be, exactly the same as a Plan G from Cigna, Blue Cross, etc. However, keep in mind they can play with the coverage networks. So in essence anyone that has USAA supplemental insurance vs. Cigna, Blue Cross, Mutual of Omaha, etc is no better off than anyone else when they are on the same plan. The only difference is price..... and USAA is/was almost always more expensive in Oklahoma than several other carriers. Just a head up.
 
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JD8

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Just pay cash; most docs have 3 different price plans; cash, insurance and Medicare.
Be sure to ask for the $CASH$ price.


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This makes no sense. Why would you pay cash when you are on medicare lol? Are you in the habit of subsidizing the government?
 

TerryMiller

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Just pay cash; most docs have 3 different price plans; cash, insurance and Medicare.
Be sure to ask for the $CASH$ price.


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And to add to this, check out GoodRX dot com for some good deals on prescription drugs. One can put in a drug name and a zip code and GoodRX will show prices at pharmacies in that zip code. They provide a coupon (either printed out or displayed on one's phone) to show the pharmacy for the prescription.

When we had insurance from our employer, the wife had 2 prescriptions (90 day) that cost her $50 each out of pocket and one (90 day) that cost $25 out of pocket for a total of $125 for all three. With GoodRX in Colorado Springs, she got the same 90 day supplies for $50 total.
 

dennishoddy

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So this man has it straight.

To the OP, from what I understand they were cutting medicare ADVANTAGE plans in Roger county. Medicare Advantage plans are junk, you essentially sign your rights of medicare away to an insurance carrier. If they are dropping the plans you should be able to back to Medicare A+B and get a supplemental without being underwritten but I'm not 100% sure in the case of a carrier dropping the plan. Either way, just pick the carrier with the cheapest Plan F or G, whichever suits your needs. A description of the plans are on the medicare website.

To everyone else, medicare supplemental plans are essentially cookie cutter plans dictated by the government. The coverage cannot an will not change from carrier to carrier within the respective plan. The reason being is that Medicare is your primary insurance, the supplemental is the secondary. When you go in for any procedure, medicare is on the front end, and then tells the insurance carrier what they HAVE to pay. It's all the same. For instance, a plan G with USAA is and must be, exactly the same as a Plan G from Cigna, Blue Cross, etc. However, keep in mind they can play with the coverage networks. So in essence anyone that has USAA supplemental insurance vs. Cigna, Blue Cross, Mutual of Omaha, etc is no better off than anyone else when they are on the same plan. The only difference is price..... and USAA is/was almost always more expensive in Oklahoma than several other carriers. Just a head up.

I'm up for the decision. My mail box is flooded with offers, and as I just read the booklet that the .gov puts out, this is fact.^^^^^^
Find a price, and go with it. The coverage is no different depending on the A, B, C, etc.
I have some folks tell me that AARP is the best, but you have to join them to get the insurance.
I dumped them when they advocated obamacare, and I'm not one to back off my principals when a few bucks is involved. I still will NOT do anything with AARP.
 

TerryMiller

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This makes no sense. Why would you pay cash when you are on medicare lol? Are you in the habit of subsidizing the government?

Did the poster say he was on Medicare and that the benefit was for him? I think he was just outlining that doctors can have three different prices. For about 3 years, the wife didn't have insurance and paid cash. Many times, she got hefty discounts from the medical providers, whether they be doctors or hospital emergency rooms.

And, as an addition to you comments about Medicare Advantage plans, they don't cross state lines. At least not in my case. I had signed up for one in Colorado, but when we moved to Oregon, my Advantage plan wouldn't cover anything. That is why, as RV'ers, we both chose to go with supplementals to Medicare. She just became eligible for Medicare last month.
 

TerryMiller

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I'm up for the decision. My mail box is flooded with offers, and as I just read the booklet that the .gov puts out, this is fact.^^^^^^
Find a price, and go with it. The coverage is no different depending on the A, B, C, etc.
I have some folks tell me that AARP is the best, but you have to join them to get the insurance.
I dumped them when they advocated obamacare, and I'm not one to back off my principals when a few bucks is involved. I still will NOT do anything with AARP.

^^^^^^^THIS!!!!^^^^^^^^^^

AARP sucks.
 

JD8

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Did the poster say he was on Medicare and that the benefit was for him? I think he was just outlining that doctors can have three different prices. For about 3 years, the wife didn't have insurance and paid cash. Many times, she got hefty discounts from the medical providers, whether they be doctors or hospital emergency rooms.

Right, so if people start giving advice about what they THINK is a three tiered pricing system in the under 65 aspect of healthcare then things will get confusing in a medicare thread.

I'm up for the decision. My mail box is flooded with offers, and as I just read the booklet that the .gov puts out, this is fact.^^^^^^
Find a price, and go with it. The coverage is no different depending on the A, B, C, etc.
I have some folks tell me that AARP is the best, but you have to join them to get the insurance.
I dumped them when they advocated obamacare, and I'm not one to back off my principals when a few bucks is involved. I still will NOT do anything with AARP.

AARP = is United Healthcare paper. They raise rates quicker than most and yes, they "volunteered" to be the TPA for Obamacare.
 

JD8

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And, as an addition to you comments about Medicare Advantage plans, they don't cross state lines. At least not in my case. I had signed up for one in Colorado, but when we moved to Oregon, my Advantage plan wouldn't cover anything. That is why, as RV'ers, we both chose to go with supplementals to Medicare. She just became eligible for Medicare last month.

True, the reason is because again, you sign your rights away to an insurance carrier and they become your primary insurance. That carrier may or may not be licensed in any given state.
 

dennishoddy

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Right, so if people start giving advice about what they THINK is a three tiered pricing system in the under 65 aspect of healthcare then things will get confusing in a medicare thread.



AARP = is United Healthcare paper. They raise rates quicker than most and yes, they "volunteered" to be the TPA for Obamacare.

I researched a lot of this recently. I'm eligible for most VA care, and will be coming up for Medicare, so I was confused if I can use one for primary and the other for secondary.
Ain't gonna happen according to my VA clinic DR.
Both are primary, and one can juggle between the two, but the DR told me to get Medicare, a supplement, and move forward, keeping the VA for long term medications.
Since I'm not eligible for 100% VA eye and dental care, need to look into what they offer vs the private side.
 
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