senior supplemental health insurance

[BReeves]

They lied to me when I got out of the Navy, said I would never have to worry about medical coverage VA would take care of me. When I tried the VA between 62 and 65 when I was too young for Medicare and didn't have insurance the VA turned me down, said I was making too much money.

Anyway, just went to my SS account to see what I had on Medicare and this is what I found..

Part A (Hospital Insurance) Coverage Started: January 2010
Monthly Premium: $0.00 (as of January 2010)
Part B (Medical Insurance) Coverage Started: January 2010
Monthly Premium: $109.00 (as of December 2016)
Part C (Medicare Advantage) Coverage Started: February 2010
Monthly Premium: $11.80 (as of January 2017)
Part D (Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage)
Coverage Started: February 2010
Monthly Premium: $30.20 (as of January 2017)

Looks to me like I am and have been signed up for all of it, do I really need anything else?

Did a little research and discovered C&D are Community Care and what we will need to replace. AARP and Humana let me see the plans by simply entering my zip, everything else wanted to have more info than I was willing to give them.

 

[JD8]

They lied to me when I got out of the Navy, said I would never have to worry about medical coverage VA would take care of me. When I tried the VA between 62 and 65 when I was too young for Medicare and didn't have insurance the VA turned me down, said I was making too much money.

Anyway, just went to my SS account to see what I had on Medicare and this is what I found..

Part A (Hospital Insurance) Coverage Started: January 2010
Monthly Premium: $0.00 (as of January 2010)
Part B (Medical Insurance) Coverage Started: January 2010
Monthly Premium: $109.00 (as of December 2016)
Part C (Medicare Advantage) Coverage Started: February 2010
Monthly Premium: $11.80 (as of January 2017)
Part D (Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage)
Coverage Started: February 2010
Monthly Premium: $30.20 (as of January 2017)

Looks to me like I am and have been signed up for all of it, do I really need anything else?

So when you have an advantage plan.... you no longer have medicare rights to part a and b. You pay the government, the government pays a private insurance carrier and your coverage is at their mercy and results in lesser coverage, smaller networks, and higher co-pays.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

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

The free part of Medicare is part A which just covers Hospitalization. If you want Medicare to pay for doctor visits then you gotta buy coverage Part B.

 

[BReeves]

So when you have an advantage plan.... you no longer have medicare rights to part a and b. You pay the government, the government pays a private insurance carrier and your coverage is at their mercy and results in lesser coverage, smaller networks, and higher co-pays.

That is pretty much the way I understand it works sorta. Community Care was a really good plan. It was an HMO which meant a small copay and you had to use one of the plans doctors but for $42.00 you got the whole St Francis/ St Johns network. From what I have seen so far if I go with another provider it will cost me 2 to 3 times what I was paying CC for the same deal. Also limited to the doctors in the plan with a copay etc.

 

[JD8]

The free part of Medicare is part A which just covers Hospitalization. If you want Medicare to pay for doctor visits then you gotta buy coverage Part B.

He's already enrolled in Part B. Unless you're telling him to drop part B with no other coverage? That will drop his advantage plan or any supplement they might choose. I'll take Medicare over "paying cash" at age 73, 7 ways till sunday, because it's not going to be cheap when someone needs any sort of out patient procedure, MRI, etc....

 

[JD8]

That is pretty much the way I understand it works sorta. Community Care was a really good plan. It was an HMO which meant a small copay and you had to use one of the plans doctors but for $42.00 you got the whole St Francis/ St Johns network. From what I have seen so far if I go with another provider it will cost me 2 to 3 times what I was paying CC for the same deal. Also limited to the doctors in the plan with a copay etc.

This is if you stick to an advantage plan though. You CAN enroll back in Medicare A&B and get a supplemental F which would amount to no out of pocket cost for services. It WILL be more expensive than what you are paying......on the front end.... if you get sick on an advantage plan you're paying for all sorts of fun stuff. You'll have to weigh your own pro and cons.

 

[JD8]

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.

He's right. Two primaries there, guess which one I'm going to suggest? A lot of people get the expensive meds through the VA and do exactly what he said.

As far as dental and eye care... READ the benefits.... they were junk products typically.... only amounting to ~$1500 limits.... in the fine print. This is typically where I recommend people pay cash.

 

[BReeves]

This is getting complicated, beginning to understand why so many just choose to use an emergency room for primary care. Called two doctors I had went to in the past to see if they had any recommendations or were associated with any of the part C plans. Both told me they were not taking any new patients and I was sol because I hadn't been to either on in the last 3 years..

Maybe the cash suggestion wasn't such a bad suggestion after all just go with A&B and pay cash for DR visits when I get sick.

But then we are back to finding a doctor. When I was uninsured I somehow contracted Shingles, went to an urgent care clinic in Claremore. The idiot doctor I saw didn't know what I had and gave me an antibiotic which does nothing for Shingles. Finally after being totally miserable for another week a friend suggested I go to his wife's dermatologist, when I walked into the office the durn nurse told me I had Shingles. Couldn't believe a doctor didn't know what Shingles was..