Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 20, 2015 10:51:34 GMT -5
Athena nailed it. So, even though I grumble about paying $18/mo for something I don't currently need or use, the reason does make sense.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Oct 20, 2015 11:37:25 GMT -5
If you had cheap prescriptions, you could just not give the pharmacy the insurance information. My mom does this for some of her husband's drugs that are on the $4 generic list or very cheap. She has those filled at a different chain and as far as that pharmacy knows, he doesn't have Part D.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Oct 20, 2015 11:40:39 GMT -5
If you don't get SS, you'll be direct billed. I assume in this age of electronic banking they'll want to debit your bank account monthly versus you sending it in. I could be wrong.
I thought federal retiree plans covered it all but I have no experience there. And maybe it changes when you become Medicare eligible.
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Oct 20, 2015 11:44:43 GMT -5
Here's my list of *dumb* questions that I've been trying to understand and I've only got 3 years to find the answers: 1. How do they get paid? Typical Part B withheld from SSA is $1258 per year. If you're not getting SSA (will defer to 66, claim & suspend to 70), how do they get that $1258? 2. Do you have to take the entire alphabet? 3. What if your a gov't retiree who has to have a separate HMO? 4. I FINALLY understand offset - is that impacted? Most of your questions have been answered, but I can contribute a few details:
If you are not receiving SS, you will be sent a bill for your Medicare Part B premiums, which you can pay by credit card, if you want. (I use a rewards card to pay the premium).
I'm a retired Fed, so I have my FEB health insurance in addition to Part B. The insurance company sends me a letter every year stating that my FEB insurance prescription benefit meets the requirements for having drug coverage, so I do not have to sign up for Part D.
SS offset doesn't have anything to do with Medicare.
A few months before you have to sign up, go to the SS/Medicare website and read up on the process. It's really easy to sign up on-line. A couple of weeks after I submitted my application, a very nice lady from SS/Medicare called to finalize the details and I was all set. It has been quite painless so far. I had occasion to call SS later with a question and reached another very nice lady who was very helpful.
If you can change your employer-provided health insurance during open season (Feds can, not sure whether other gov't employees have the same process), check to see if there are any options for plans that are designed specifically to work with Medicare. I have a plan that is designed for people with Medicare, and it waives deductibles and copays.
The SS/Medicare website has lots of useful information. Once you figure out how it's organized, it's pretty easy to navigate.
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Oct 20, 2015 11:58:04 GMT -5
Another thing to check, is find out exactly what "open enrollment" means. 6 years ago it meant: anytime during the first 12 months you have Medicare & supplement or a Medicare Advantange plan you could change your mind...in other words, if you had an Advantage plan and 6 months later you wanted original Medicare instead (which is what I did) I could do it with no penalty. Or is you had Medicare/supplement you could instead purchase an Advantage plan with no penalty.
There is always a catch, right? After the first 12 months, you can still move from Medicare to Advantage or Advantange to Medicare. The problem arises when after the first year if you want to enroll in a Medicare supplement plan you are subject to having to go through medical under writing process. If you have had some serious medical problems you can be turned down.
If that situation has changed due to Obamacare I haven't heard of it. So please, just be sure you understand your options during the first 12 months.
Currently, I believe Open Enrollment means you can change your Part D provider and your Advantage Plan company, it hasn't meant Medicare itself.
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mroped
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Post by mroped on Oct 20, 2015 12:02:10 GMT -5
Shopping for medical insurance is something that we shouldn't have to do. Why? We shop for homeowners and auto insurance. I'm dumping my current (non-Medicare) health insurer as of 1/1 because they said my current coverage will no longer be available and I "might like" an alternative they offered. I got on their site and found that it has ZERO coverage out-of-network. If it were a single-provider system, I'd have no choice. Single-provider systems can, and do, cut back coverage to the lowest acceptable level. Ask anyone in the UK about how long it takes to get a doctor's appointment through the NHS vs. how long it takes if you have a private policy.
I like choice. If I want a better network or a different deductible and want to pay for it, it's an option. If I get poor service from the insurer I can go elsewhere.
DH and I really had to scramble when I retired after taking one week to make the decision over a year ago.
I believe you misunderstand the concept of Universal Health Care. In such a system you DO HAVE THE CHOICE! It's just that is not based on how much will you be paying for premiums but entirely on how much you like your doctor or how convenient is for you to go see one doctor versus another. All doctors/medical offices/clinics/hospitals are on one network. First question that pops out of the receptionist is not "Who's your carrier ?" but "What can we do for you today?" If you change jobs, age to retirement, travel cross country, makes no difference because you are medically covered! The option of going "out of the system" would still be available and certain doctors might opt not to take the UHC but charge a fee for their service. Those would be available if one wants something that is considered an "upgrade" or "non health related", ie titanium hip versus a bone one, face lifts, elective plastic surgery that has no impact on your day to day life- breast implants, hair implants etc- Now, if you had all that, why would one need more choices?
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 20, 2015 12:03:17 GMT -5
You guys are doing a great job of giving information on this. I've bookmarked this thread for my own use.
It's been over a decade since I went over this stuff with my folks and I've forgotten most of it. I especially appreciate when peeps mention how much their premiums are for each of the coverages - helps me with planning for retirement.
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mroped
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Post by mroped on Oct 20, 2015 12:03:49 GMT -5
And yes, you choose to buy a house or car that need insured but I don't believe anyone chooses to get sick or hurt or old for that matter!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 12:04:01 GMT -5
There is always a catch, right? After the first 12 months, you can still move from Medicare to Advantage or Advantange to Medicare. The problem arises when after the first year if you want to enroll in a Medicare supplement plan you are subject to having to go through medical under writing process. If you have had some serious medical problems you can be turned down.
Our agents pointed that out to us so DH enrolled immediately in the Medicare Supplement. Another good reason to use an agent.
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Oct 20, 2015 12:10:42 GMT -5
Captain: another thing with Medicare. There is a look back period of somewhere between 2-3 years that determines your monthly cost for original Medicare. We have a friend that got caught up with that due to selling a long time investment that generated very large capital gains. That period of increased cost is also 2-3 years, after that if your yearly income drops, (as his did) your premium will go down.
Our friend was paying over $300/mo for his part B while I was paying $96 or close to it. We are both the same age and have birthdays 2 days apart.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Oct 20, 2015 12:12:41 GMT -5
dannylion, thanks. We can change 10/1 - 11/1 each year. And I *heard* that we need to show HR verification that we signed up for Part B so I'll eventually learn if my premiums are adjusted. It's not optional, Part B is mandatory if we want to keep our other insurance
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 20, 2015 12:45:41 GMT -5
Another thing to check, is find out exactly what "open enrollment" means. 6 years ago it meant: anytime during the first 12 months you have Medicare & supplement or a Medicare Advantange plan you could change your mind...in other words, if you had an Advantage plan and 6 months later you wanted original Medicare instead (which is what I did) I could do it with no penalty. Or is you had Medicare/supplement you could instead purchase an Advantage plan with no penalty.
There is always a catch, right? After the first 12 months, you can still move from Medicare to Advantage or Advantange to Medicare. The problem arises when after the first year if you want to enroll in a Medicare supplement plan you are subject to having to go through medical under writing process. If you have had some serious medical problems you can be turned down.
If that situation has changed due to Obamacare I haven't heard of it. So please, just be sure you understand your options during the first 12 months.
Currently, I believe Open Enrollment means you can change your Part D provider and your Advantage Plan company, it hasn't meant Medicare itself. The problem arises when after the first year if you want to enroll in a Medicare supplement plan you are subject to having to go through medical under writing process. If you have had some serious medical problems you can be turned down.
I think this is so important, I wanted to repost and highlight. This factored heavily into our decision to opt for the "Cadilac" Plan F when we first went on Medicare. With DH's cancer history, he could have a tough time with medical under writing. (I may be wrong, but I don't think the Obamacare provision affects this - I am pretty sure this is still true)
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 20, 2015 12:50:55 GMT -5
Again, folks - this is an awesome thread! DH has had cancer 4 times now. Honestly forgot about that little point until Gardening Grandma reminded me. Unless they change the age, we'll probably go on medicare as soon as we're eligible at age 62. That's like 14-16 years in the future so a lot can change between now and then. Hell, just given my own medical history I'd go with the Cadilac plan. Blonde Granny - is there anywhere I can go to see what the highest premiums are today? Just curious for planning purposes.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 12:55:25 GMT -5
Captain: another thing with Medicare. There is a look back period of somewhere between 2-3 years that determines your monthly cost for original Medicare. We have a friend that got caught up with that due to selling a long time investment that generated very large capital gains. That period of increased cost is also 2-3 years, after that if your yearly income drops, (as his did) your premium will go down. Our friend was paying over $300/mo for his part B while I was paying $96 or close to it. We are both the same age and have birthdays 2 days apart. They'll work with you on this. I retired in May, 2014 and they tried to base DH's IRMA (Income-related Monthly Adjustment) to Medicare premiums on our income for 2012, probably the most recent they could get their hands on easily. That was my highest earning year ever: good times in the market, big bonus from liquidation of phantom stock plan, changed jobs and got unused vacation pay form the old one and a signing bonus from the new one. There's a user-friendly appeals process and once I told them I'd retired and gave them a better estimate of our real income for 2014, the adjustment went down.
If your actual AGI for the year turns out to be different, I believe you can get a refund if you overpaid or will get a bill if you underpaid. Fortunately, I got our 2014 AGI estimate just about right. Capital gain distributions from mutual funds are not under our control!
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 20, 2015 13:04:19 GMT -5
Again, folks - this is an awesome thread! DH has had cancer 4 times now. Honestly forgot about that little point until Gardening Grandma reminded me. Unless they change the age, we'll probably go on medicare as soon as we're eligible at age 62. That's like 14-16 years in the future so a lot can change between now and then. Hell, just given my own medical history I'd go with the Cadilac plan. Blonde Granny - is there anywhere I can go to see what the highest premiums are today? Just curious for planning purposes. The Captain, normally, i believe the Medicare age is 65... You can go to medicare.gov - they have a couple of ways of searching for plans; put in your zipcode or more personal info for more details.. Just input birthdate as if you are already Medicare age.... If you want to see premiums for Medigap plans in WA state, here's the link: www.healthinsurancewashington.com/medicare/The "Medigap" link at the top takes you to a page where you can pull up quotes from various companies for the various plans for other states, google your state and medicare plans
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 20, 2015 13:17:30 GMT -5
Captain: another thing with Medicare. There is a look back period of somewhere between 2-3 years that determines your monthly cost for original Medicare. We have a friend that got caught up with that due to selling a long time investment that generated very large capital gains. That period of increased cost is also 2-3 years, after that if your yearly income drops, (as his did) your premium will go down. Our friend was paying over $300/mo for his part B while I was paying $96 or close to it. We are both the same age and have birthdays 2 days apart. this happened to us in 2014: We sold the rental house in 2012, so our tax return reflected a very large cap gain that more than doubled our income for that year. Come the end of 2013, we were notified that our 2014 Medicare premiums would be double ($204.90 pp) due to the income change. We bit the bullet and at the end of 2014, got a notice that our 2015 premiums would go back to the $104.90 pp for 2015 (due to our 2013 income - which is our normal income). The kicker is that DH turned 65 and went on Medicare in 2014. Had we sold the house in 2011, I'd have been the only one to pay the higher premium.... Ah well. Live and learn. But if you are anticipating a large, one time, income rise, best to have it occur before Medicare age....Just sayin...
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 20, 2015 13:25:13 GMT -5
Again, folks - this is an awesome thread! DH has had cancer 4 times now. Honestly forgot about that little point until Gardening Grandma reminded me. Unless they change the age, we'll probably go on medicare as soon as we're eligible at age 62. That's like 14-16 years in the future so a lot can change between now and then. Hell, just given my own medical history I'd go with the Cadilac plan. Blonde Granny - is there anywhere I can go to see what the highest premiums are today? Just curious for planning purposes. The Captain, normally, i believe the Medicare age is 65... You can go to medicare.gov - they have a couple of ways of searching for plans; put in your zipcode or more personal info for more details.. Just input birthdate as if you are already Medicare age.... If you want to see premiums for Medigap plans in WA state, here's the link: www.healthinsurancewashington.com/medicare/The "Medigap" link at the top takes you to a page where you can pull up quotes from various companies for the various plans for other states, google your state and medicare plans Huh, thanks. Why did I have 62 in my head? Went to the website - the part B ranges from $105 to $335 a month depending on income. We'll never be in the higher brackets. It's a bargain. Thanks for the medigap link above. The highest part F I found was $250 a month. So, part A premium is 224 a month, part B premium is 105, and the rest would be $250 - do I have that right? So roughly $580, now we'd have to double that to cover DH as well so about $1200 a month in today's dollars. Do I have this right? Am I missing something?
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 20, 2015 13:27:28 GMT -5
If you want precise, current premiums, here's ours - per person:
Medicarej Part A - $0 Medicare Part B (Original Medicare) $104.90 Part D (Presc drug) $15.70 (going to $18.40 in 2016) Medigap Plan F (AARP/UHC) $183.53
total (not including a dental plan) $304.13 pp
(edited to show Part A coverage with no premium)
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 20, 2015 13:28:25 GMT -5
So, part A premium is 224 a month, part B premium is 105, and the rest would be $250 - do I have that right?
where did you get that? Part A has no premium - for most people
From the link I posted:
The Four Parts of Medicare PART A (Inpatient Hospital Insurance)
Eligible individuals are automatically enrolled in Part A with no premium. Others apply to the program when they are eligible or pay a monthly premium if they have worked less than 40 quarters (or 10 years) in their lifetime.
Covers
Helps cover inpatient care in hospitals (includes critical access hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and long-term care hospitals). Helps cover skilled nursing facilities (not custodial or long-term care), hospice and home healthcare services. Does Not Cover
Physician services in the hospital, personal care items, private rooms (unless medically necessary), phone, television, and custodial care, such as assistance with eating, bathing, and getting dressed. Limitations
There are some limitations of the number of hospital days covered for inpatient hospital coverage. Days 1-90 in a hospital stay are covered, and days 90-150 are only covered once in your lifetime. These days are called “lifetime reserve days.” Deductible and copayments apply after 150 days. Providers must accept Medicare and be accepting new patients.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 20, 2015 13:33:59 GMT -5
If you want precise, current premiums, here's ours - per person: Medicare Part B (Original Medicare) $104.90 Part D (Presc drug) $15.70 (going to $18.40 in 2016) Medigap Plan F (AARP/UHC) $183.53 total (not including a dental plan) $304.13 pp Don't you have a part A premium? Did I mess that up? BTW - I really do appreciate this. Trying to figure out health insurance premiums in retirement is my biggest worry because the numbers are not fixed and consistent. I was planning $1K a month (in today's dollars) for insurance because we're higher income than most and because I'm high risk - yes - I do want the Cadillac coverage. If DH and I go into early retirement then obviously our income will go down, unless we sell a rental or something (thanks for mentioning that!). I'm fortunate to be positioned where even if I do want to semi-retire, I'm pretty confident I could negotiate keeping me on the company's medical plan. If not, then I can still get coverage for two on the exchanges for $1k a month.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 20, 2015 13:36:39 GMT -5
So, part A premium is 224 a month, part B premium is 105, and the rest would be $250 - do I have that right?where did you get that? Part A has no premium - for most people From the link I posted: The Four Parts of Medicare PART A (Inpatient Hospital Insurance) Eligible individuals are automatically enrolled in Part A with no premium. Others apply to the program when they are eligible or pay a monthly premium if they have worked less than 40 quarters (or 10 years) in their lifetime. Covers Helps cover inpatient care in hospitals (includes critical access hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and long-term care hospitals). Helps cover skilled nursing facilities (not custodial or long-term care), hospice and home healthcare services. Does Not Cover Physician services in the hospital, personal care items, private rooms (unless medically necessary), phone, television, and custodial care, such as assistance with eating, bathing, and getting dressed. Limitations There are some limitations of the number of hospital days covered for inpatient hospital coverage. Days 1-90 in a hospital stay are covered, and days 90-150 are only covered once in your lifetime. These days are called “lifetime reserve days.” Deductible and copayments apply after 150 days. Providers must accept Medicare and be accepting new patients. From the link you provided, I missed the first sentence. DH and I both have enough quarters. Medicare Premiums for 2015: Part A: (Hospital Insurance) Premium • Most people do not pay a monthly Part A premium because they or a spouse has 40 or more quarters of Medicare-covered employment. • The Part A premium is $224.00 per month for people having 30-39 quarters of Medicare-covered employment. • The Part A premium is $407.00 per month for people who are not otherwise eligible for premium-free hospital insurance and have less than 30 quarters of Medicare-covered employment
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Oct 20, 2015 13:37:29 GMT -5
The Captain, You are smart to be planning ahead. We didn't think much about health care coverage as our employer had good coverage.
Most people do have the required work history to qualify for Part A without a premium. So I should have listed Part A $0 in my list above (I'll go back and edit that)....
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 20, 2015 13:44:44 GMT -5
The Captain, You are smart to be planning ahead. We didn't think much about health care coverage as our employer had good coverage. Most people will have the required work history to qualify for Part A without a premium. So I should have listed Part A $0 in my list above (I'll go back and edit that).... You're kind to say so, but not really. I had to figure this stuff out (sounds like I did well - NOT REALLY) for my folks over a decade ago. My mom was too young for medicare (Dad wasn't) and I had to get her on private insurance. I was getting Dad signed up for medicare the same time I was getting Mom signed up for Tenncare. It was a mess.
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Oct 20, 2015 14:39:31 GMT -5
This has been a great thread, I'm happy it was started. There are so many things to consider, it's difficult to keep everything straight.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Oct 20, 2015 17:09:08 GMT -5
Why would I be penalized for not having part d? It's not like I'd ever use it!! And how do that do that penalty? Increase the premium for my part a? I think they apply a surcharge to your Part D premium when you do sign up. It's a function of how long you went without prescription coverage (from the age you first became eligible for Medicare) and it never goes away. In our case, we gave them documentation that DH, even though he wasn't on Medicare from age 65 to age 76, had had "creditable coverage" through my employer, so he doesn't pay a surcharge.
While insurance companies can and will do stupid things, this makes sense to me. Suppose everyone with cheap or no prescriptions didn't sign up till they suddenly got a prescription for something expensive. Let's say they're diagnosed with Hepatitis C and the doc wants to put them on the new drug that has a 90% chance of curing it but costs $80K for a course of treatment. "Oops- better sign up for Medicare D." That means the pool of insureds is only people with very expensive prescriptions. The premiums will spiral out of control.
I have no intention of ever needing the $2 million umbrella liability coverage I carry, either. I buy it anyway.
It is a certain percentage of the cost of the plan for every month you do not carry coverage. My Medicare coverage started 6/1, I was insured through my employer through August. I waited until fall to sign up, for coverage effective in Jan. Those 6 months cost me an additional $12/year in coverage, even though 3 of them I still had prescription insurance. Also, consider that my outpatient antibiotics for my infection ran my insurance about $5000/mo for 6 months.....and I was not on an expensive one! My ID doc said she had a patient on a drug regimen that was 5x what I paid.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Oct 20, 2015 18:50:53 GMT -5
Just looked it up:
Insurance 339 month, 100% coverage
Medicare B 159 month 147 deductible then 80% coverage
So I'm looking to not sign up when eligible, will wait 90 days bc that's the longest I can wait without incurring a penalty?
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Oct 20, 2015 19:24:36 GMT -5
Just looked it up: Insurance 339 month, 100% coverage Medicare B 159 month 147 deductible then 80% coverage So I'm looking to not sign up when eligible, will wait 90 days bc that's the longest I can wait without incurring a penalty?
Make sure you read through all the insurance information to see if it mentions what happens when you sign up for Medicare. If it doesn't mention how your insurance works with Medicare, call them and ask. My insurance at the time (BCBS) became secondary to Medicare as soon as I signed up, but all Medicare and BCBS deductibles and copays were waived, so there was some offset of the Medicare fee. The Medicare information was way down at the bottom of the insurance information, so make sure you read all the way through.
Also, as I mentioned before, if you have a choice of insurance plans, be sure to read through all of them because there are a few that are more advantageous to people also covered by Medicare. The Medicare information is not always prominently displayed in the insurance brochures, so sometimes you really have to dig to find it.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Oct 20, 2015 20:03:43 GMT -5
I did call. They have no idea how Medicare gets paid but it becomes 2nd to my insurance, yet I can't have my insurance without it. If Medicare B for a full 12 months, my insurance premium drops to $200 month so that my cost stays almost the same.
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Oct 20, 2015 20:18:09 GMT -5
I did call. They have no idea how Medicare gets paid but it becomes 2nd to my insurance, yet I can't have my insurance without it. If Medicare B for a full 12 months, my insurance premium drops to $200 month so that my cost stays almost the same. Ah. I guess there are many different ways that insurance works with Medicare. My friends have Kaiser Permanente, and they have to sign up for Medicare A and B when they are eligible as a condition for keeping their insurance. Their copays and deductibles are waived, but there is no break on the premium. I have BCBS that also waives copays and deductibles, but again, no break on the premium even though Medicare is primary.
Yours sounds like a fairly good deal after 12 months since your premiums are reduced with Medicare as primary. Once you get signed up and on the books, you probably won't have to deal with much paperwork (other than the notices you get from Medicare and your insurance showing who paid how much, which will state prominently that it is not a bill). There is a lot of activity right at first getting signed up and sorted out, then it all sort of runs itself, at least that has been my experience.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Oct 20, 2015 20:19:59 GMT -5
Insurance companies are always offering free dinners on it here so I think that I'm going to go to a couple of them just to get a more complete perspective
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