Almost 65 and pondering medicare supplement/advantage policies

[JOHNNIE36]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveL Ha Ha, You are correct and I am in error. Changing supplements does involve underwriting. A possible way out of this is to opt for a Medicare advantage plan instead of a supplement. No underwriting. The following year, I think you can opt back out to a supplement again with no underwriting. Sorry for the confusion.

I think this is incorrect. Once you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, you cannot just decide you want to go back to original Medicare with a supplemental plan. The supplemental plan insuer would have to agree to insure you a policy. You can go back to Medicare but you can't force any company to sell you a supplemental plan. As mentioned in a previous post, there are two or three exceptions, ie. if your Advantage plan goes belly up which forces you out of the Advantage system.

[Nova]

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Originally Posted by rescueme Sorry, but my question is simple. Why must it be with USAA? There are many insurance companies offering Medicare plans...

Well, it doesn't have to be USAA. Their F plan is cheaper than some plans I have been offered and higher than others. I mainly called to check their rates and was favorably impressed with their lack of a sales job and straightforward analysis of options. They also do a great job of explaining options and pros and cons of each. They have been in the Medicare supplement business for 25 years, so I think they will weather ObamaCare as well as any insurance provider. My original post was to see whether or not anyone has the USAA F plan and what their experience has been...and to see if anyone had any suggestions to add to my understanding of my options and insight on the decision process.

BTW, I don't work for USAA...I am just one happy camper with all of the other services I have through USAA...thus my slant toward USAA.

[Nova]

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Originally Posted by Sue J I'm reading this with great interest as we are being advised to change my Dad from Anthem Senior Advantage Basic (HMO) to Traditional Medicare. So far he's been very pleased with his Advantage plan but this last week his circumstances have changed and he's currently in rehab at a nursing home. When we got to the nursing home yesterday and I was doing the admission paperwork they gave me a quick education on Traditional Medicare vs Supplemental Plan vs Advantage Plan. They would rather deal with Traditional Medicare instead of the Advantage Plan. I'm not certain that it's better for my Dad or just easier for them. My head is spinning. My new acronym for the day is - SNF = Skilled Nursing Facility

Pure speculation, but if your father were covered by the F supplement, all of their bills would be paid in full. As it is, they have to deal with his Advantage plan and possibly look to your father for his co-pay(s) and the max out of pocket set by his current plan. Just thinking...

[kaneohe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveL Ha Ha, You are correct and I am in error. Changing supplements does involve underwriting. A possible way out of this is to opt for a Medicare advantage plan instead of a supplement. No underwriting. The following year, I think you can opt back out to a supplement again with no underwriting. Sorry for the confusion.

I highly doubt this also but like Ha, I can be convinced w/ some reference link. My conclusion following a rushed transition this yr is that we are like old
salmon........we can swim easily downstream from Supplement to Advantage but we are likely to get beat up quite a bit if we try to navigate the other way.

[HpRyder]

Because the MA HMO I'm in doesn't cover the surgeon I want, but uses a less experienced surgeon, I'll have to switch to the only MA PPO listed in So. Ca. which this surgeon accepts. The only way I'll get to the F supplement coverage is if the MA PPO terminates. I've talked with a couple of other internists and surgeons & they are not accepting new Medicare patients even with F coverage. It doesn't pay enough. This correlates with a friend who has original Medicare + F. Every time he becomes sick he has a very tough time finding a doctor who will accept Medicare + F payment schedule. So at least here in Ca, Medicare insurance acceptance is a doctors last resort.

An up coming yearly congressional debate to void reducing doctor payments by 25% has additionally thrown the whole insurance schedule acceptance into turmoil.

[Nova]

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Originally Posted by kaneohe I highly doubt this also but like Ha, I can be convinced w/ some reference link. My conclusion following a rushed transition this yr is that we are like old salmon........we can swim easily downstream from Supplement to Advantage but we are likely to get beat up quite a bit if we try to navigate the other way.

I did have to login to get to this website:

https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/insu...ons_supplement

I got to this point on the web, then I called USAA and asked for more information. That's were I got the scoop on their plan F...and their Advantage plan (through Humana) in my state. I think you can get the info even if you are not currently a member...they have relaxed membership requirements, but if you are not military/ex-military or if you don't live in Bexar, County, TX you may not be able to participate...don't know the answer to that question.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveL Ha Ha, You are correct and I am in error. Changing supplements does involve underwriting. A possible way out of this is to opt for a Medicare advantage plan instead of a supplement. No underwriting. The following year, I think you can opt back out to a supplement again with no underwriting. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks to you and REWahoo for clarifying this.

Ha

[kaneohe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nova I did have to login to get to this website: https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/insu...ons_supplement I got to this point on the web, then I called USAA and asked for more information. That's were I got the scoop on their plan F...and their Advantage plan (through Humana) in my state. I think you can get the info even if you are not currently a member...they have relaxed membership requirements, but if you are not military/ex-military or if you don't live in Bexar, County, TX you may not be able to participate...don't know the answer to that question.

It is not clear to me what question you were answering or what pt of view you were supporting from the reference here.

[Nova]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe It is not clear to me what question you were answering or what pt of view you were supporting from the reference here.

Sorry. I must have grabbed the wrong post to respond to. I intended to respond to the post I thought was questioning whether USAA offered Medicare Supplement insurance. Didn't mean to step on your toes.

I agree with your statement "........we can swim easily downstream from Supplement to Advantage but we are likely to get beat up quite a bit if we try to navigate the other way," with a few aforementioned exceptions.

[haha]

This morning I talked to my insurance broker. As of 1/1/2012 in Washington state, anyone who has a type F Medigap can switch to another carrier. This is likely true of other alphabet designations, but I wasn't interested in the overall thing, just how it affects me. In this state, premiums are based on community rating, so that your premium will not increase based on your age or health.

As I understand it, this will not affect those who might like to switch from Medicare Advantage to Medigap, only those who have an existing Medgap policy of a given level.

This will save me $100/month out of the gate, as my Medigap insurer had somehow managed to hive off people who joined prior to a certain date into a separate pool. Thanks to our excellent insurance commissioner that fiddle is over.

Ha