Signing up for Medicare is a Frustrating and Expensive Process!?

[jet757f]

We are using Boomers Benefits right now for signing up for Medicare. It is nice to use them because they can help you in the future with any problems that come up in the future.

We are having a problem right now with my wife signing up due to the fact that she never changed her name after we got married. We need to have prove of insurance that she has had through my company. My company has her under her married name and Medicare {Part A } has her maiden name. We can't find our wedding license to show that we are married so we are trying to get a copy. It has turned into a big problem. I guess the worst that can happen is we pay the penalty which is 10%.

I have heard that the Dental is not worth getting. AARP has a dental plan with Delta but not sure if it is worth it.

 

[Deuce]

I did have a Broker that I had to work with through my retiree benefits rules to get a small Stipend to use towards my medical expenses.

Moreover, I spent so much time and the stress of doing the deep dive to understand the process and the expense for each part of my Supplement plan.
Truly, I never cared one bit about anything related to medicare before I retired, so now suddenly I need to take a crash course to learn this stuff, I say BS!

I had to take a deep dive into it also, but I am so glad that I learned all the ins and outs that I have. Medicare has been so much better for me than what I had during my working career. It’s straightforward and it cost me a whole lot less.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Thanks to this forum, I started investigating the Medicare process a year prior to signing up.
The insurance we had from work (Kaiser) had a medicare consultant who helped us with online education videos.
When it came time to sign up, we decided to stay with Kaiser, chose Advantage (an HMO) and she was on the phone with me step by step to sign up both of us. It was so easy by that time.
And we have had wonderful experience with Kaiser, so simple, everything under one roof so to speak, medical, dental, optical. No problems with referrals, urgent care or emergent care.

Pacergal, did you go with the standard plan or the Advantage Plus plan with Kaiser.

 

[HGTVFanatic]

I remember frustration when signing up. I am a retired psychologist, and spent years dealing with insurance companies. I recall thinking that if I, with all my education and insurance savvy, found it overly complex, how are others supposed to manage? I caved and went to Boomer Benefits (very popular here!) and got my questions answered.

It seems like everyone here knows about Boomer Benefits. I’m a Boomer and I’ve never heard of it! Have I been living in a cave?

 

[audreyh1]

It seems like everyone here knows about Boomer Benefits. I’m a Boomer and I’ve never heard of it! Have I been living in a cave?

You hear about it here. I didn’t know about it until people started discussing them on this forum.

Pretty much everything I learned about Medicare I learned first here. I followed up directly, especially the official Medicare published documentation/guides, but still so many great tips shared here really helped prepare me.

 

[JoPeter57]

I recommend watching youtube videos on Medigap vs. Advantage plans. If you spend 20 uninterrupted minutes 2x a week, studying about Medicare in general, (Youtube, facebook group, whatever) you will be well versed in 2 months. OTOH, if you are totally unfamiliar, with how health insurance works and terminology, (deductibles, co-pay, in-network, referrals, out of pocket, EOB's, submitted amount, approved amount, medically necessary, prior auth, etc,,,etc), you will struggle making decisions.

 

[badatmath]

I haven't done it but it seems pretty simple to me just by hanging out here.

 

[Mansderm]

Boomer Benefits did it all for us with relatively little ado. We can probably thank the insurance companies for wanting to get their piece of the pie.

Agree. Boomer benefits

 

[leeg]

Signing up for these various forms of insurance wasn't too difficult, but dealing with them when it comes to drug prescriptions is a nightmare. You talk to people who can barely speak English, and speak with an almost incomprehensible accent. I had a minor prescription error, and it was a nightmare. The bottom line was that the doctor prescribed a dose of eye drops that was too large for the insurer, and it took them forever to simply communicate that to me. Just terrible ....

 

[SumDay]

I retired at 61, and while I greatly appreciated the 4 years of employer provided retiree medical with a $600 a month premium and $6000 deductible, as God as my witness, I will never complain about Medicare. I attended a Medicare seminar at a local high school, presented by a local Farmers Insurance agent. He is a Medicare sherpa, and did all the work for us, and guided us to the policies best suited for us. I found it frustrating to navigate and was glad to have his expertise. OP, sorry your experience was so frustrating.

 

[pb4uski]

It seems like everyone here knows about Boomer Benefits. I’m a Boomer and I’ve never heard of it! Have I been living in a cave?

Sounds like yes. [emoji3]

 

[rathail]

This thread makes the case for having a plan and learning what you will need to do while still a few years away from actually going through the process. It should be hand in hand with your financial health. I started my review when I retired at 58 to prepare myself. Yes, things will change plans will come and go, but all it takes is maybe a podcast once a month to start absorbing a little information slowly. Relying on the government would be foolish, we would get a one plan fits all. No thanks to that.

Peace

 

[tango2]

I have been on all that for 6-7 years. It really is not bad. I have soc sec pay for Medicare automatically. Also medical is paid automatically. Now once you have anything done, after Medicare pays they send it to medigap play and they pay as well. We get a record of what is paid and what we may be charged for ,but rarely get a bill. Noe I will say I do not understand the deductable for Medicare b. I think it is first come gets part of it. Dental pays very little but that depends on your dentist too. D the drug plan is confusing. Programs like good rx charge a lot less sometimes. I found you can negotiate with pharmacy on this. Anyway my 2 cents

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

I have been on all that for 6-7 years. It really is not bad. I have soc sec pay for Medicare automatically. Also medical is paid automatically. Now once you have anything done, after Medicare pays they send it to medigap play and they pay as well. We get a record of what is paid and what we may be charged for ,but rarely get a bill. Noe I will say I do not understand the deductable for Medicare b. I think it is first come gets part of it. Dental pays very little but that depends on your dentist too. D the drug plan is confusing. Programs like good rx charge a lot less sometimes. I found you can negotiate with pharmacy on this. Anyway my 2 cents

It seems we are okay with the confusing part of Medicare billing if we are paying the minimum charges or deductible, but to try and understand it can be irritating and nonsensical.

Thanks again for all of the comments related to the Medicare maze we find ourselves walking into.

 

[anethum]

It seems we are okay with the confusing part of Medicare billing if we are paying the minimum charges or deductible, but to try and understand it can be irritating and nonsensical.

Thanks again for all of the comments related to the Medicare maze we find ourselves walking into.

Sorry, but I have found Medicare to be straightforward both for signing up and for billing. I would hardly describe Medicare billing as "nonsensical".

Before I turned 65, I did some research and read the excellent Get What's Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs by Philip Moeller, which someone on this forum recommended. It was extremely helpful. I had zero issues signing up for Medicare, a Medigap plan, or Part D plan. Like many here, I used Boomer Benefits to sign up for a Medigap plan. It was all a piece of cake compared to some of the problems I ran into signing up some years for the ACA. The small Medicare annual deductible before my Plan G kicks in is also a tiny fraction of what my ACA deductible was.

You should be thankful that you're getting a retirement stipend. Many of us are not.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

Sorry, but I have found Medicare to be straightforward both for signing up and for billing. I would hardly describe Medicare billing as "nonsensical".

Before I turned 65, I did some research and read the excellent Get What's Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs by Philip Moeller, which someone on this forum recommended. It was extremely helpful. I had zero issues signing up for Medicare, a Medigap plan, or Part D plan. Like many here, I used Boomer Benefits to sign up for a Medigap plan. It was all a piece of cake compared to some of the problems I ran into signing up some years for the ACA. The small Medicare annual deductible before my Plan G kicks in is also a tiny fraction of what my ACA deductible was.

You should be thankful that you're getting a retirement stipend. Many of us are not.

Thank you, but I must repeat that I did not have the luxury of using Boomer Benefits.
Furthermore, I am grateful that a small retiree Stipend is offered, but I still have to pay about 2/3rds of my total medical premiums.

 

[bmcgonig]

Thank you, but I must repeat that I did not have the luxury of using Boomer Benefits.

Furthermore, I am grateful that a small retiree Stipend is offered, but I still have to pay about 2/3rds of my total medical premiums.

Like anything it demands research prior to signing up. Part of the research entailed finding out about boomer benefits on his website. It’s not a luxury. It’s all part of your research. Before that I read many conversations/posts about what Medigap plan to choose. Before that I read many conversations/posts about the advantages and disadvantages of a Medicare Advantage plan. In the end it was easy after absorbing all those posts here.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

Like anything it demands research prior to signing up. Part of the research entailed finding out about boomer benefits on his website. It’s not a luxury. It’s all part of your research. Before that I read many conversations/posts about what Medigap plan to choose. Before that I read many conversations/posts about the advantages and disadvantages of a Medicare Advantage plan. In the end it was easy after absorbing all those posts here.

I see you used your time wisely.

 

[Romer]

Before I turned 65, I did some research and read the excellent Get What's Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs by Philip Moeller, which someone on this forum recommended. It was extremely helpful.

Thanks for the book suggestion. I just ordered it on Amazon. I have about 3 61 now) years before I need to start working through this

 

[SheitlQueen]

I also used Boomer Benefits and sign up was a breeze. As far as billing, I have never had any problems at all. They are paid and I can look at the EOBs online.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Over the years, I have taken the time to understand policies, premiums, deductibles, in-network and the like. I did a similar study before Medicare eligibility. Listened to people's opinions, but I also read the documents. Finally found a plan that worked for me. Found a lot of bad information along the way. Worked with Boomer Benefits to get that plan in place.