Parents and Medicaid questions

[2B]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha You likely mean Medicaid? Because Medicare in one way of another is part of the health insurance provision for all or almost all US workers and former workers past the age of 65. I believe some government worker systems are completely separate from Mediacre, but I have no detail on this. Ha

My FIL was retired military and had unbelieveable no cost medical coverage. His copays for meds were pocket change and no copays for doctor visits. He didn't get anywhere near medicare. There was talk about eliminating the medical plan he was on but he passed away safely before anything was done. However, his super plan didn't cover anything involving assisted living or nursing care other than the medical part.

[BLS53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2B My FIL was retired military and had unbelieveable no cost medical coverage. His copays for meds were pocket change and no copays for doctor visits. He didn't get anywhere near medicare. There was talk about eliminating the medical plan he was on but he passed away safely before anything was done. However, his super plan didn't cover anything involving assisted living or nursing care other than the medical part.

Medicare is part of the healthcare plan for military retirees once they reach 65. The military part, called Tricare for Life, works the same as a Medicare supplement does for civilians. But Medicare is the primary payer.

As far as I know, military retirees have no advantage over anyone else, when it comes to elder care, nursing homes etc. There's no special exemptions or asset protection. There are some veteran's homes around, but imagine the requirements to enter one are very high.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLS53 Medicare is part of the healthcare plan for military retirees once they reach 65. The military part, called Tricare for Life, works the same as a Medicare supplement does for civilians. But Medicare is the primary payer.

This this mean that their doctors are paid on the same low scale as other Medicare recipients, and the same limitations apply? Or is the Tricare part allowed to step up and sweeten the deal? If it is just a Medigap Supplement, does it correspond to any of the other supplements like A, F, etc? How about drug benefits?

Ha

[misty57]

My mom has both Medicare and Tri Care. My understanding is that Medicare pays first and Tri Care picks up the balance. Her drugs are covered, but I don't know if that's through Tri Care or if she has a Medicare Part D. I suspect it's through Tri Care.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLS53 Medicare is part of the healthcare plan for military retirees once they reach 65. The military part, called Tricare for Life, works the same as a Medicare supplement does for civilians. But Medicare is the primary payer. As far as I know, military retirees have no advantage over anyone else, when it comes to elder care, nursing homes etc. There's no special exemptions or asset protection. There are some veteran's homes around, but imagine the requirements to enter one are very high.

Quote:

Originally Posted by misty57 My mom has both Medicare and Tri Care. My understanding is that Medicare pays first and Tri Care picks up the balance. Her drugs are covered, but I don't know if that's through Tri Care or if she has a Medicare Part D. I suspect it's through Tri Care.

That's all correct, and TFL also pays for medications in the Tricare formulary. They're trying to cut costs by pushing really hard for mail-order refills and using more generics, so some meds may not be considered "covered" by TFL if they're not in the formulary.

Long-term care is not part of Tricare, although insurance can be purchased through the Federal LTC Insurance Program or possibly be provided through the VA with a disability rating... and the aforementioned veteran's homes, which have long needs-based waiting lists.

I don't know if this is still the case, but the Navy used to deduct 50 cents from every enlisted monthly paycheck to support the Sailor's Home. Not the officers, who weren't eligible for that housing-- just the enlisted.

Tricare reimbursements suck just as badly as Medicare and are subject to the same annual cuts that Congress is always "revising" at the last minute.

[jclarksnakes]

I remember that 50 cents coming out of my pay for the Old Soldiers Home when I was in basic training and flight school. In 1991 the Navy Home and Old Soldiers Home were consolidated as the Armed Forces Retirement Home. There were two locations until Hurricane Katrina damaged the one on the Mississippi coast. Not sure if it has reopened and also not sure if they still deduct 50 cents from enlisted soldiers and sailors pay. The home/s was/were also funded by fines and forfeitures from courts martial.

[2B]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLS53 Medicare is part of the healthcare plan for military retirees once they reach 65. The military part, called Tricare for Life, works the same as a Medicare supplement does for civilians. But Medicare is the primary payer. As far as I know, military retirees have no advantage over anyone else, when it comes to elder care, nursing homes etc. There's no special exemptions or asset protection. There are some veteran's homes around, but imagine the requirements to enter one are very high.

My FIL was on USFHP. He wasn't on Tricare which seems to be where the more recent retirees end up. As I've said earlier, there is a movement by the government to end the USFHP program so it may not even be availabe anymore to newer retirees. On USFHP he paid $3.95 for every prescription regardless of quantity or type. That frequently didn't cover the shipping. We never paid a copay to any doctor or hospital for medical coverage. He paid the basic Medicare premium out of his SS check and that was because USFHP did not cover diabetes or so he said. The primary was not Medicare and we had repeated screw ups with the nursing facility mistakenly billing Medicare for meds and not USFHP.

He did not get any break at the nursing home on his costs and I assume that he would not have received any special asset protection if he had to go on Medicaid.

There are some Air Force (not linked to the US govt) themed (for lack of a better term) retirement communities in San Antonio we looked at. There is a stiff deposit required but if you move in before age 70 it is refundable if not needed. They will not evict anyone for lack of payment once there but they will burn through the deposit as needed. They will not accept anyone that currently needs nursing care.

My FIL also had a $10,000 life insurance policy from his continuous service since WWII. Our understanding is that this was a "life time" benefit if a WWII vet stayed in the military.