Medicare times . Confused

[pletal]

DW (wife) turning 65 in January. She has a ton of questions. Our taxable income with interest and other items will be between 200k and 400k for the next few years. Probably never below 200k. Any advice would be great. Medigap, medical advantage. Part A and B, Plan G. I really have no idea on this subject. Any advice or links to articles would be great. Thanks

 

[teej1985]

You're going to have massive IRMAA. Not much you can do about it.

 

[RunningBum]

I'm not there yet but I'm gradually paying more attention and collecting links. https://boomerbenefits.com/ seems to be a good source, and I bookmarked this blog entry on the Retire Early homepage: https://retireearlyhomepage.com/medicare2020.html
I also have some notes I've taken but I don't know how up to date they are so I'd rather let people who have recently suggested coverage chime in on what they chose and why.

 

[Ian S]

DW (wife) turning 65 in January. She has a ton of questions. Our taxable income with interest and other items will be between 200k and 400k for the next few years. Probably never below 200k. Any advice would be great. Medigap, medical advantage. Part A and B, Plan G. I really have no idea on this subject. Any advice or links to articles would be great. Thanks

First off, you will almost certainly get hit with IRMAA surcharges due to your income. I'd suggest you first bone up on the ins and outs of Medicare with a good free overview such as the Medicare Handbook available from medicare.gov https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help...ok/download-medicare-you-in-different-formats That's for a pdf version but they also have a print version you can ask for.

 

[lawman]

Boomer Benefits is 99% of all you need to know.

 

[Telly]

I 99% disagree with that broad statement.

People's exhibit A: Pushing the MoO book game.

 

[prudent_one]

Between the videos on the boomer benefits site and talking to one of their very patient reps with my follow-up questions, I felt confident that I got a solid understanding of how Medicare works. Particularly understanding the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement (aka Medigap). The videos are very good.

Also I see the Medicare for Dummies book gets a lot of love on the net although I haven't read it myself.

 

[RunningBum]

I 99% disagree with that broad statement.

People's exhibit A: Pushing the MoO book game.

What does MoO stand for?

 

[REWahoo]

Mutual of Omaha.

 

[teej1985]

What does MoO stand for?

Mutual of Omaha - stay away from them unless you live in a state with annual open enrollment. Also Aetna.

 

[harllee]

Your wife will need to do some research but this is my personal opinion--traditional Medicare with a supplement and a Part D prescription plan is the best way for most people to go. Since you live in Florida you need to get a supplement that you can stick with for life if necessary, you might not be able to change in the future if you develop any health issues. I got the AARP United Health Care Plan G supplement, it was the best deal for me and this plan has not had big price jumps in the past. There are some supplement companies that "close the books" so they can increase their premiums substantially--Mutual of Omaha did this to my husband and he is stuck with them because he has health problems and now he pays big premiums. AARP United Health Care has never done this "close the books" trick.

For the Part D prescription plans, the rules are different--you can change every year no matter your health. Your wife should go to Medicare.gov after 10/15 to look at the Part D plans. They have a Part D finder where you put in your prescriptions, preferred pharmacy, etc and it gives you a list of Part D plans in for area the cost. I look at this every year and just choose the cheapest plan.

Good luck. There are a lot of Medicare threads on this Forum.

 

[SheitlQueen]

I also recommed Boomer Benefits videos, and they have a FB page where you can go an ask questions. I used Boomer when I got my supplement and found them quite helpful. I went with AARP/UHC Plan G and Part D.

 

[Dash man]

I also recommend the AARP/UHC plans. We have Plan N and are pleased with it. We live in Pennsylvania where excess charges aren’t permitted by law, but we spend the winter in Florida. Excess charges are only used by about 4% of physicians who don’t accept Medicare assignment, and they can only charge a maximum of 15% more. Plan N typically has a lower rate of increase over Plan G, but they are both great plans. I suggest avoiding Medicare Advantage plans completely unless you have a union or government plan paid by your former employer.

 

[Souschef]

WE have Part Am B and D. We are also in a Medicare advantage plan and are happy with it. However, we are in CA, and it may be different in other states.
Also be warned about the Doughnut hole for Part D.
Here is a link to the explanation:
https://www.medicareinteractive.org...d/medicare-part-d-costs/the-part-d-donut-hole

 

[MBSC]

Since you live in Florida you need to get a supplement that you can stick with for life if necessary, you might not be able to change in the future if you develop any health issues...

There are some supplement companies that "close the books" so they can increase their premiums substantially--Mutual of Omaha did this to my husband and he is stuck with them because he has health problems and now he pays big premiums. AARP United Health Care has never done this "close the books" trick.

If the OP lives in Florida, they will not have to worry about 'closed books'. That concept applies to attained-age plans. Medigap policies written in FL are required to be issue-age by law.

FL Medigap rates are available on this FL DOI website. Choose 'individual' for 'plan type'. On the results page, click the plan letter (G, N) in the header to sort by premium.

https://apps.fldfs.com/MCWS/CWSSearch

 

[Beldar]

Contact your local SHIP office before you go to any insurance broker web site.

https://www.shiphelp.org/about-medicare/regional-ship-location

They can answer your questions without any sales pitch. Or cost.

HTH

_B

 

[harllee]

If the OP lives in Florida, they will not have to worry about 'closed books'. That concept applies to attained-age plans. Medigap policies written in FL are required to be issue-age by law.

FL Medigap rates are available on this FL DOI website. Choose 'individual' for 'plan type'. On the results page, click the plan letter (G, N) in the header to sort by premium.

https://apps.fldfs.com/MCWS/CWSSearch

I don't understand how issue age would prevent the closed book problem. If Mutual of Omaha closes the book on a group of insureds in Florida and starts a new company for new insureds isn't there many ways that Mutual of Omaha could keep the premiums in the new company low while increasing the premiums (inflation, health costs, etc) for various reasons for the insureds in the old group?

 

[CincyDave]

Your wife will need to do some research but this is my personal opinion--traditional Medicare with a supplement and a Part D prescription plan is the best way for most people to go. Since you live in Florida you need to get a supplement that you can stick with for life if necessary, you might not be able to change in the future if you develop any health issues. I got the AARP United Health Care Plan G supplement, it was the best deal for me and this plan has not had big price jumps in the past. There are some supplement companies that "close the books" so they can increase their premiums substantially--Mutual of Omaha did this to my husband and he is stuck with them because he has health problems and now he pays big premiums. AARP United Health Care has never done this "close the books" trick.

For the Part D prescription plans, the rules are different--you can change every year no matter your health. Your wife should go to Medicare.gov after 10/15 to look at the Part D plans. They have a Part D finder where you put in your prescriptions, preferred pharmacy, etc and it gives you a list of Part D plans in for area the cost. I look at this every year and just choose the cheapest plan.

Good luck. There are a lot of Medicare threads on this Forum.

I went with the AARP United Health Care Plan G supplement too. My drug plan through Wellcare is $12 a month and the 3 prescriptions I take are all free. Best drug plan will depend on your prescriptions

 

[teej1985]

I don't understand how issue age would prevent the closed book problem. If Mutual of Omaha closes the book on a group of insureds in Florida and starts a new company for new insureds isn't there many ways that Mutual of Omaha could keep the premiums in the new company low while increasing the premiums (inflation, health costs, etc) for various reasons for the insureds in the old group?

Thats exactly correct.

 

[MBSC]

I don't understand how issue age would prevent the closed book problem. If Mutual of Omaha closes the book on a group of insureds in Florida and starts a new company for new insureds isn't there many ways that Mutual of Omaha could keep the premiums in the new company low while increasing the premiums (inflation, health costs, etc) for various reasons for the insureds in the old group?

Comparison of Attained-age, Issue-age and Community-rated

The adjustments for getting older and less healthy (the closed book dilemma) are already baked into the initial premium. This is why issue-age premiums for a 65 year old in Florida seem high compared to attained-age plans in other states. All policies experience inflation adjustments.

$181.31 UHC/AARP Plan G in Hillsborough County (Tampa area) for 65/F.
$152.86 UHC/AARP Plan N

A 65 year old is expected to incur $X medical expenses over 'Y' years (life expectancy) resulting in an issue-age premium of 'Z'. The result is still 'Z' if you open a new pool. A 78 y/o applicant has their own formula. The result of their formula would also be unchanged. The 78 y/o applicant does not impact the 65 y/o formula and vice versa.