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

[Healthy Lifestyle]

Well I need to vent, just signed up for a Medicare Supplement Plan and cant believe how irritating the process is, and the individual pieces to this puzzle are an additional expense.
First had to sign up for Medicare Plan A & pay for Plan B, then find a supplement plan and pay for that, then find a Prescription Plan and pay for that, oh and a Dental Plan which I also had to pay for. I wonder how annoying I will find dealing with each individual medical bill that comes in the future?

Oh my, you mean to tell me that this great country cant make it easier for
us as we age?

 

[ShokWaveRider]

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.

 

[target2019]

You can go to a broker in your state and after you sign up for A & B, they'll do the rest.

That's how things work in this great country. Do the work yourself, or pay someone else to be your guide.

I also had a long frustrating time trying to understand the process, and posted about that in a thread.

 

[audreyh1]

We called Boomer Benefits and had them sign DH up for the supplement and the Part D. They had lots of recommendations but we stuck with what we had researched. However they basically took care of all the the signing up work, so it was little effort for us. And they can act as our advocate in the future is we need help with Medicare issues.

DH had already signed up for Medicare Part A and Part B online so we had the Medicare number to give Boomer Benefits.

In terms of changing Part D during annual open enrollment, DH has only changed once, and Boomer Benefits no longer takes care of that after the first time, but it was straightforward.

And why did you “have to” sign up for a dental plan? That has nothing to do with Medicare.

 

[MichaelB]

We signed up for A, B, D and supplemental, and revisit D annually during open enrollment. After dealing with private health insurance for over a decade I thought it was pretty straightforward. For us the only complicated part was Medicare A for DW. She is a naturalized US citizen and they wanted lots of other documents attesting to her citizenship and our marriage.

So far I find dealing with medical billing to be easier now with Medicare + supplement than with previous private insurance.

 

[audreyh1]

So far I find dealing with medical billing to be easier now with Medicare + supplement than with previous private insurance.

Yes, so much easier! DH has had a doctor visit and an outpatient procedure so far this year, and no payments required up front. Billing happens later, if any. So much easier than before Medicare!

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

You can go to a broker in your state and after you sign up for A & B, they'll do the rest.

That's how things work in this great country. Do the work yourself, or pay someone else to be your guide.

I also had a long frustrating time trying to understand the process, and posted about that in a thread.

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!

 

[REWahoo]

So far I find dealing with medical billing to be easier now with Medicare + supplement than with previous private insurance.

^This.

We've both been on Medicare + a supplement for 10 years and only once have we had an issue - a PITA provider wanting the annual deductible paid up front for a procedure done in January. Other than that, smooth sailing.

 

[REWahoo]

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!

Yep, learning new stuff can be a chore.

 

[audreyh1]

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!

Well, that is one thing worth learning about and coming up to speed on before age 65 and signing up for services and associated costs that will last you the rest of your life. There are lots of gotchas.

Just like with signing up for SS, there are trade offs and a short window for making corrections.

So ages 65-70 you do need the mental acuity or someone to help you and sign you up and hopefully get it right based in your needs. After that it’s just basically keeping up with your income taxes.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

^This.

We've both been on Medicare + a supplement for 10 years and only once have we had an issue - a PITA provider wanting the annual deductible paid up front for a procedure done in January. Other than that, smooth sailing.

Thanks for all the comments which give me hope that this new chapter in my life will be smooth sailing. My frustration came from learning each part of Medicare and Social Security which I didn't know were connected.

 

[Beldar]

Oh my, you mean to tell me that this great country cant make it easier for
us as we age?

I just visited our local SHIP office and found all the materials/help I needed to select the Plan G supplement for me. And signed up directly with the provider...it was very easy.

_B

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

We called Boomer Benefits and had them sign DH up for the supplement and the Part D. They had lots of recommendations but we stuck with what we had researched. However they basically took care of all the the signing up work, so it was little effort for us. And they can act as our advocate in the future is we need help with Medicare issues.

DH had already signed up for Medicare Part A and Part B online so we had the Medicare number to give Boomer Benefits.

In terms of changing Part D during annual open enrollment, DH has only changed once, and Boomer Benefits no longer takes care of that after the first time, but it was straightforward.

And why did you “have to” sign up for a dental plan? That has nothing to do with Medicare.

True and good point, but long story short, I also had an option to take only the subsidized Cobra Dental portion that was offered at a low premium. But again, had to do the deep dive to understand Cobra.

 

[Sunset]

OP - You didn't have to sign up for a dental plan. You may find it's not worth it, and if so, know you can drop it.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

OP - You didn't have to sign up for a dental plan. You may find it's not worth it, and if so, know you can drop it.

I was offered the same $40 dollar Dental premium for my wife and I through subsidized work related Cobra.

 

[target2019]

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!

Well, yeah, I agree with you. I've been reading here for a long time, and thought I understood the issues. I went through the BB stuff, and we just sat down one day and went through all of the supplement, drug and dental sign up.

I still don't understand some things, at times. Just yesterday I noticed on my hospital helathcare site that there was no indication of my secondary insurance. I know it was there last year. I had taken the time to upload the cards, and so on. Later in the day I had a checkup at the hospital clinic, and the receptionist verified there was no secondary in\formation.

She took my UHC card and did what was necessary to add it. Or so I thought. At home I checked again, and information was not there. So I re-entered the AARP/UHC Plan G. was at the hospital clinic, and they will review my info.

I am thinking there could be a problem in the future...time will tell.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

I have learned a valuable lesson in life when things are not simple, someone or something is trying to take advantage of you. When complications present themselves, ask yourself why it is?

 

[harllee]

Medicare definitely could be simpler. Medicare should cover everything in one policy--everything the supplement pays for, prescriptions, dental and eye care in one policy.

 

[CRLLS]

To be honest, you don't "HAVE" to do any of it. You can self-insure. Not a good plan for medical IMO but certainly possible. Part of the chore is dealing with your employer's retirement benefit plan. They typically limit a lot of choices. Another part is it sounds like you jumped into this with no pre-planning. It can certainly be a lot of confusion with all of the choices to make.

I find that Medicare Part A and B with Plan G makes the day-to-day efforts virtually non-existent. Simply ask any new provider if they accept Medicare assignment, If the answer is yes, you are golden. It really is that easy. We don't carry dental or vision insurance. we do self-insure for those. Never have had that kind of coverage, even when working for mega-corporations.

 

[Al18]

My wife signed up for Medicare yesterday and found it to be a simple experience. Just had to signup for Part B and nothing else because her state teacher coverage would automatically cover medication and switch to backup medical coverage when she is on Medicare. Signing up for any other medical coverage would cancel the state teacher coverage.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

Well I need to vent, just signed up for a Medicare Supplement Plan and cant believe how irritating the process is, and the individual pieces to this puzzle are an additional expense.
First had to sign up for Medicare Plan A & pay for Plan B, then find a supplement plan and pay for that, then find a Prescription Plan and pay for that, oh and a Dental Plan which I also had to pay for. I wonder how annoying I will find dealing with each individual medical bill that comes in the future?

Oh my, you mean to tell me that this great country cant make it easier for
us as we age?

I was just saying the same thing to my hairdresser yesterday.
What a convoluted mess.
I will be 65 this September and did start looking into Medicare last year and couldn’t believe all of the pieces to it. And don’t choose the wrong piece because you could pay for that the rest of your life.
Oh and if you research and select part D based on your prescriptions the insurance company can change their formulary mid year and not cover it.

I worked in social services which included public assistance programs so I’m used to convoluted but Medicare seems to be the worst.

The more convoluted a program is the more expensive it is to administer.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Healthcare in the US is complicated because the providers want it that way. And they pay off lawmakers to make that happen.

 

[athena53]

Medicare definitely could be simpler. Medicare should cover everything in one policy--everything the supplement pays for, prescriptions, dental and eye care in one policy.

Well, that's how Medicare Advantage plans work and based on threads here on the subject they have their shortcomings including narrow networks and high out-of-pockets. I hear a lot from a friend who answers calls to the SHIP hotlines. And no one will ever get everything they want/need- if Medicare covered dental implants, hearing aids and eyeglasses from standard providers with minimal out-of-pocket, it would be unaffordable.

I agree it's got too many moving parts, because it grew piecemeal. I don't think any of us would want to have only the original product, Medicare A, which was for hospital stays only. So, Medicare B was added, supplements were developed because people wanted their 20% coinsurance on Medicare B covered, and prescription coverage was added as prescriptions proliferated and got more expensive.

I wouldn't mind throwing it out and replacing it with a comprehensive Medicare-Advantage-like product but a good one would be unlikely to be any cheaper.

 

[NameTaken2]

Start Medicare in March.
Had to make my first call to 1-800-MEDICARE -it was a very frustrating one.

Currently on HDHP insurance. For 5yrs, have had an annual sonogram to monitor for recurrence of a previous health issue. My specialist said CAT scans are better but the sonograms are fine and provide substantial cost savings.
Knowing I'd be on assumed Medicare coverage for the next check, scheduled a CAT scan for March. Then ended up selecting High Deductible Plan G, and. therefore wanted to know what it will cost me. Called Medicare to ask what their approved amount is for this CAT scan. The rep kept repeating like a robot "Medicare pays 80%" while I kept trying to nicely communicate that I wanted the Medicare-approved AMOUNT for the procedure. They tried to tell me I needed to talk to the provider, but I'd already called them and they directed me to Medicare. The rep couldn't seem to grasp that the amount charged by the provider was not the same as the Medicare-approved amount for the procedure. They got testy, then started asking for personal info, followed by some clicks and I discovered I'd been transferred. From this rep, I was able to get what the procedure's approved amount to the doctor, BUT the rep could not tell me the Medicare-approved amount for the procedure! This made no sense at all to me, but the rep had no explanation.
I think I know what I was talking about, and was clear communicating my Q. If I had something wrong, neither rep pointed that out.

Both Medicare reps sounded like the stereotypical disengaged federal employees.
I hope this is not what the future will be like dealing with Medicare.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

Well, that's how Medicare Advantage plans work and based on threads here on the subject they have their shortcomings including narrow networks and high out-of-pockets. I hear a lot from a friend who answers calls to the SHIP hotlines. And no one will ever get everything they want/need- if Medicare covered dental implants, hearing aids and eyeglasses from standard providers with minimal out-of-pocket, it would be unaffordable.

I agree it's got too many moving parts, because it grew piecemeal. I don't think any of us would want to have only the original product, Medicare A, which was for hospital stays only. So, Medicare B was added, supplements were developed because people wanted their 20% coinsurance on Medicare B covered, and prescription coverage was added as prescriptions proliferated and got more expensive.

I wouldn't mind throwing it out and replacing it with a comprehensive Medicare-Advantage-like product but a good one would be unlikely to be any cheaper.

It is important to remember that part of the Medicare complexity is to provide choices to people.
I do like having choices!

I actually understand why dental isn’t covered. Honestly dental insurance itself isn’t that great and is really only worth it if your employer is paying or subsidizing the premium.

I do wish Medicare part B would look at preventative coverages but maybe that is too much?
If the supplemental plans only cover the 20% that part B doesn’t it seems the only option for prevention coverage is the Medicare Advantage plans.
I certainly could be wrong as I’m still in the research phase.