Basic Medicare Questions...

[glowing1]

Traditional Medicare as Supplement to Employer Health Insurance

Greetings:

I will turn 65 in December of 2023, but will continue working until my Social Security Full Retirement age of 67 and 3/4. I will have employer provided PPO health insurance until I retire.

I read in one of Jane Bryant Quinn's book that if you have employer provided insurance, you can sign up for Medicare Part A and Medicare can be used as supplemental insurance for whatever your employer's health insurance does not cover. Does anyone know if this is still correct?

When I eventually retire, I will sign up for traditional Medicare plus Medigap supplemental insurance. I don't know if this makes a difference.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[badatmath]

Well Part A is only hospital insurance I believe. Not sure how it coordinates with your w*rkplace insurance, that would be something to ask at work.

 

[jollystomper]

I read in one of Jane Bryant Quinn's book that if you have employer provided insurance, you can sign up for Medicare Part A and Medicare can be used as supplemental insurance for whatever your employer's health insurance does not cover. Does anyone know if this is still correct?

Best to ask your employer. Some "flip it", so to speak, and require you to sign up for Medicare A and B, with Medicare becoming primary and theirs becoming secondary. That is what my Megacorp did for my DW, since she reached Medicare age while still eligible for my retiree insurance. However they did cut her retiree insurance premium by much more than the part B premium amount.

 

[Midpack]

For anyone who hasn’t done any research, the best thing might be call Boomer Benefits and they will guide you through it all. It costs you absolutely nothing, they know Medicare and all the options, and you don’t have to take any of their advice. The odds you will find a better more cost effective plan on your own are zero. If you learn more and want to change, you’ll have that opportunity once a year thereafter.

I spent months learning the ins and outs of Medicare before my 3 month enrollment period. Read here and everywhere else, and knew exactly what to do when the time came. Before pulling the trigger, I called Boomer Benefits just for a second opinion - and they recommended exactly what I’d spent months learning about, with plenty of options and the most competitive Plan G and D plans. IOW, I could’ve done no homework at all, and ended up with the same plan. I’ve been on Medicare for almost 4 years, so I know I got good advice.

https://boomerbenefits.com/

 

[skipro33]

Greetings:

I will turn 65 in December of 2023, but will continue working until my Social Security Full Retirement age of 67 and 3/4. I will have employer provided PPO health insurance until I retire.

I read in one of Jane Bryant Quinn's book that if you have employer provided insurance, you can sign up for Medicare Part A and Medicare can be used as supplemental insurance for whatever your employer's health insurance does not cover. Does anyone know if this is still correct?

When I eventually retire, I will sign up for traditional Medicare plus Medigap supplemental insurance. I don't know if this makes a difference.
Thanks for any advice.

Tell your employer of your aging out to Medicare. Sign up for Medicare by age 65. You do NOT want to miss signing up prior to age 65 because the penalty is for life. It is highly likely your employer is already on this if they have other employees who are 65 or older.

 

[fh2000]

For anyone who hasn’t done any research, the best thing might be call Boomer Benefits and they will guide you through it all. It costs you absolutely nothing, they know Medicare and all the options, and you don’t have to take any of their advice. The odds you will find a better more cost effective plan on your own are zero. If you learn more and want to change, you’ll have that opportunity once a year thereafter.

I spent months learning the ins and outs of Medicare before my 3 month enrollment period. Read here and everywhere else, and knew exactly what to do when the time came. Before pulling the trigger, I called Boomer Benefits just for a second opinion - and they recommended exactly what I’d spent months learning about, with plenty of options and the most competitive Plan G and D plans. IOW, I could’ve done no homework at all, and ended up with the same plan. I’ve been on Medicare for almost 4 years, so I know I got good advice.

https://boomerbenefits.com/

When I first tried to purchase a supplemental policy I called Boomer Benefits and it turns out they do not have contract/authorization to sign me up with a company I found.

I then called Christopher Westfall's company, Senior Savings Network (https://SeniorSavingsNetwork.org), and they helped me to sign up.

So, in case the same thing happens to you, at least you have other options.

 

[Telly]

Greetings:

I will turn 65 in December of 2023, but will continue working until my Social Security Full Retirement age of 67 and 3/4. I will have employer provided PPO health insurance until I retire.

Tell your employer of your aging out to Medicare. Sign up for Medicare by age 65. You do NOT want to miss signing up prior to age 65 because the penalty is for life. It is highly likely your employer is already on this if they have other employees who are 65 or older.

Actually skipro, holding off on joining Medicare if working, is common. Usually, about 6 months before the employee turns 65, they get a letter from their employer. The letter states whether or not their employer-provided insurance is "Qualifying" or whatever the magic word is, in the eyes of Medicare. If it is, the employee can continue as-is, and start up Medicare when they terminate employment. No penalty.

Or, they can start Medicare while still working, if they choose, but only take Part A, the hospitalization component, which is free to them if they paid into Medicare for enough quarters. Then when they get ready to terminate employment, they pick up Part B and go the MA route, or pick up Part B and go Original Medicare route, also picking up a Medigap Plan and a Part D drug plan.

 

[MBSC]

I will turn 65 in December of 2023, but will continue working until my Social Security Full Retirement age of 67 and 3/4. I will have employer provided PPO health insurance until I retire.

I read in one of Jane Bryant Quinn's book that if you have employer provided insurance, you can sign up for Medicare Part A and Medicare can be used as supplemental insurance for whatever your employer's health insurance does not cover. Does anyone know if this is still correct?

It's not quite that simple. The Part B/D late enrollment penalties are waived for those working past age 65 with qualifying group coverage. Only your employer knows if their plan qualifies. The CMS document linked to below asks you questions. Your response to those questions determines the Parts A/B outcome, but not Part D.

For example, is the group PPO an HSA-eligible HDHP? If so, you can't continue HSA contributions if you decide to enroll in Part A.

Does the group plan have more or less than 20 enrollees? Some small group plans are secondary to Medicare and require you to enroll in both Parts A & B. As the document says, it's always best to ask the employer and not SGOTI.

Be aware that Medicare has different rules for retirees. If someone says they had to enroll in Part B, they're more likely a retiree than a current small group employee.

https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Ed...ers-and-Unions/FS3-Enroll-in-Part-A-and-B.pdf

 

[pirsquared]

The OP should make sure they cancel their Marketplace plan in time. This can be tricky.

 

[boilerman]

Most importantly, avoid advantage plans like the plague. They sound awesome. Doctors hate them. They can deny you coverage and saw a bunch of complaints yesterday in another group I am in. With a supplement plan, whatever you choose MUST cover anything approve.

I disagree about advantage plans. We’ve been on one of the UHC plans for over 5 years and are delighted with it. No premium, all our doctors are on the plan and we’ve had both neck and back fusion surgery with several days in the hospital. We paid $250 for each surgery total (although we saw a “bill” for $262k! for the back surgery). Never been refused treatment, no referrals needed for specialists. I’m sure every provider and plan is different but we save $8000 a year in premiums for what we would pay for a supplemental with no compromise in our health care choices.

 

[Tessie]

I signed up for Medicare in December. I had a basic understanding prior to contacting the broker, but I have learned so much more. Honestly, your broker does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. It sounds like they were either not knowledgeable enough, or somewhat dishonest. I highly recommend using Boomer Benefits as the broker. You can learn about them on their website and give them a call. They will get back to you normally the same day. They are extremely knowledgeable and they are the only broker that I know of that will continue to help you with bills, insurance company, etc. after you sign up. I think NY is the only state they aren’t licensed in. Anyway, no broker should push a specific plan. People really fret over which type of plan and which plan…I know I did. Now that I know more, it’s very simple….if you can afford the supplement plan, then get the supplement. I hear a lot of negative things about Advantage Plans. I went with UHC/AARP plan G and the cheapest plan D available. I chose that plan because it offers free gym memberships at several gyms in my zip code. One of the gyms is Lifetime Fitness, which is a fabulous gym and would cost me $200 per month if I had to pay for it. I would never be able to justify the cost. Since you rarely see a doctor, plan N might be a good choice for you. Call Boomer Benefits! Good luck!

 

[DougJohnson]

It's included... now this week start looking for a broker you have reason to trust and get something going for your supplemental coverage. I believe



(but don't know for certain) a broker help you with the quickest possible supplement signup..plus since they are professionals they can do a better job of explaining the differences then this board...because of the time factor.

I'm a very DIY kinda guy, but after 7 years on Medicare, I contacted https://boomerbenefits.com. They are a Medicare broker. They were terrific. Very knowledgable about Advantage plans, supplement plans, the whole 9 yards. Also very patient and no pressure.

I normally don't do brokers, but I am happy I did.
-- Doug

 

[Dtail]

I disagree about advantage plans. We’ve been on one of the UHC plans for over 5 years and are delighted with it. No premium, all our doctors are on the plan and we’ve had both neck and back fusion surgery with several days in the hospital. We paid $250 for each surgery total (although we saw a “bill” for $262k! for the back surgery). Never been refused treatment, no referrals needed for specialists. I’m sure every provider and plan is different but we save $8000 a year in premiums for what we would pay for a supplemental with no compromise in our health care choices.

I agree with you to some extent. My DGF has a UHC plan and has no premiums and access to all the necessary doctors in our area.
However if one gets cancer, what will the 20% Part B uncovered costs end up costing?

 

[boilerman]

I agree with you to some extent. My DGF has a UHC plan and has no premiums and access to all the necessary doctors in our area.
However if one gets cancer, what will the 20% Part B uncovered costs end up costing?

With our plan, there is no 20% Part B exposure. Even with two major surgeries (back and neck fusion) we only paid $250 for each surgery. I think it was the hospital co-pay.

 

[badatmath]

I get frustrated with seeing boomer benefits recommended as I am not free to use them if I want to access my retiree post-Medicare HRA. Of course, it is some time in the future for me so things could change.

 

[pb4uski]

I get frustrated with seeing boomer benefits recommended as I am not free to use them if I want to access my retiree post-Medicare HRA. Of course, it is some time in the future for me so things could change.

Can you elaborate? It's not clear to me why having a retiree post-Medicare health reimbursement account would prevent you from using Boomer Benefits.

That said, while I have had a HRA as an active employee I have never heard of a HRA for retirees. Do they withhold for the HRA from your pension?

 

[Dash man]

Can you elaborate? It's not clear to me why having a retiree post-Medicare health reimbursement account would prevent you from using Boomer Benefits.



That said, while I have had a HRA as an active employee I have never heard of a HRA for retirees. Do they withhold for the HRA from your pension?

Former employers require you to use a specific broker, in my case Via Benefits, to get their reimbursement benefits. For us it’s $1800/yr.
He said access to his HRA. You can’t contribute to an HRA while on Medicare.

 

[pb4uski]

Ah, I think I see now... NOT HRA benefits but rather an employer provided post-retirement benefit that helps pay for Medigap ($1,800/yr in your case), but only if you use their approved Medigap broker?

 

[CardsFan]

Former employers require you to use a specific broker, in my case Via Benefits, to get their reimbursement benefits. For us it’s $1800/yr.
He said access to his HRA. You can’t contribute to an HRA while on Medicare.

Yeah, I have the same deal. In my case it is $2,800/yr. I found Via easy to work with, though I had already done my research and decided on a UHC/AARP supplement plan.

As with any broker, there are some plans they do not carry, so annually I check Part D plans through the Medicare website.