How much is Medicare and all that goes with it?

[Marita40]

Newbie here, navigating these waters. I had erroneously thought Medicare would be an "easy" decision. Not so. Sigh.

Two very Newbie Questions:

a. I'm in urban Minnesota. Medigap, which I believe is Plan G although not labeled as such (it is called Basic), is rather more expensive than what a lot of people report here, at $231.40/mo. I'm assuming prices vary by state? I am looking at a BCBS plan, which appears fairly comparable to others in my area.
b. In 2019 I was working and adjusted income was >88,000. Thus I will have to pay $207.90/mo. for Part B. If my income in retirement is lower than 88,000 in future years, can the Part B premium be lowered on appeal, or am I locked into the higher cost forever?


Have yet to navigate through the even more murky waters of Advantage plans. All of this is stupidly similar to our yearly health care "election" period during my many working years.

 

[finnski1]

Newbie here, navigating these waters. I had erroneously thought Medicare would be an "easy" decision. Not so. Sigh.

Two very Newbie Questions:

a. I'm in urban Minnesota. Medigap, which I believe is Plan G although not labeled as such (it is called Basic), is rather more expensive than what a lot of people report here, at $231.40/mo. I'm assuming prices vary by state? I am looking at a BCBS plan, which appears fairly comparable to others in my area.
b. In 2019 I was working and adjusted income was >88,000. Thus I will have to pay $207.90/mo. for Part B. If my income in retirement is lower than 88,000 in future years, can the Part B premium be lowered on appeal, or am I locked into the higher cost forever?


Have yet to navigate through the even more murky waters of Advantage plans. All of this is stupidly similar to our yearly health care "election" period during my many working years.

DW turned 65 last November. Her medigap plan G is $136/month here in NH. She also used Anthem(BCBS) so maybe they do vary that much by state? Sorry don't have an answer for you.
I thought the part B premium adjusted automatically based on your reported income to the IRS each year but now I don't know either and maybe some body will come along here and enlighten both of us.

 

[CardsFan]

I am no expert, but I have been through the process.

a. A plan G should be clearly labelled as such. Where did you get that price? Did you go to the BCBS website? The prices DO vary by area (zip code I believe), but that sounds high. Many here have used Boomer Benefits to get quotes and are quite happy. I did not, since my retiree HRA account requires using Via Benefits.

b. As I understand, the IRMMA surcharge is automatically evaluated annually, so it should go away. I will let others that have been though this chime in, but I believe you MAY be able to appeal immediately as a life change (retiring).

Good luck.

 

[braumeister]

You're referring to IRMAA, and it is automatically adjusted either up or down based on your actual MAGI. So there is no "locking in" of a higher rate. They send you a letter every year (late in the year) letting you know the next year's rate.

 

[Marita40]

Thanks for clarifying the IRMAA annual adjustment.
It is confusing to me that BCBS Medigap plans in MN don't label any of their 4 plans "G." They have: High Deductible, Plan N, Basic, and Senior Gold plans. From what I understand, "Basic" is Plan G, but again it is nowhere labeled as such. I believe we are an outlier state (in more ways than one...). I will consult the Boomer Benefits site.

 

[Sarah S]

Minnesota doesn’t do plan g etc
https://www.medigap.com/medicare-supplement-minnesota/

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for clarifying the IRMAA annual adjustment.
It is confusing to me that BCBS Medigap plans in MN don't label any of their 4 plans "G." They have: High Deductible, Plan N, Basic, and Senior Gold plans. From what I understand, "Basic" is Plan G, but again it is nowhere labeled as such. I believe we are an outlier state (in more ways than one...). I will consult the Boomer Benefits site.

Definitely get Boomer Benefits help with Medigap selection. DH chose an AARP/United Plan G. In our state the BCBS Medigap plans were generally quite a bit more expensive.

Mutual of Omaha Medigap plans came in the cheapest, but we didn’t trust them due to their bait and switch history.

Browsing the link given above, Plan G appears to be far more comprehensive that the Basic plan.

 

[CardsFan]

I had some time so I did a little Googling. I went to the UHC site, put in a St. Paul zip code, and came up with 2 plans.
https://www.aarpmedicareplans.com/h...medicare-information-guide.html#/plan-summary

In case the link does not work, it appears to me that the basic plan ($192/mo) is akin to Plan N, as it does not cover Part B excess charges. The extended basic plan ($239/mo) does, and is more in line with Plan G.

FWIW, in MO, DW pays about$145/mo for Plan G.

I did not know there were states that had totally different plans. I would definitely talk to Boomer benefits.

 

[ivinsfan]

Thanks for clarifying the IRMAA annual adjustment.
It is confusing to me that BCBS Medigap plans in MN don't label any of their 4 plans "G." They have: High Deductible, Plan N, Basic, and Senior Gold plans. From what I understand, "Basic" is Plan G, but again it is nowhere labeled as such. I believe we are an outlier state (in more ways than one...). I will consult the Boomer Benefits site.

MN is messed up and yes an outlier, the good news, care is abundant and first rate, the bad news is Medicare supplement rates are higher (IMO)


I'd look for a broker when you need to sign up that's what we did. BB or you should be able it find one locally who is more up to speed on our dippy rules.

 

[ivinsfan]

Definitely get Boomer Benefits help with Medigap selection. DH chose an AARP/United Plan G. In our state the BCBS Medigap plans were generally quite a bit more expensive.

Mutual of Omaha Medigap plans came in the cheapest, but we didn’t trust them due to their bait and switch history.

Browsing the link given above, Plan G appears to be far more comprehensive that the Basic plan.

Because our state MN is different, my advice is to look for a local no cost broker and not use a national group.

 

[Marita40]

Thanks Ivansfan. I do have a no-cost health care broker, and she's already talked me through some basics. Over this long weekend, though, I'm starting my dig into wrapping my mind around all this. I'm in the Twin Cities. She steered me to a BCBS plan--I've had BCBS all my working years and am comfortable with them--but I've now compared a couple of other Medigap providers and the higher cost I indicated above seems par for the course. I'm just realizing we do pay MORE here than what most people cited on this thread.
The Basic plan comes with 4 riders that make it "enhanced," as far as I can tell. Looks like for Medigap my choices will come down to the High Deductible (pay less now, more later) or Basic with Riders (pay more now, less later). In the long run, given my typical use of the system, it will be a wash.

 

[Marita40]

In case the link does not work, it appears to me that the basic plan ($192/mo) is akin to Plan N, as it does not cover Part B excess charges. The extended basic plan ($239/mo) does, and is more in line with Plan G.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I am seeing too...thanks for checking. Keep Minnesota weird!

 

[ivinsfan]

Thanks Ivansfan. I do have a no-cost health care broker, and she's already talked me through some basics. Over this long weekend, though, I'm starting my dig into wrapping my mind around all this. I'm in the Twin Cities. She steered me to a BCBS plan--I've had BCBS all my working years and am comfortable with them--but I've now compared a couple of other Medigap providers and the higher cost I indicated above seems par for the course. I'm just realizing we do pay MORE here than what most people cited on this thread.
The Basic plan comes with 4 riders that make it "enhanced," as far as I can tell. Looks like for Medigap my choices will come down to the High Deductible (pay less now, more later) or Basic with Riders (pay more now, less later). In the long run, given my typical use of the system, it will be a wash.

If you aren't much of a traveler you might be fine with a Advantage plan, BCBS has a ton of them. Not only are we in MN we are very rural so the Advantage for our area don't cover the providers we would use. (for example all my DH's cardio docs) that shouldn't be as much of a problem for you if you don't snowbird. ( we snowbird) so we are pretty much SOL on the cost front.

 

[ncbill]

I had some time so I did a little Googling. I went to the UHC site, put in a St. Paul zip code, and came up with 2 plans.
https://www.aarpmedicareplans.com/h...medicare-information-guide.html#/plan-summary

In case the link does not work, it appears to me that the basic plan ($192/mo) is akin to Plan N, as it does not cover Part B excess charges. The extended basic plan ($239/mo) does, and is more in line with Plan G.

FWIW, in MO, DW pays about$145/mo for Plan G.

I did not know there were states that had totally different plans. I would definitely talk to Boomer benefits.

MN prohibits excess charges anyway.

Comparison of basic versus extended Medigap policies for MN:

https://boomerbenefits.com/compare-medicare-plans-and-prices/states/minnesota-medicare-plans/

 

[meleana]

MN prohibits excess charges anyway.

Comparison of basic versus extended Medigap policies for MN:

https://boomerbenefits.com/compare-medicare-plans-and-prices/states/minnesota-medicare-plans/

However if you require care outside of MN?

 

[REWahoo]

However if you require care outside of MN?

Not something I would be concerned about.

Excess charges on Medicare are rare, charged less than 5% of the time. Even then they are unlikely to be a major financial hit as the charge is limited to a maximum of 15% more than the approved Medicare amount.

 

[RetireBy90]

DW started Medicare 3 years ago and we filed an appeal as soon as we got the letter with IRMAA cost. They are always a year behind, so starting Medicare in 2018 they used 2016 taxes to determine IRMAA level. The 2017 taxes were better and they accepted this and adjusted to one bracket lower.
On the cost, we pay $148/ month*2=$298 to Medicare, and we have Kaiser advantage plus at about $50/month*2=100, or about $400/month total. This is in Virginia.

 

[Marti]

Mutual of Omaha Medigap plans came in the cheapest, but we didn’t trust them due to their bait and switch history.

Could you please fill me in a bit on their bait & switch history? I'm in the selection process (and working with Boomer Benefits). Mutual of Omaha is in my top 3, and they're rated A+ so they seem attractive.

 

[harllee]

Could you please fill me in a bit on their bait & switch history? I'm in the selection process (and working with Boomer Benefits). Mutual of Omaha is in my top 3, and they're rated A+ so they seem attractive.

DH and I both got Mutual of Omaha Plan G supplements 5 years ago based on North Carolina Medicare Ship counselor's recommendation. All was well for 3 years with small increases. Then 2 years ago we got notices of large increases, about 30% in one year. We went to Boomer Benefits and they were able to switch me over to AARP UHC at a substantial savings. DH had a preexisting condition so no other insurer would take him so Boomer Benefits says he is stuck with Mutual of Omaha. I would avoid Mutual of Omaha, I can't believe Boomer is recommending them. I recommend AARP UHC.

 

[REWahoo]

Could you please fill me in a bit on their bait & switch history? I'm in the selection process (and working with Boomer Benefits). Mutual of Omaha is in my top 3, and they're rated A+ so they seem attractive.

Here is a thread from a couple of years ago that you may find informative: https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...-provider-selection-for-my-plan-g-100099.html

 

[Yoheadden]

I had read that your Medicare rates are determined by your earnings from 2 years prior. If this is true, has anyone tried any strategies to lower their income at age 63 ?

 

[Marti]

Thanks for the Mutual of Omaha history. It makes my decision harder however. The UHC/AARP plan is much more expensive for me because it doesn't offer me a household discount. (I'm widowed and live with my father; they only offer a discount if you're married while other companies give me credit for living with my dad.) So I guess it's between Aetna and Manhattan Life (who I know nothing about).

Sigh.

 

[Scuba]

I had read that your Medicare rates are determined by your earnings from 2 years prior. If this is true, has anyone tried any strategies to lower their income at age 63 ?

Isn’t this redetermined every year? My understanding, limited as it is, is that each year this is re-calculated based on the prior 2 years of earnings. If that’s the case, there isn’t a big benefit to be gained by shifting earnings around, is there?

 

[VanWinkle]

Isn’t this redetermined every year? My understanding, limited as it is, is that each year this is re-calculated based on the prior 2 years of earnings. If that’s the case, there isn’t a big benefit to be gained by shifting earnings around, is there?

True Scuba

 

[harllee]

I had read that your Medicare rates are determined by your earnings from 2 years prior. If this is true, has anyone tried any strategies to lower their income at age 63 ?

This is true only if you have high income.