Medicare Poll

[frayne]

OP: You may want to add a Traditional Medicare w/o Medigap option in your poll, for those that have elected not to use a supplemental plan.

Good point but I can't imagine many with just with medicare and no supplemental unless they self insure or simply can't afford it. I don't think I can edit the poll but I do appreciate your comment and that is something I never considered or gave any thought to.

 

[GoBears]

In 6 days I will be covered by UHC/AARP Plan G and Wellcare Value Script (PDP) Plan D. My monthly premiums for the first year of coverage are $115 for Plan G and $.40 for Plan D. Drug costs remain to be seen.

DW is under 65, but disabled and receiving Social Security benefits and Medicare. She also has the UHC Plan G for which we pay $295 a month. I understand this should reset once she turns 65 and is eligible for regular Medicare pricing rather than paying the higher premiums for individuals who are disabled. Her drug costs are quite high and the monthly premium for her UHC Plan D is $122 per month (which may have to do with getting her coverage through a broker rather than the Medicare website since the broker may not offer all plans).

To provide some perspective, however, our combined premiums are still less than the $1,074 monthly premium I was paying for coverage for just me in January and February under a Bronze-level Blue Shield of California plan through Covered California.

 

[euro]

Good point but I can't imagine many with just with medicare and no supplemental unless they self insure or simply can't afford it. I don't think I can edit the poll but I do appreciate your comment and that is something I never considered or gave any thought to.

Evidently, 10% of Medicare participants choose A/B only. That's more than I expected

 

[Gumby]

Good point but I can't imagine many with just with medicare and no supplemental unless they self insure or simply can't afford it. I don't think I can edit the poll but I do appreciate your comment and that is something I never considered or gave any thought to.

I have edited your poll to include a traditional Medicare only option.

 

[zl55lz]

Evidently, 10% of Medicare participants choose A/B only. That's more than I expected

This is a very surprising number. It would be interesting to see comments--or links to comments--why this choice was made.

At least a zero premium "public" Advantage plan would have a catastrophic out of pocket yearly max and a Part D plan with it (hopefully), which would seem to be a better/less risky scenario than Parts A & B only.

Perhaps those individuals live in parts of the country which don't have providers who accept Advantage Plans?

 

[GJW1]

I guess we are outliers - I retired from the US Navy prior to entering the corporate world. So, we are required to have Medicare A & B (deducted from SS) and Uncle Sam is our supplemental insurance (medical and prescriptions) - we pay nothing for this. Have a yearly $300.00 family deductible. We go to any doctors we want, Medicare pays first and Uncle Sam picks up the balance - never had any issues - yet...

 

[zl55lz]

I guess we are outliers - I retired from the US Navy prior to entering the corporate world. So, we are required to have Medicare A & B (deducted from SS) and Uncle Sam is our supplemental insurance (medical and prescriptions) - we pay nothing for this. Have a yearly $300.00 family deductible. We go to any doctors we want, Medicare pays first and Uncle Sam picks up the balance - never had any issues - yet...

Yes, the fourth category would be military retirees (various options) or Federal retirees (FEHB), maybe also various State retirees which still have their own (State) plans rather than Advantage EGWP.

 

[Calico]

Traditional Medicare
Supplemental: UHC AARP Plan G $119/mo.
Part D: WellCare Value Script $0/mo.

68 year old female

 

[Lakedog]

Traditional medicare with FEHB plan ($152/mo) which covers what medicare does not, even all deductibles/copays. Struggled whether to even sign up for medicare b as the medicare premiums are likely a bit more on average than my cost would be with just the FEHB plan. It will be more of a stretch in the future as I am hit with IRMAA so at some point may drop medicare b and just keep the FEHP plan.

 

[jollystomper]

Medicare Advantage PPO through Megacorp, administered by UHC.

COSTS (per person):

• $130/month premium for medical, dental, vision, drugs, hearing, etc. No reimbursement of Medicare Part B, so my monthly cost of Medicare + this policy = $305. Still cheaper than Megacorp retiree or ACA insurance.
• no deductible, max out of pocket $700 (combined in and out of network)
• copays: $5 for primary care visits, $25 for specialist visits, $20 for outpatient rehab, x-ray, diagnostic radiology services

DENTAL:

• $0 copy for for 2x year preventive dental exam and x-rays
• $50 deductible and $1,000/year maximum coverage for other dental services

VISION:

• $0 copay for annual vision exam
• $200 towards glasses or contact lenses every 12 months.

DRUGS:

• Multiple tiers ranging from $0 to $100 copay. All but one of our drugs (3) are $0 copay, 1 drug is $8 copay.
• There is gap and catastrophic coverage as well.

HEARING:

• $0 copay for annual routine exam
• $500 allowance for hearing aids every 3 years.

KEY OTHER BENEFITS FOR US:

• $40/quarter allowance on approved OTC products (e.g. vitamins, heating pads, etc.)
• Visa card for fitness tracking, getting annual home visit, getting annual physical, etc. Last year I earned $200.
• They have partially covered some acupuncture treatments for DW that Medicare did not cover.

All of our doctors and specialists are in network except one, who accepts their payment. Essentially, anyone who accepts Medicare.

No referrals needed to see specialists. So far no issues in getting any procedures approved.

National and (via reimbursement) international coverage.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I have a Kaiser Medicare Advantage Plan and pay an extra $21 monthly for Advantage Plus benefits. I'm curious though what the difference is between Kaiser Retiree Medicare Advantage and the standard plans.
My best guess would be that they're the same but the ex employer pays the Medicare Plan B?

 

[Ginny]

My Medicare Supplement plan is with Mutual of Omaha and the cost is going to $163.00 per month. I love it! Total knee replacement and my cost was $0. I do pay a medicare deductible of $240. for this year.

 

[Tom57]

Employer-sponsored Medicare Advantage plan- the good MA plan. The monthly cost is $800 per month plus the $175 per month each for DW and I for Medicare Part B. Includes prescription drugs with no donut hole, a max of $40 for a 90-day supply of non-generic drugs and as little as $1 for a 90-day supply of generic. $10 co-pay for specialist doctors (no referral needed), $100 per hospital stay, $65 for an ER visit, $20 for outpatient PT, $20 for Ultrasounds, $20 for Lexiscans, etc. and $50 for an ambulance. Annual OOP is $600 per person.
MA plan also includes dental, vision, gym memberships and several prepaid VISA cards for wellness checks and other medical things.

 

[bada bing]

My third month on Medicare.
Traditional A + B
AARP/UNH G @ $146/month
Wellcare D @ $3.50/month

I pay medicare and supplements with autopay from checking because I'm not taking SS yet. I also have $75K in HSA and $110K credit in employer HRA that will reimburse me for Part B, D and for Plan G respectively.

Good point but I can't imagine many with just with medicare and no supplemental unless they self insure or simply can't afford it. I don't think I can edit the poll but I do appreciate your comment and that is something I never considered or gave any thought to.

I considered traditional Medicare with no supplement because I have pretty good balances in my HSA & HRA. The HRA arrangement is a "use it or lose it" from my employer and at this point it's doubtful I will exhaust it with just premiums and co-pays.

One of the main selling points to me for taking a G plan was the belief that having a G card to present might change the perception of the provider a bit. Might be just a false belief on my part though.

 

[Koolau]

MC plus Humana supplement and Part D

 

[Walt34]

I didn't check any of the options since none really fit. I had the option of staying in the employer's BCBS PPO group health plan for 30% of the premium for me and DW for life, or pay 20% (as I did while working) for one year after retirement for every year of county service. This was a no-brainer, so I took the 30% option.

The total premium that I pay is now $437.57 per month, and the plan is the same as when I was working except that after age 65 it becomes secondary to Medicare. So basically it picks up where Medicare leaves off. Prescriptions are either $10, $20, or 30 depending on what "tier" of the forumulary they're in. Most often I pay $10 but occasionally it's one of the other two, but it's so rare that I don't much care. There are no deductibles and no minimum OOP or any of that other stuff I read about here. It is very rare that I see a medical bill and when I do it's on the order of $10.

It's a great deal and I'm very much aware of that, and every time I go to the doctor or have a hospital stay I'm so grateful to my 22-year-old self for applying for the job I did at the employer I did. Of course I didn't give any of that a thought, but who does when they're 22 and in perfect health? And I hope and pray the former employer sticks with the deal (which they don't have to) until both me and DW are pushing up daisies. Over the past ten years I've run up well into multiples of six figures in medical bills that were covered entirely.

There is a dental plan, but mostly it just covers two checkups and a few fillings a year, and there is a vision discount plan but I wouldn't call it an insurance plan since is doesn't cover much.

So yeah, I'm very lucky and I know it.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I have an employer group MA plan through UHC. Premium is $411/month. It covers parts A, B, and D. Vision for yearly check ups but no glasses/contacts. Hearing covered annually but $500 every three years for hearing aids.
I have no deductible and no co-pay in or out of network. The moo is zero.
Coverage throughout the US as long as MC is accepted.
International coverage for ER or urgent services are also zero.
There is no donut hole or gap issue with prescriptions, coverage doesn't change until catastrophic coverage. Prescription coverage seems to be fairly extensive with the highest tier at $35/month, $70 for 3 months. I started taking blood pressure medication last year and when I was researching prior to going on MC I looked at stand alone part D coverage for it, it's kind of expensive for what seems to be a routine prescription. It's $20/3months with this. Same with eye drops that I just started last year which are also expensive out in the wild.
There is also an extended prescription list which is specific to the employer group plan.
I also pay $349.4 part B and $33 for part D to Medi-Care.

I have been on Medicare since this past September so just about 6 months. I've been to the eye doctor which they paid without issue and just went to my PCP last week. They haven't paid yet but I think it was just billed a few days ago.
Otherwise I have no idea how good it is or isn't.

Honestly it's the prescription coverage that keeps me from going to a Plan G. I still have time though! Every time I see someone mention a really expensive drug I run it through the app to see what my cost would be-usually $35. And the money I might save by switching isn't that great. The struggle is real.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

UHC/AARP Plan G @190. Express Scrips
Plan D, premium is $0.

 

[Trooper]

Evidently, 10% of Medicare participants choose A/B only. That's more than I expected

This is a very surprising number. It would be interesting to see comments--or links to comments--why this choice was made.

At least a zero premium "public" Advantage plan would have a catastrophic out of pocket yearly max and a Part D plan with it (hopefully), which would seem to be a better/less risky scenario than Parts A & B only.

Perhaps those individuals live in parts of the country which don't have providers who accept Advantage Plans?

Perhaps. Or maybe they are feeling healthy and don't want to pay for a supplement. If you assume $140/month for a G plan, then the break even would be 140x12/0.2 = $8,400 of medical expenses. I was under that amount in my first year of traditional Medicare, but the thought of something catastrophic happening AND the potential inability to get a supplement when I really needed one made me choose a supplement.

 

[DrRoy]

Will be signing up soon and will do Medigap.

 

[zl55lz]

Perhaps. Or maybe they are feeling healthy and don't want to pay for a supplement. If you assume $140/month for a G plan, then the break even would be 140x12/0.2 = $8,400 of medical expenses. I was under that amount in my first year of traditional Medicare, but the thought of something catastrophic happening AND the potential inability to get a supplement when I really needed one made me choose a supplement.

Also, a huge risk could be "outpatient" surgeries or "observation" for days at a hospital, which I believe are charged as Part B, not Part A, even though performed sometimes in hospitals. A single day of this, let alone multiple times at 20%, or for chemo, or dialysis, etc., seems like it could be very costly for the 20% Part B coinsurance, especially with no Part B out of pocket cap.

I consider supplemental or secondary insurance or at least a good max out of pocket on an Advantage Plan to be asset protection, which having Parts A and B only does not provide as well, in my opinion.

 

[lucky penny]

Yes, the fourth category would be military retirees (various options) or Federal retirees (FEHB), maybe also various State retirees which still have their own (State) plans rather than Advantage EGWP.

I guess I'm in the 4th category: Medicare is my primary insurance; my supplemental plan is Empire Plan/UHC for retired NYS employees. Individual coverage is currently $175/mo., but I pay $0 since my unused sick leave was converted to an amount that will cover the premiums indefinitely. Nice plan, but no dental, vision or gym membership!

 

[becca]

We are on AT&T's United Healthcare Advantage Plan. No cost for my husband (the retiree), $50/mo for me (spouse). $0 copay at PCP, $30 Specialist, $900 Out of Pocket.

 

[Gotadimple]

For those with low cost Advantage plans, I thought that Advantage insurees still had to.pay the Part B premium?

Absolutely they do! You can't purchase a MA plan without being enrolled in Part B first.

 

[rk911]

Both of us have traditional Medicare, a BCBS supplement Plan F and a BCBS Part D plan. 100% satisfied. The Part D premium has gone down for 2-consecutive years.