Medicare supplement plans

[olbriar]

You are likely sick of the commercials, I know that I am. However, seniors with medial needs, have the opportunity to shop providers of their supplement plans each year. My wife has to shop her drug plan each year. Not necessarily to find a cheaper provider but to find a plan that covers the majority of her prescriptions. It becomes a big pain to find the best provider that covers or at least supplements the cost of her drugs. It's also a hassle to find a provider that allows her to purchase the drugs where she wants to take her business. The plans seem to change the drugs they push and the places they want you to shop each year. It should not be such a hassle and the stress it creates is unkind. A person is forced to shop the plans or it could amount to a great out of pocket expense for those in need. Shame on the industry! It's really an evil game they play with the seniors knowing that some will not shop and have to pay the cost.

If you are someone you know is caught up in this madness, I'd like to hear your take on the game and how you are effected.

 

[AugieTN]

Couple of things. You both have Medicare, not Medicare Advantage, correct?

Drug prices should go down now. Pharma fought against this, which is ridiculous :

Because of the new drug law, Medicare is able to negotiate directly with drug companies to improve access to some of the costliest single-source brand-name Medicare Part B and Part D drugs
Medicare Drug Price Negotiation | CMS

I know I have read that some northern states take people to Canada for cheaper pricing

Some in govt want to stop private medical insurance companies from using the term, "Medicare Advantage", because it's not Medicare, it's private insurance.

 

[olbriar]

We both have Medicare part A & B. My wife has a number of medical problems and has a supplement plan D to help cover the cost of her meds.

 

[Dannydet]

We're in the same boat as you, @olbriar.
My wife is disabled so Medicare for her and I'm still working with insurance through my employer.

 

[olbriar]

Knock on wood, I've never been sick. Luck of the draw or something has never seen me ill. I skipped all of the childhood illnesses and flus and cold and ... well everything. I never carried insurance on myself and would not have Medicare if I had an option. I'm at the age where the law of averages is catching up to me so I suppose the insurance is a good thing. I likely should have more in place but I've not researched my options. My wife on the other hand has had multiple problems most all of her life. It's a given that she needs the insurance. She had excellent insurance through her work and now that she is retired, Medicare is her financial insurance. Though it is not great insurance alone, it is cheap compared to alternatives. I understand that it has to be supplemented to have decent out of pocket coverage. What I find is a shame is that supplemented insurance policies change what they cover every years. If you don't keep up and shop your options each year you can easily lose out.

 

[PitCarver]

I'm tired of the commercials also. I've been retired, on disability, for over 20 years now. I'm still using my health plan from when I worked. Covers my meds, though with a deductible.

 

[olbriar]

If they didn't spend all that money on advertising they could provide more coverage at a better price.

 

[AugieTN]

If they didn't spend all that money on advertising they could provide more coverage at a better price.

Medicare Advantage is interested in making money. These Medicare Advantage ads aren't paid for by the govt, they are paid for by private insurance, brokers, which take over your medical insurance

 

[Steven58]

Part D (Drugs) is not the supplement. It is separate. It is a grand mess. That's why I get my asthma inhalers from Canada. I get the cheapest Part D (6 dollars a year, believe it or not) for my generics and go to either Amazon Pharmacy or www.CanadianPrescriptionDrugstore.com for the rest. Different states have different rules. I am wondering if your supplement company is the same as your Part D. It pays to shop online on the medicare.gov site each year for the part d situation. I became well versed in working the system financially to my benefit before I even got it. If you want we can chat on the phone or something. Can Message me so we can chat? You still have some time left before Dec.7. I've been in this since August, and am already changing my part D provider for 2024. Lemme know. I hope to help if I can. I'm thinking it's possible you may have Medicare Advantage, which is entirely different ball of nonsense.

 

[Bearsyzf]

I deal with this stuff EVERYDAY, my job is Health Insurance Medicare , Commercial, POS and all that crap.

 

[olbriar]

What my wife has is Medicare part D. My son was in the insurance biz years back and will help my wife make the best choice. I appreciate your offer @Steven58. I personally stay as far removed from insurance as the law allows. I just think that it's a shame that is should be yearly shopped.

 

[The_Chief]

We actually have an appointment today with a health insurance advisor. He's always been a friend of the local veterans' community and frequently attends our functions: the last thing he wants to do is give any of us bad information. However, he told us that the federal government pays companies like his to provide benefits beyond standard Medicare/Tricare etc. By law, however, the companies can't tell us about them unless we ASK.

It could be vision, hearing, dental, gym memberships, or even paying back part of our Medicare premium. Even if you have a Rolls Royce plan like we do, it doesn't hurt to ASK and see what else may be available.

 

[AugieTN]

@The_Chief your Health Insurance Advisor (fancy name) is a broker for private health insurance companies, to sign people up for Medicare Advantage which is a private health insurance company. A few years ago I read, when a person dumps Medicare for Medicare Advantage (which is private insurance) the govt pays the private insurance company between $800 and $1200 a month depending on their location.

Best to google pros and cons of Medicare Advantage.

 

[ozonetrooper]

JJ and Martha have me used up from last years enrollment window and they are on the loose again this year.

I was with Cigna last year, Medicare switched me to a different provider for the up coming year, I still need to do the walk through with the paper work...

sigh, getting old ain't for sissies !

 

[AugieTN]

Google Cigna denying claims. The Feds are suing them.

 

[The_Chief]

The Humana HMO is pretty impressive for what it can provide: the caveat is that people have to ASK for information about it. I won't state any of the specifics because they won't apply to everyone, everywhere: but in our case, it has a lot more advantages than disadvantages.

 

[olbriar]

My son came over tonight and helped his mother choose her part D provider tonight. She will be out of pocket more next year than this year. With the changes her current provider have implemented for next year's coverages and premiums, she will save $900 by changing companies. The insurance game is crazy.

 

[ozonetrooper]

The insurance game is crazy.

Like car insurance it is a scam !

They know that you are gonna die and are willing to milk every last cent out of you before you do !

Google Cigna denying claims. The Feds are suing them.

Not my choice, Medicare does what they do. I will be interested to see if the new one will play nice with Kroger pharmacy, Cigna did not/Kroger said Cigna would not work with them.

 

[treb1797]

If they use Express Scripts for their pharmacy program it will not. Kroger doesn't take Express Scripts at all. Gotta use Good Rx which is usually better than prescription coverage.

 

[The_Chief]

I told the agent that, were it up to me, insurance would be OUT of the health care business except for catastrophic illness and long term care insurance. If medical practices had to compete for business, quality of care would go way up and prices would go way down. BUT I have yet to be coronated King for the day...

 

[AugieTN]

Not saying anything bad about Capitalism, but in my opinion something like healthcare needs to be setup as a nonprofit.

 

[olbriar]

If our government wasn't in such disarray, I'd be an advocate of socialized medicine. As is, the medical industry is way over paid and partly due to being supported by the insurance industry which is supported by the people who can afford it.

It had to be twenty years ago now but a doctor lived across the street from me and we became drinking buddies. He suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized for a number of days. He told me later that when he received his bill he immediately went to the hospital and disputed the billing. Between the procedures not performed or not necessary on his bill he was able to reduce his bill by almost half. He told me this is no longer the medical industry that I worked in for fifty years. His comments about his experience painted an ugly picture of the medical industry for me. I'm sure it hasn't improve over the last two decades.

 

[AugieTN]

If our government wasn't in such disarray, I'd be an advocate of socialized medicine....

Doesn't have to be handled by the feds, it could be handled by each state.

Like I said, it needs to be setup as a nonprofit entity.

 

[Bearsyzf]

The Company i work for is a Non Profit.

 

[Steven58]

I get my more expensive meds elsewhere. Some meds you can go to Amazon or Canada, etc. Some you can't.