Medicare Questions (surgery, supplement, benefits, prescriptions)

[southernpearl]

Originally Posted by wehotex

I am an insurance agent- full disclosure. Many ppl tend to think of AARP (United Healthcare) as a default policy. "AARP recommends it, so it MUST be good. the truth is that AARP will sell out its name to the highest bidder.

Thanks, wehotex. I appreciate an agent responding. I'm looking for a local agent who knows this stuff, but haven't been able to get any recommendations. I have no misconceptions about AARP. I'm a member but I understand where their loyalty lies. The thing that confused me is all the good things I've heard about the AARP Medigap plans, but everyone seemed to just shudder when I ask about United Health. Even my doctor's insurance person had this reaction. Thanks very much for your feedback on the other companies, also. That's very helpful. I'm centering in on plans F and G, and it sounds like that seems to be what most people choose. Thanks again for your comments.

I know how you feel as I felt the same way when I first went on Medicare. Depending on where you live will depend on whether or not you can get AARP advantage plan.

Thanks, Keeper but I have decided to go with Medigap rather than advantage plans. That might be a good or bad decision, but it's where I'm comfortable.

[earthlyfather]

I'm about a year away from having to do this Medicare/Medigap thing. I am just starting to look at the medicare site. Can someone explain - simply, so i can get my bearings and do the necessary research to amke a decision - what the basic difference is among all of alphabet groups of medigap plans? Honestly, at first glance, and I'm probably missing something, my eyes just cross when I try to understand the difference among, C, D, F, E and so forth. Thanks.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by wehotex

I am an insurance agent- full disclosure. Many ppl tend to think of AARP (United Healthcare) as a default policy. "AARP recommends it, so it MUST be good. the truth is that AARP will sell out its name to the highest bidder. Years ago, the "AARP" policies were actually Prudential insurance which paid the bribing fee. Don't be fooled. You may be paying more for that fancy name. There are other highly rated companies that may offer you lesser premiums. It pays to shop around. I don't know about So Carolina. Here in Texas, Oxford Insurance med supps are very competitively priced. You might want to check out Gerber, Forethought, Mutual of Omaha. United Health gets a bad rap for its HMO plans (Medicare Advantage) mostly. When you select a Med supp, the med supp MUST pay the bal due on what Medicare pays. You may call 1-800-medicare and/or your State Dept of Insurance if that's not the case. They will follow up. I've written many letters over the years on my members' behalf to them.
Plan F is the most commonly sold. It will cover all deduct, coinsurances and the 15% overage for certain providers. The least expensive Part D is the Humana Walmart (currently $14.80/mo here in Tex). I don't know what your financial situation is like, but you should find out about qualifying for the Low Income Subsidy for meds (Part D). currently, it is no more than $1361/mo gross income and some $16,000 in assets.

This is why people should find good agents that represent lots of companies . They know lots of stuff it would take people days - weeks - to sort through - if they can sort through it at all. And since all states are different - what's "better" in one state might be "worse" (or unavailable) in another. Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by southernpearl

Thanks, wehotex. I appreciate an agent responding. I'm looking for a local agent who knows this stuff, but haven't been able to get any recommendations. I have no misconceptions about AARP. I'm a member but I understand where their loyalty lies. The thing that confused me is all the good things I've heard about the AARP Medigap plans, but everyone seemed to just shudder when I ask about United Health. Even my doctor's insurance person had this reaction. Thanks very much for your feedback on the other companies, also. That's very helpful. I'm centering in on plans F and G, and it sounds like that seems to be what most people choose. Thanks again for your comments....

wehotex can correct me if I'm wrong - but I think that both Medicare and Medigap insurance companies have regional service centers. So our experience with UHC in Florida may be different than the experience a resident of Arizona might have with UHC.

Also - as wehotex pointed out - the people who dissed UHC may have had experiences with UHC Medicare Advantage plans - and not UHC Medigap plans. Robyn

[Escort Rider]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

This is why people should find good agents that represent lots of companies . They know lots of stuff it would take people days - weeks - to sort through - if they can sort through it at all. And since all states are different - what's "better" in one state might be "worse" (or unavailable) in another. Robyn

I think you hit the nail on the head in the sentence which I placed in bold above, and I think that very thing tends to lead to a certain amount of confusion and talking past each other in all these threads on Medicare, especially since Medicare itself is a complex and confusing subject. At a minimum everybody posting should say what state they live in! Indeed, an agent's full-time job (supposedly) is to remain abreast of all those complexities.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by earthlyfather

I'm about a year away from having to do this Medicare/Medigap thing. I am just starting to look at the medicare site. Can someone explain - simply, so i can get my bearings and do the necessary research to amke a decision - what the basic difference is among all of alphabet groups of medigap plans? Honestly, at first glance, and I'm probably missing something, my eyes just cross when I try to understand the difference among, C, D, F, E and so forth. Thanks.

Look at the chart at page 11 of this booklet:

http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/02110.pdf

Robyn

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by earthlyfather

I'm about a year away from having to do this Medicare/Medigap thing. I am just starting to look at the medicare site. Can someone explain - simply, so i can get my bearings and do the necessary research to amke a decision - what the basic difference is among all of alphabet groups of medigap plans? Honestly, at first glance, and I'm probably missing something, my eyes just cross when I try to understand the difference among, C, D, F, E and so forth. Thanks.

Last year, I got a graphic comparison from lowcostmedigap.com. Laid out all the plans side-by-side. Very easy to determine F,G & N were the best choices. If I were enrolling in a Medigap, I'd probably choose the most comprehensive F or G. Still have to pay for drug coverage, though. I don't take medication but I wouldn't want to be without drug coverage, just in case. Right now I'm in an Advantage plan which has drug coverage.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

I think you hit the nail on the head in the sentence which I placed in bold above, and I think that very thing tends to lead to a certain amount of confusion and talking past each other in all these threads on Medicare, especially since Medicare itself is a complex and confusing subject. At a minimum everybody posting should say what state they live in! Indeed, an agent's full-time job (supposedly) is to remain abreast of all those complexities.

Yes - even Medicare standards in terms of covering some things seems to vary by region. When my late FIL needed an ICD (according to his doctor) about 10 years ago - Medicare had different standards in different regions for approving them.

And - even on Medicare - you have to be careful about some things - especially expensive imaging. When my husband went to Mayo for his MS workup - he had to sign a waiver for every MRI he had - saying he'd pay X himself if Medicare denied the claim (those are forms that Medicare requires patients to sign). I think MRIs for an MS workup are kind of a no-brainer - but be careful if a provider orders an MRI for a sprained ankle. Robyn

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

wehotex can correct me if I'm wrong - but I think that both Medicare and Medigap insurance companies have regional service centers. So our experience with UHC in Florida may be different than the experience a resident of Arizona might have with UHC.

Also - as wehotex pointed out - the people who dissed UHC may have had experiences with UHC Medicare Advantage plans - and not UHC Medigap plans. Robyn

Yes, Robyn. the medicare claims center for Texas, Okla, New Mexico & Colorado is called Trailblazer. There are 15 regional centers in the country, different companies. I'm not sure about each having different standards though. I would think that they would HAVE to cover every jurisdiction the same way. How could they justify treating someone from Tex different than someone from Maryland?

Trailblazer Medicare - An Explanation

[earthlyfather]

Thank you to both Robyn and Ariadne.