I worked at a boutique group insurance agency for a time. I learned a lot, but the thing that really stood out to me was how the company focused on what was best for the businesses we served and their employees. Yes, the insurance companies that our clients chose paid us commissions - we were a business that needed to survive - but how much an insurance company paid us in commissions was not a factor in our work with our clients. Medicare brokers are in it to make money, of course, but good brokers will serve their clients’ needs first and foremost. Their continued success will stem from that focus. Look for brokers with good reviews and with whom you feel comfortable. Or don’t use a broker if you don’t want to - it’s not a necessity.
Key information “in my state”. Also varying in different states. BCBS coverage is typically very good - and glad you have what you have with your PPO MA plan. You didn’t indicate if you still have workable coverage with OOS travel.
Lots of general information on this thread is very good. ‘The devil is in the details’.
For people on the Go-Go years and even Slow-Go years that travel out-of-state, you want to have coverage beyond ‘out of network’ which can be financially crippling with a serious medical event.
We are looking to move to another state to be near DD1’s family (5 grandchildren ages a few months to 7 years), and will evaluate how we make the insurance transition with our B supplement. We will not evaluate Medicare Advantage unless crippling costs.
Excellent analysis!
I wondered how the $2000 max would work with our Part D. DH is on a blood thinner that is still name brand, so it is a tier 3 drug. He has no copay on his cheap prescriptions. I have small copays on my two tier 1 drugs. We are both on the Part D plan that matched best for us by cost on Medicare’s system to generate ‘best plan’ information on each of us. DH is on on of the AARP UnitedHealthCare plans, and I am on a Humana Basic RX Plan.
I would never have a Medicare Advantage plan with either of these companies.
If anyone has a ‘good experience’ with one of these Medicare Advantage plans, speak up.
Do Medicare Advantage plans commonly cost less than traditional Medicare plus supplement? If so, then that could be a significant reason for that.
They do. How well they cover care is MA case by case and state by state – also medical conditions, what you need to have covered going in. One has to evaluate it all.
However, IMHO, one can often get the best coverage with the higher monthly cost of Medicare A & B, Supplement B, D drug plan.
Retirees with federal employment/federal retiree – continuing coverage with their insurance as secondary.
Medicare as primary typically is not a problem with getting services – all our MDs and medical providers accept.
Our neighbors are federal coverage (retired from NASA). He was able to retire before age 65, and so he will also be making the transition for his wife and his Medicare as primary. She had previously also worked at NASA as a ChE, but took a buyout many years ago when they needed to reduce their size. By then, they had their second child, and she was able to focus on music/violin in addition to raising the kids.
My plan will cover up to 12 months in a different state. They would give me a primary care physician there.
My MA plan is United Health Care AARP. I’ve only been on it since Jan but I find it much better than last year’s Aetna. Co-pay is lower. So far, I’m happy with it.
I chose UHC over Aetna because of the max OOP for prescriptions ($800 v $2000), the dental , and the co-pays for specialists ($20 v $40). I think a lot of the other benefits were about the same (Silver Sneakers membership, OTC drugs, in patient hospital)
If only we had a crystal ball to know what drugs, tests, treatments we’ll need!
I’m the biggest pain now as I won’t let them do any tests without knowing the cost in advance. Their answer of ‘this is usually covered’, or ‘if there is a charge is it ONLY $20 or $30’ (which I get ALL THE TIME) isn’t good enough for me. I want them to submit for pre-approval even if that’s not required by my plan.
On the topic:
My H is a fed retiree so we all have Medicare as primary and his federal BCBS PPO as secondary. It’s worked fairly well for us so far. My PT says in HI many providers (including her) have stopped accepting Medicare Advantage because they never get paid. This leaves clients in a bind and they have to pay out of pocket to get care.
My MA plan is United Health Care AARP. I’ve only been on it since Jan but I find it much better than last year’s Aetna. Co-pay is lower. So far, I’m happy with it.
I chose UHC over Aetna because of the max OOP for prescriptions ($800 v $2000), the dental , and the co-pays for specialists ($20 v $40)
If only we had a crystal ball to know what drugs, tests, treatments we’ll need! I’m the biggest pain now as I won’t let them do any tests without knowing the cost in advance. Their answer of ‘this is usually covered’, or ‘if there is a charge is it ONLY $20 or $30’ (which I get ALL THE TIME) isn’t good enough for me. I want them to submit for pre-approval even if that’s not required by my plan.
I got the impression by another poster (on this thread or the “How Much Do You Think You Need to Retire…” thread) that their standalone PT was no longer taking Medicare – but I am thinking they might have meant Medicare Advantage plans.
Maybe a CC person familiar with this all can clarify.
It made me wonder. I strongly suspect it had to do with a Medicare Advantage plan based on what you said @HImom.
My chiropractor stopped taking Medicare (traditional) because at the end of year Medicare would do an adjustment to claw some money back.
I do worry with the budget cut that Medicare may start paying less to the providers and we would have fewer options even if the coverage still exists.
Do you go often enough to chiropractor that you need to find another due to chiropractor no longer taking traditional Medicare? Any other or alternative option?
My sister gets a massage once a month, pays totally out of pocket. She said she would like to go twice a month, but once a month is enough. She says she sleeps better. She is quite active, but also schedules so much in her days (and also has a husband much older than her, so she is his caretaker) that the massage also just relieves her overall stresses.
Yes, our PT accepts traditional Medicare, which. generally makes predictable & timely payments. MA is a whole different story!
I deleted. Might be too political.
The poster is me. My Physical Therapist office is not taking any type of Medicare. They never took any Advantage plans but did take traditional plans until July 1.
Once on Medicare I’ll continue with the PT and pay out of pocket.
I am still on my company’s insurance. I was going to have my mom go to her. Unfortunately this chiropractor decided to close her practice because she just couldn’t make enough money between high cost of rent and insurance. She was no where near her retirement age and she was a great chiropractor.
Our PT got tired of paying rent that was consuming all her profit. She bought a 2 story home with money saved by not traveling during covid and practices PR with a few other PTs in bottom floor and lives upstairs. It works great for her and her colleagues and patients.
My husband is signed up for all of his Medicare which is a great relief
I don’t know if this belongs in things that annoy me or here.
Today someone stopped by our house! To see if we needed help signing up for Medicare. That’s a new one.
Both my mom and my in-laws have practically non stop calls from robo callers about Medicare advantage plans. It’s awful, multiple, multiple calls all day long
We suspect that it’s because they have land lines. My in-laws have a land line still. I switched my mom’s land line to her cell phone when she moved to independent living.
It’s so obnoxious! We are not getting calls, maybe because we have only cell phones, I’m not sure.