You’re paying that plus the monthly Part B charge (currently $185), and there is an annual deductible for Part B (currently $257). It adds up, and a lot of people can’t afford it - plus, it rises over time and (in most states) as you age. But I reach my deductible early & don’t have to pay anything to doctors or hospitals the rest of the year. I do find it reasonable, but again, I know not everyone can afford it. As my dad said, though, you don’t realize how good it is until you have health issues that let you know quickly how good it is.
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Thanks for the explanation. Not looking forward to all the research I’m going to have to do in a couple of years.
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So you marry your Plan B and Plan G choices?
The Plan G is an additional $2,000 per year? Is that right?
My cousin chose a Plan G. She has Type II diabetes.
I’m trying to understand the benefits of adding the Plan G. Who should choose a Plan G?
Does the IRMAA thing apply to Plan G?
We are paying $950 a month per person with a $9000 deductible now.
We found out that all of my husband’s medication is very inexpensive except for his Humira which is $665 a month. We’ve bought all of the other medication through mark cuban cost plus. That’s the price after all the approval and for the generic version. Medicare doesn’t approve of the generic but does have Humira as approved.
Humira is a tier 5 drug so the doctor gets to get it approved twice this year. Lucky him! And us!
It’s done, I’m glad we are fortunate enough to afford good quality healthcare.
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IRMAA applies to the Part B and Part D charges, so it applies regardless of which letter supplement plan you have.
$200/month is just one person’s charge. It depends on the zip code, the insurer, the person’s age (in most states) … it varies widely. I am 65 and pay $127/month for my Part G; this includes a discount because both H and I use the same Part G insurer. I will pay more every year. I could pay less, but I went into the Medicare website to see costs at different ages to compare, and I found that some of the ones that would charge me less now will charge a lot more comparatively later. And I didn’t want a company that “dead pools” - this practice results in very high premiums. My broker was helpful.
Here is a jumping off link to investigate the different supplement types. What Is Medigap - Medigap Agecny Detroit Michigan
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I have had breast cancer, and have lupus, osteoporosis, atrial fibrillation, several spinal fractures, other stuff. I pay $79 for a BC/BS PPO Medicare Advantage plan that covers, medical, dental, vision, and prescriptions and have been really happy with it. This is in MA. Three counselors recommended this plan for me.
Remember it is usually not advised to skip adding Part D when you are first eligible, because you are price penalized if you first add it in later years.
Once we decided that we wanted regular Medicare and supplemental medical (medigap) it really wasn’t a lot of research. We quickly decided we didn’t want an advantage plan and the plan G and Plan N were our choices, along with a basic prescription plan. We collected quotes from different insurers, asked our primary drs if there were any they found were easy or not easy, and did a little other research.
We have excellent Blue Cross Blue Shield in our state (AL). Our private employers utilized this health insurance. Our state’s BCBS is well-administered and is solid. DH and I both are on Part B with ‘G’ coverage since 2021. Our monthly coverage started out at $199/month and now is $207/month; is ‘locked in’ with only broad group increases approved by state insurance. We look and often change our drug ‘D’ coverage each year - we are on the same meds and look to the best coverage for us. We use our local Walgreen’s which is convenient for us and very little price savings (and we avoid the hassle) of mail-in pharmacy.
If we traveled outside the US, we can purchase coverage through Blue Cross for that timeframe.
We like having the coverage that is accepted almost everywhere - that we don’t have to file claims on the supplement.
As said, the current $257 per person per year deductible is fine.
IMHO we are paying less overall because we don’t have the co-pays and deductibles we had with same private insurance over earlier times. I had aggressive cancer when I was 53, and in 5 years’ time we maxed out individual and family contribution 4 years. I ‘skipped’ a year working to get healthy, and the next year had two major surgeries (one because I met the deductibles already that year).
We have the time to get the health care right when we need it, we have 6 month appointments with PCP and DH with cardiologist.
If we can continue with this insurance when we potentially move to TX, we will keep it gladly. I trust BCBS of AL. Not sure I trust BCBS TX (we had that before when DH’s company headquarters had insurance through there instead of with the AL facility having AL, and we liked the AL handling of claims better). TX, IL, and I believe another state BCBS are all handled together - or at least it was during that period of time.
In NY we are allowed to switch Medigap plans any time without additional underwriting. We are also allowed to switch from Advantage to traditional without underwriting. You should check on your state’s requirements.
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Last I looked, only 4 states (NY and I don’t remember the others; not Colorado) allowed switch without underwriting. Not sure if that is a list that changes over time.
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It varies by state, so individuals should check their state’s rules. But, there are more than 4 states that allow switching between Medi-gap policies without underwriting. The last list I saw had over a dozen. I think there are only 4 that allow switching from Medicare Advantage to Medi-gap without underwriting.
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Isn’t it the case that in at least some states, changing to a supplement requires underwriting if it is to one with greater benefits?
I turn 65 in the fall and just got my Medicare card. My broker who I’ve used for health insurance for many years has sent three recommendations,2 G plans and one that says G plus. We will meet next month to talk in detail. He doesn’t sell drug plans but will refer me to someone who does.
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You can easily plug in your meds into the Medicare site to see what drug plans and drugs will cost. Keep in mind that you can check good RX and also amazon pharmacy for drugs not on a formulary.
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Also Mark Cuban’s CostPlus drugs has prices for drugs as well.
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You do not need to go anywhere to purchase a drug plan - can do all online and on the phone. As @jym626 said, you use the Medicare web site - put in your specific medications and parameters - and the system generates various drug plans, costs, details. You go from there. Once you have used the system once, it is easier the following year. My husband and I have never been on the same drug plan. We have found it most convenient to use our same pharmacy (which as a large system, Walgreens, is pretty compatible to almost every cost-effective drug plan). We have set up our drug plans for auto pay out of our checking account. They always start and stop in the time we have each drug plan active.
Only this year was a time where my drug plan didn’t change from 2024 to 2025.
When we get our new cards, we take to Walgreens, and they enter our drug plan information into their system.
When you call to purchase a drug plan, they have you on the phone for a while because they have to ask you a number of questions and you give consent. You will get some information in the mail from the plan.
These drug plans are very use to people having changes on the next calendar year. We started on Medicare/Supplement/Drug plan later in the year and kept the same drug plan the following year. But after that, we checked to make sure what we wanted to do on the drug plan for each of us the following year.
My broker stopped doing drug plans last year. They send information on how to choose and how to enroll, but they don’t handle any of it.
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We have found that our pharmacy (Costco) gets the information about our new plan each year without us telling them. It’s handy, if a little scary.
For those on this thread and not on another with CC
Medicare Advantage models and other insurance changes – some/most of it is being pushed by insurance companies that want to get you on their plan and then they make changes with their plan that may limit your healthcare options. I know some that do fine with their Medicare Advantage – but it is not something that can generally be talked about; region specific/plan specific/person specific – short and long term.
Most things with insurance, you find out how good your plan is when you really need it.
Some actually try to make the ‘sell’ to state insurance commission - which allow various products that meet regulatory guidelines. Recently, a one- page add spoke about what one insurance company was proposing to our state regulators, and what the weaknesses were for customers.
Laws change.
It is frustrating that traditional Medicare has to test out limiting certain services to prior authorization to stop fraud and abuse. To me, if a MD or service provider has out of norm types of services, those providers either need more documentation and pre-authorization, and an investigation should ensue.
Prior Authorization Coming to Traditional Medicare Starting in 2026 | Kiplinger
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A good websites for affordable medications are:
No income cap and easy to access as a patient.
www.needymeds.org (up to 80% off)
www.goodsheprx.com – mostly for uninsured but but does a lot of chemo drugs
Both Lilly and Novocare have $35/month programs for insulin
RxAssist.org is a database of drug assistance programs.