Based on husband’s experience and discussions with friends, I think when you get to be 65 (either on Advantage or Medicare +Supplement) you’ll find the situation much better. I am in no rush to get old, but there will be some rejoicing on reaching Medicare age.
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Oh for sure. I’m counting the months. 42 to go. Well over $40,000 in premiums before then. 
I see this with my friends who used to buy their own insurance and are now on Medicare. Even with purchase of a supplement they feel like they are paying less. I am not on Medicare yet and just had a total knee replacement. Even with insurance I’m paying a nice sum. My friends on Medicare love to tell me they paid basically zero for their replacement.
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Yes private sector insu. can be pricey too these days, even with high deductibles.
Hubby has hadn’t two knee replacements on medicare. Paid the annual deductible for Medicare and the supplemental plan. The amount is so small it doesn’t even matter.
I had elective hammer toe surgery. Cost me about 6K OOP. And that’s with the $1500 monthly premium plan. Medicare starts August 1, 2024. Going to try to keep everything going well until then.
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Being self-employed (or retired early) can be pricey for med insurance! When working, I grumbled mightily about my job… tons of unpaid overtime and offshift hours working on worldwide teams. But one thing I truly appreciated was the good medical coverage - never had to think about costs when deciding whether to go to the doctor.
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$890/month for me. $8k deductible. 
$1500/month for me. $6250 deductible with a co-insurance payment of 40% after the deductible until the OOP max of around 9K is met.
So, if one thing goes wrong…it’s 27K OOP before I’m covered at 100%
Good Lord, and I thought I had it bad! My OOP is 12k, though.
Yikes. But the issue is the cost/ coverage of the private insurance, rather than a group plan.
As an aside, the original focus of this thread what the smarmy things the MA companies do, not necessarily to the patient but to get the federal funds from the government
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“Only four states — Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New York — prohibit insurers from denying a Medigap policy if the enrollee has preexisting conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.” So we will be OK.
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They might not be permitted to deny medigap coverage, but they might be permitted to exclude coverage for a pre-existing condition. Worth checking to be sure.
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I do see that 4 state exception mentioned a lot on the coporate retiree facebook page that I follow. (Those older, luckier retirees who actually still have retirement coverage have strong financial incentive to take the MA options, but it is a PPO supposedly better than some MA plans).
It looks more complicated. I skimmed this info re: Maine and it looks like that after being on a MA plan for 3 years if a person wants to switch to a regular Medicare plan the gap plans can be restrictive. There is also another issue highlighted in this article about when they can exclude preexisting issues. It’s above my pay grade. Medicare in Maine | healthinsurance.org
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My Dad is in NY, same employer retiree plan. I did not even tell him about the NY exception. He’s 96, and I advised to keep on Medicare / Plan G.
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Here is a page listing what rules exist at the state level in terms of when Medicare supplement (Medigap) plans may be guaranteed issue (i.e. without medical underwriting): https://www.valuepenguin.com/switching-medicare-supplement-guaranteed-issue
For example, in California, you can change from a Medicare Advantage plan to traditional Medicare and buy a Medicare supplement with guaranteed issue under some circumstances of the Medicare Advantage plan increasing costs or your providers no longer being in-network. Those with Medicare supplements can change to a different one with the same or lower benefits on each birthday and have guaranteed issue.
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While that link is from an insurance website, it’s more likely the links to each state’s regulations (like the ME one I linked) might be more reliable.
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A PPO allows you to go to providers outside of the network. I believe most MA plans are like HMOs and you are limited to the providers who are participating in that MA plan. If I have a medical condition and the best doctors to treat it aren’t available to me because they aren’t in the MA plan, then I would (and I do) opt for a plan that doesn’t restrict my options. That’s why I have a Medicare Supplemental plan.
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I asked my friend whose husband and she have been on our Advantage plan for 9 years how they like it. Her husband has a lot of issues, including diabetes and back problems. He needed back surgery in Florida at one point. She says they’re very happy with it and a lot is covered.