We decided on the Humana Advantage plan this year. Digging through these plans can drive you nuts. I've had their Rx plan for almost 3 years and get my meds via USPS. That's been working out very well. Once we signed up I put it out of my head, but I can look up the costs. Seems to me I also remember that you get a certain amount of credit each month for OTC stuff too. Of course these plans/costs can change depending on where you live.
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Seven
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We decided on the Humana Advantage plan this year. Digging through these plans can drive you nuts. I've had their Rx plan for almost 3 years and get my meds via USPS. That's been working out very well. Once we signed up I put it out of my head, but I can look up the costs. Seems to me I also remember that you get a certain amount of credit each month for OTC stuff too. Of course these plans/costs can change depending on where you live.
No, there were other problems. Especially with my mother's... Rather not get into detail about it in a forum.
Yea, but stupid rules are just that - Stupid. Years back Best Buy and other retailers had one price on their web sites and different prices in the stores. They got complained to so much that they quit doing that. If you set a web site to shop for your local store - the prices should match. Well, now they have started doing it again and it is worse than before - in the past the store and the web site would have a sale, but the web would be slightly better - in this case the store was not on sale at all. So if I had been shopping in the store without checking the web site first - I would have paid $100 more for the item... Not right no matter what the rules say... But, no problem - I have made it a habit to always check the web site also and now that I have a smart phone I can do it standing in the store...
Yea and they kind of stand behind that guarantee also. Better than anything else on the market that I know of...
Thanks to all for the info on Medicare. The husband is close to retiring (next year if I let him!) and I need to start learning more about this (not looking forward to it). I'm the one who has to do all the research and figure out the best option. Any suggestions on where to start would be appreciated. I have the basics of the options, but how the heck to find the best plan for him is a worry.
The way I did it for my mother and aunt - I googled, I asked friends, I checked what was available in my local area, I created my questions and then I talked to the top 3...
I am so tired of the people around me doing outstandingly stupid things, getting themselves into situations, and coming to me to dig them out. As of now i will be charging a f**kery fee of $20/hr.
4yrs stinky free
4yrs stinky free
My sister has aset of power recliners, & sofa that don' have a high back on them. That big headr3st is not at all comfortable.
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Stop helping them. Sister & BIL had to cut his kids off & kick them out. The kids adjusted & all the crap stopped.
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It can be pretty daunting when you first dig into it, but believe it or not, the Medicare.gov site does a great job of explaining things. If you go to that site and do a search for medigap plans, you'll find a lot of good info.
A few things I've learned in the past few days:
* Since your husband is still working, I'm assuming he is not drawing Social Security. That means he will need to actually sign up for Medicare three months before his 65th birthday. If he was already drawing Social Security, they would sign him up for Medicare Part A and Part B without him having to do anything.
* Medicare Part A -- hospitalization. No extra charge for this. It's what we pay for through payroll taxes,
* Medicare Part B -- medical care other than actual hospitalization. It's not free. You also don't have to accept it, but except in very rare cases, it's needed (unless you're rich, in other words). It will cost me $134 per month when I start in April. There is also a $183 annual deductible, but even that can be covered in other ways.
* Medigap -- A policy purchased from private companies to cover expenses not covered by Part A and Part B. Several of the Medigap policies cover the Part B deductible.
* Here is something I didn't know that really simplified things for me. There are 10 different Medigap plans, and they are standardized. In other words, Plan F in Tennessee and Plan F in New York, Florida, California or almost any other state are the same plans. You still need to check around among companies, though, because, even though the coverage is standardized, the prices are not. You can get it cheaper by checking different companies. Of course, you also have to take into account how reliable the company is. There are sites that publish ratings. (there are three states where the policies are standardized in a different way than all the other states. Can't remember the states, but all in the info you need is on Medicare.gov.)
* Medicare Advantage plans -- This is what some of the folks on this site have. Basically, it is Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B, Medigap type coverage and Part D prescription plan all rolled into one. There is a whole different market for this type of plan, and I'm going to look into it more. I do know there are price differences, and some of the plans throw in a few extras like gym memberships or over-the-counter items from the drug store.
The more economical Advantage plans restrict what doctor you can use. You would need to be sure your doctor accepts the plan you want. There is a more pricey Advantage plan that does not restrict doctor choice.
I'm at a point where I'm trying to get the best deal. If I can't find something I'm completely comfortable with, I know there is a secure option I can go with:
Medicare Part A: $0
Medicare Part B: $134 monthly
Medigap Plan F: $140 monthly in my area
Part D Prescription Policy: $20-40 monthly.
So, for about $300 a month, I know I'll be as well covered as you can be. The only bill I'd be likely to ever see would be the co-pay for some drugs, which should be pretty small.
Sorry to carry on so long. Started by saying it's not that complicated, then wrote a book.
When I retired in 2005 there was no detail and/or organization for the published information. It took me several days of intense scrutiny to come up with what I considered acceptable for me. I am consistently amazed at the Medicare.gov site now since a person can get all the info and subscribe to all the required insurances in one place. One can even start retirement proceedings and apply for SSA on line...........amazing!
BTW..........very good post on what everything means.
BTW..........very good post on what everything means.
Well, Good Morning Everyone.
Gotta start on Christmas decs soon. My neighbors have already completed theirs. One has about 30 of those inflatable decs all over their front yard and about 2k in lights...
Gotta start on Christmas decs soon. My neighbors have already completed theirs. One has about 30 of those inflatable decs all over their front yard and about 2k in lights...
Have to let my long-standing "Grinchiness" show. I was once a Christmas yard decorating person....had to have all the latest and greatest for everybody to see. I finally realized that nobody but me thought all my hard work and hard cash expenditures to reach Decorated Yard Nirvana was worthwhile. That time and money can be spent much more effectively by donating it to folks who don't have money for food much less for Christmas yard decorations.
Retailers opened the season on Thanksgiving night. Next year I expect to see lights, decorations and long lines the day before Labor Day. The pinnacle of the religious community's effort to get the citizenry to chill is a sad little rhyme that says "Remember the reason for the season". I don't observe The Season in what has become the modern traditional way........I go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and volunteer my services where I'm needed on Christmas Day. No noise. No raucous music. No yard decorations. Very satisfying.
Bah Humbug. I'm so sick of being poked and prodded. Tomorrow gottas see pulimonologist and Cyberknife people. Sometimes I just feel like letting what ever is going to happen happen. This test yesterday like many others was results like she had never seen before. The bottom of my esophagus is not opening so not closing just stays compressed when I swallow. I already knew that. Stuff goes in and if I am not careful on what I eat and chew it till it is pulverized it just lays there and I can't drink anything for an hour or so till it goes slowly thru. So now the Gasto has to look at it and I think he is going to have to do another scope and see what the Barrets has turned into. I still am. Well I was going to say waiting for an approval on Cyberknife and every time before I talked to them I got someone with such a heavy black accent it was hard to understand so today I got some mid eastern woman and even worse but apparently was approved or at least thats what it sounded like. You would think Veterans services could get someone who spoke good English.
Say you ever read the names of the people you follow on the right side, I've never heard of most but there is some weird names there.
Oh they are moved out, in this instance it was spending several hours helping my daughter get access to her money when she let her baby-daddy use her pay card (not bright enough to have an actual bank account) and he left it in another bank's atm, where it was shredded. Pure stupidity.
4yrs stinky free
You know you're in trouble when... I've been reading the Medicare guide on the SocSec Retirement Benefits page.
He did not apply for Medicare when he turned 65 because he's covered under the company PPO. There are special enrollment periods for people covered under an employers group insurance plan (and at the time it was 100% company paid). Now, reading the literature that's pertinent to his situation: in one place it says 'talk to your company personnel office' (oops, that would be one of the hats I wear) and in another it says 'we strongly recommend you contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for more information.'
I'm going to call the company benefits provider and see if they have any recommendations so it can be a smooth transition. He'll still get secondary coverage on the company plan through me. He may end up working part-time for another 6 months, there are a few gotchas that I think I found and I'd like to avoid them.
He did not apply for Medicare when he turned 65 because he's covered under the company PPO. There are special enrollment periods for people covered under an employers group insurance plan (and at the time it was 100% company paid). Now, reading the literature that's pertinent to his situation: in one place it says 'talk to your company personnel office' (oops, that would be one of the hats I wear) and in another it says 'we strongly recommend you contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for more information.'
I'm going to call the company benefits provider and see if they have any recommendations so it can be a smooth transition. He'll still get secondary coverage on the company plan through me. He may end up working part-time for another 6 months, there are a few gotchas that I think I found and I'd like to avoid them.
Wow that's strange. I worked for BNSF railroad and even if you were still working you had to apply for Medicare, they had a rule about it. Medicare became your primary and the company insurance picked up anything that Medicare didn't or wouldn't cover. So if you wanted to have elective surgery or something like that even though Medicure didn't cover it they would. Then you still had your prescription coverage under the companies policy so $5 copays on anything but you had to pay for the Part B on top of what they charged you for company insurance which has been frozen at $234 a month but you had the best, covered everything but they wanted to get that break, Plus it paid the docs more money then the pittance that Medicare paid so you get the premium care which I think is somewhat withheld at least I think to Medicare patients. The VA really takes care of me but I still carry MC and supplement because I have to plus its worth the extra money to have that security cause you never know when the VA Choice program gets low on money. If you get it approved before that time your good tho. Plus I have doctors like heart and PCP that the VA never got involved in and they have an in house cardiologist and don't like the PCP but don't have to see her except for once a year. They always farm me out for most specialists so that is great, I don't really like the specialists I have come in contact with at the VA at least this VA. Most are 100 years old and when they retire they don't replace them.
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