Decision

[joesmarbles]

Hi All, I am turning 68 on Christmas and going from full time to part-time in January. MY question is " What is the best Supplemental insurance to have with Med. A and Med B.
All my children say the same thing, no Med. supplemental . So Who is the best non med. supplemental insurance.
MY children are researching this and when I get their answer I will post it here.
In the mean-time,your opinions please"
Thanks.....Joe McDonough

 

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[SusanMN]

I am turning 65 in a couple months and so have been wading through my options too. I think everyone needs to pick up some kind of insurance in addition to Medicare.

First of all, make sure that whatever insurance you purchase has Part D coverage, this is to cover drugs, which Medicare does not. Then decide if you want true supplemental coverage or would be better off with an Advantage plan. The difference is that if you buy a Supplemental policy, first Medicare pays then you submit to your Supplemental insurer and they pay. If you go with an Advantage plan then you have a single insurance company to file with and all the Medicare coordination is behind the scenes. Less paperwork for you that way.

As far as who to choose, you will be looking for someone who covers your part of the country so you can try googling Medicare Supplements and your state. Lots of brokers out there willing to sell you something too and organizations like AARP that sell supplements.

Anyway, be sure you look at costs; medical, hospital and drug coverage and copays; and whether physicians you regularly see are within the insurers network before you buy.

Good luck. Spent my career in HR and employee benefits, so pm me if you have specific questions on plans you are looking at.

Susan

 

[joesmarbles]

Thanks Susan, all my children are in the medical field. My two daughters are nurses and My son is a vice-president of a large medical facility. They are asking the billing departments which provider offer the best plans.
I will indeed let everyone know what they decide......Joe McDonough

 

[jamey]

i used to sell combined insurance when i was younger,its an indemnity type pays beyond your other,triple a plus was their rating then it was 20 or 40 every six months one paid 900 the other 1800 after six months you could get sickness check them out

 

[Deft Tones]

AFLAC!

Nevermind. I misread the OP.

 

[austin]

I turn 68 next month. I have Humana Part D and love it. Make sure you Qualify for supplemental. I didn't get it at 62 and by the time I had a half dozen operations because of accidents, I no longer qualify. Without it, I owe about $20,000 to the hospital. Yes, it is worth it. There are other plans available to pick up the 20% that medicare doesn't cover, but they cost more. When enrollment rolls aroun this Fall, I am getting one, whatever it costs. GET a Supplemental. It will save you big bucks in the long run. Just my opinion.

 

[kcm]

The only experience I have with a Supplemental is for my mom, who is in a nursing home with Advanced Alzheimer's. Before Dad passed, he set her up on AARP Supplemental Insurance through United Healthcare.

Mom had to go in to the hospital recently. I got a bill for over $2,000. Called AARP and they almost screamed at me, "DON'T PAY IT!" Have been assured we will get no further bills from that hospital. ...Come to find out, I had been paying smaller amounts for the past couple years without realizing this error. So in addition to getting your insurance covered, PLEASE make sure your family knows the ins and outs, or leave specific information concerning such. Dad was battling cancer at the time, while taking care of Mom. He didn't have/take time to inform us about their situation. ...Not even about his cancer!

 

[joesmarbles]

Thanks to all for the responses. As soon as I get the answer from my children I will post it. I have a living will so that will take care of that aspect of life......Joe McDonough

 

[joesmarbles]

Thanks KCM.....Joe McDonough

 

[piegrande]

Health Insurance in Mexico

Living in Mexico, none of this matters much, though our pre-retirement employer does pay for Humana supplement insurance.

We had to use it once since we retired in 1997. I had black stool which turned out to be a parasite infection. Various symptoms resulted in a mid-night visit to an emergency room on the highway on a trip. They said, no, can't be that, and sent a bill for thousands of dollars for doing nothing. The government paid them a few pennies on the dollar and they went away.

Normally, we self-treat here in Mexico. I am a retired diagnostician in another field, not medicine, and in most cases don't need a doctor to tell me what the problem is.

Weeks ago, my wife (74) did something really stupid with a ladder and we ended up in a hospital 75 minutes away. Three large x-rays and an hour or more with the doctor cost us around $75 and en equal amount for meds. Thank God, she did not break her hip though it was on her hips where she hit bottom. This was due to her taking 1500+ milligram of calcium a day. That was one close call.

Our son said she needed a psych exam for being on that ladder in the first place.

We don''t buy health insurance here. We have saved enough over 15 years to pay for almost anything which comes at us medically.