OT Medicare supplement insurance

[cancun]

Was just curious if anyone was willing to share what they pay for supplemental insurance with their Medicare when they only have Medicare part A. I think my sister and her husband are paying way too much money and I haven't yet been able to convince them to shop around. They are getting their insurance thru the Federal Government, he retired from the Federal Government as an electrician and assumes he is getting a good deal. I don't agree.

Thanks for your input!

[Wulfman...]

Part A, Part B, Part D?

I don't even want to take a wild ass guess........
But, here's a link to a Google search I just did on the "Subject" title.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Medicar ... 8&oe=utf-8

I suspect it varies according to different areas of the country. But, each year ours keeps going up.........

Edit: And, it depends on the age of the person, too. The older you get, the more you pay!!!


Den

.

[cancun]

Part A, Part B, Part D?

I don't even want to take a wild ass guess........
But, here's a link to a Google search I just did on the "Subject" title.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Medicar ... 8&oe=utf-8

I suspect it varies according to different areas of the country. But, each year ours keeps going up.........

Edit: And, it depends on the age of the person, too. The older you get, the more you pay!!!


Den

.

Thanks Den, Part A is what we get for free I guess. Part B is what they are paying for. My sister turns 66 this week and her hubby is 70. I am retiring early and know I am going to have to pay for my insurance and was trying to hold out until Medicare kicks in but I guess it really doesn't matter at this point that I am doing it early because it looks like I will have to pay just as much when I reach 65 as I am paying now.

[idamtnboy]

Was just curious if anyone was willing to share what they pay for supplemental insurance with their Medicare when they only have Medicare part A. I think my sister and her husband are paying way too much money and I haven't yet been able to convince them to shop around. They are getting their insurance thru the Federal Government, he retired from the Federal Government as an electrician and assumes he is getting a good deal. I don't agree.

I'm retired federal employee also. It depends on which insurance plan he has as to how good it is, although in the end they are all pretty much the same when it comes to total out of pocket costs for premiums, deductibles, and copays. I have BCBS and Medicare Part A & B original and the premium for me and my wife is $462/month for BCBS and $208 for Part B. I'm not sure how this compares to ordinary Medigap plans but I'm thinking it's not a whole lot more than my brother pays for an individual BCBS plan. The one unfair aspect of the Federal health insurance plan, in my opinion, is that the premium does not reduce when you retire even though Medicare Part A becomes primary. I think that is all part of the pricing scheme they offer in order to be competitive in their offerings to active Federal employees.

On the plus side the only out-of-pocket costs I have are prescription copays. Those are as low as $1.35 for a 90 day supply of common generic drugs. All other medical costs are covered 100% between Medicare and BCBS. There is a lot to be said for the piece of mind that offers.

One huge downside you need to be aware of, and one big reason your brother-in-law doesn't want to drop their coverage, is if a Federal retiree drops his/her insurance coverage for even one month he cannot ever pick it back up. So when you are encouraging your sister and her husband to shop around keep in mind if they change it will be an irrevocable decision. That is the main reason I stay with Fed coverage.

A couple of years ago I did a comparison of costs of various insurance programs including all the Federal options and other Medigap policies. My conclusion was that in the end, for our medical needs, the total cost to me for all premiums, deductibles, and copays varied within a band of only about $200 to $500 per year. There are no bargains in medical insurance coverage.

[cancun]

Was just curious if anyone was willing to share what they pay for supplemental insurance with their Medicare when they only have Medicare part A. I think my sister and her husband are paying way too much money and I haven't yet been able to convince them to shop around. They are getting their insurance thru the Federal Government, he retired from the Federal Government as an electrician and assumes he is getting a good deal. I don't agree.

I'm retired federal employee also. It depends on which insurance plan he has as to how good it is, although in the end they are all pretty much the same when it comes to total out of pocket costs for premiums, deductibles, and copays. I have BCBS and Medicare Part A & B original and the premium for me and my wife is $462/month for BCBS and $208 for Part B. I'm not sure how this compares to ordinary Medigap plans but I'm thinking it's not a whole lot more than my brother pays for an individual BCBS plan. The one unfair aspect of the Federal health insurance plan, in my opinion, is that the premium does not reduce when you retire even though Medicare Part A becomes primary. I think that is all part of the pricing scheme they offer in order to be competitive in their offerings to active Federal employees.

On the plus side the only out-of-pocket costs I have are prescription copays. Those are as low as $1.35 for a 90 day supply of common generic drugs. All other medical costs are covered 100% between Medicare and BCBS. There is a lot to be said for the piece of mind that offers.

One huge downside you need to be aware of, and one big reason your brother-in-law doesn't want to drop their coverage, is if a Federal retiree drops his/her insurance coverage for even one month he cannot ever pick it back up. So when you are encouraging your sister and her husband to shop around keep in mind if they change it will be an irrevocable decision. That is the main reason I stay with Fed coverage.

A couple of years ago I did a comparison of costs of various insurance programs including all the Federal options and other Medigap policies. My conclusion was that in the end, for our medical needs, the total cost to me for all premiums, deductibles, and copays varied within a band of only about $200 to $500 per year. There are no bargains in medical insurance coverage.

Thank you very much for sharing that information. Great price on the RX copays!~

[idamtnboy]

One huge downside you need to be aware of, and one big reason your brother-in-law doesn't want to drop their coverage, is if a Federal retiree drops his/her insurance coverage for even one month he cannot ever pick it back up. So when you are encouraging your sister and her husband to shop around keep in mind if they change it will be an irrevocable decision. That is the main reason I stay with Fed coverage.

A couple of years ago I did a comparison of costs of various insurance programs including all the Federal options and other Medigap policies. My conclusion was that in the end, for our medical needs, the total cost to me for all premiums, deductibles, and copays varied within a band of only about $200 to $500 per year. There are no bargains in medical insurance coverage.

Well, after doing some research today I have to do some back tracking. If a Federal retiree enrolls in a Medicare Advantage plan his/her coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefit plan is SUSPENDED, not cancelled. They do not pay the FEHB premium. The downside to this is you pay the MA plan premium and all the copays, deductibles, and are subject to the max out of pocket limit. You also have to figure out what to do about prescription coverage, be it part of the MA plan or separate. So I think my comment about total out of pocket cost staying somewhat the same is still valid, especially if one happens to need a lot of medical services.

Keep in mind that the MA premiums are per beneficiary, so that means both retiree and spouse pay. Beginning in 2016 FEHB is offering a Self plus one enrollment which is a bit less premium than self plus family.

[chunkyfrog]

Part D plans are usually compared based on the mail order option,
Let me share my experience with mail order.
LOUSY! I hate the Humana mail order, partly because they will only use UPS, and
thieves follow the truck around our neighborhood.
Also, if THEY make a mistake--just TRY to get it fixed!
Of course, it's cheap, but you get what you pay for.

[Janknitz]

You can get FREE counseling on Medicare supplement plans through your local SHIP or HICAP (California) program. The number for your state is on the back of your "Medicare and You" booklet. They will help you determine the best plan for your needs and they are unbiased. This is a federally funded program, staffed by volunteers.

[chunkyfrog]

I called over a month ago, our appointment is still over a week away.
Maybe they will bring in more help.
Last year, it looked like they were just rubber-stamping Humana.

[xyz]

cf:
> Let me share my experience with mail order.
> LOUSY! I hate the Humana mail order, partly because they will only use UPS,
> and thieves follow the truck around our neighborhood.

Express Scripts ships mostly out of Phoenix.
Pick a destination. It doesn't really matter much.
Sacramento, Las Vegas, SLC, Dallas, KC, Minneapolis.

Let's say it's the summer time.
It's 115 in Phoenix. It's 100 or more in all those other places in the summer.

Those eighteen wheelers that the mail is moved around in are not air conditioned. The warehouses that the mail is temporarily stored/transferred in are not air conditioned. The open to the air golf cart-like vehicle that the mailman drives is not air conditioned.

The mailman puts the meds inside your metal mailbox.
That's like the "closed car" effect.

When you get off work in the summer, if your car is parked in the sun it's 130 in the car. Same with your metal mailbox.

Those meds don't see a temperature of _less than_ 100 degrees until they get inside your house. For up to a week, depending on the two end points and the day they were shipped.

By that time, many meds are DOA.

[Kitano]

xyz, you make a great point about the lack of temperature regulation with mail-order drugs, but do we know that our local pharmacies are getting their drugs much differently?

[chunkyfrog]

No guarantee the locally sourced pharmaceuticals have not been exposed to heat or cold;
but for certain the mail order drugs have. Good point; and my original reason for hating mail order was
security and service. They do use coolers for the stuff that absolutely can NOT get hot, but only on a few.
Edit: found this:
http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroiddrug ... summer.htm

[cancun]

I am not on Medicare but my insurance forces us to get all maintenance drugs from their mail order so my insulin comes next day packed in a Styrofoam cooler but requires a signature so if I am not home UPS keeps it on their truck and several times by the time I get it It is warm. I have asked the UPS guy to just sign it and leave it at my door. He says he will but never does. Yet my Vicodin will come and they just leave that in the mailbox! Go figure!

[chunkyfrog]

UPS--SOP
If it is WARM by the time you get it, I would refuse the shipment;
and DEMAND they send a replacement supply via a reliable carrier.

[cancun]

UPS--SOP
If it is WARM by the time you get it, I would refuse the shipment;
and DEMAND they send a replacement supply via a reliable carrier.

Trust me, I will next time!
They were gone before I opened it, silly me figured they kept it in cold storage. DUH!
UPS sucks. Then they deliver other packages and just drop them off and don't even ring the bell. Sometimes I don't leave the house for a few days so the package could sit out there for days without me knowing it.