Health Insurance

We have a medicare advantage plan out of Calif..We traveled around the country a lot and had no problem having our meds sent to where ever we were staying.. in 2009 while visiting in Alabama, I had a stroke and ended up in the hospitable for several days. I was a little worried about what our insurance would cover..

We were surprised and happy that they covered nearly the entire cost of my care. I think our total out of pocket cost was under $300..

Barb

Tequila wrote:
what is INR?

INR is a blood test for people who are on blood thinners. It's a test to determine the bloods clotting ability, and whether one is taking the proper dose of medicine (Warfarin, Coumadin, and others) to help prevent clots. There may be other uses that I'm not aware of.

what is INR?

I get INR tested once a month. In the winter we are in Phoenix, and I get tested at John C Lincoln Hospital on the north side of town. Medicare pays the entire cost, but I think the charge for a walk-in patient without insurance would be somewhere around $60 to $75. Plus, you usually need some form of Dr. note or a prescription to get it done. I would call ahead to a hospital in the area you are going to check on price and whether you need a note or prescription.

We are leaving Canada for the U.S. for three months. Does anyone else need to get INR blood test done? Do we need to buy a $600 machine and do it ourselves or can we go into a lab in the US? What does it cost? One person told me $35 and another $250 for the blood test.

Full-timers generally get a PPO supplement to Medicare, not an Advantage plan. It will allow you to get care in any state. Ours is Transamerica through the Good Sam Club. In 16 years of full-timing we've had multiple surgeries and have never had to pay a dime for anything. We've visited doctors in many states. We don't have a 'home' to go back to for medical reasons and our PPO has worked flawlessly as we travel.

somertime wrote:
...Our insurance we have now is great for WI and MN, but not so good in other parts of the country...

Give Health Partners a call.

Blue Cross / Blue Shield Senior Gold Supplemental Plan seems to be good with nearly 100% coverage where ever we have gone. MN, Western USA & Texas.

The first 2 years that I was on medicare I opted for advantage plans that have out of area coverage (Anthem & United HC}. This year I am signing up for Welcare with is much better all the way around except for out of area coverage. These plans vary from state to state. When I looked into the details off the Welcare plan it still cover ER and Walk in clinics. We are going to Florida for 3 mos., so the real question is if we had to go to the ER for a heart attack or some emergency like that you would be covered for hospital stays. Longer term health care I would prefer to go back home to my own Dr's anyway.