Social Security Supplements

My wife and I have a Medicare supplement.
You pay it completely separate and it is not taken out of the SS.
it is the best coverage we have ever had.
I can pick any doctor or specialist I want, and I don't have to go to a primary one.

What ever medicare doesn't pay for is one hundred percent covered by my supplement.

there are several different supplement plans, but each one has coverages set forth by Medicare, so all you have to do is figure out which plan is the best for you, and then shop around for the cheapest insurance co.
In my state (NC) the state publishes a list on line the costs of each insurer, so there is no need to go through a broker.
Depending on your age, it is approximately $2,000 a year

Jack L

docj explained it right....

We have Medicare and then added a PPO supplement. This means that wherever we travel we can choose any doctor or hospital we want. We don't have a co-pay and all our bills have been totally covered. This also includes surgeries we've had. We pay for our PPO supplement separately. Think of it as an additional insurance policy.

Also, we don't have dental or prescription insurance. That would be another extra. Our teeth are good with only a cleaning every 6m and we get generic prescriptions cheaply through WalMart. It's cheaper for us than paying the additional insurance fee.

Everyone has different needs and there are many different options out there. It is definitely very confusing, not only for new folks like you but even for us who've been on Medicare for a while. You just have to wade through it. I'm afraid things will change even more in the coming months. Good luck!

To attempt to give you a helpful answer, the standard Medigap policies are usable nationwide, as is Medicare itself. You pay for those policies yourself.

The policies that can have regional issues are those called Medicare Advantage which are basically HMO's or PPO's and often require you to use a specific set of doctors. Quite often Advantage policies don't require an extra premium so that is where you may have gotten the idea that they are paid for out of your SS payment.

Which type of policy makes sense for you depends on how often you travel and how far from home you go. As full-timers we only considered policies that provided nationwide coverage.

There has been a bit of discussion concerning this topic down on the RVing with Disabilities and General Health Issues discussion area.

Yes ... glad you can jump all over someone new at this. I feel stupid enough about this. Thanks for making me feel even more stupid.

conmoto wrote:
Do you mean Medicare supplement?

I never heard of SS Supplements.

If you are talking about Medigap (or Medicare supplimental insurance) that isn't included in SS payments. Medicare Part B cost is taken from your SS payments.

The Medigap insurance is available in several different plans. Each plan pays different things, in different amounts. You pay for whatever plan you decide on. It is not taken from your SS payments.

revump wrote:
If you enroll in a SS Supplement that is included in your regular SS payments, how do you work out of area doctors and other things?

Do you mean Medicare supplement?

What is ss supplement?